I first applied for this company through their website recruiter, LCI. I received a phone call one day from the Store Manager, asking me if I was still interested in working for the company and if I'd like to come in for an interview. I was very excited at first because I had been looking for numerous jobs since I moved out here to Las Vegas (approximately four months). As she was about to offer me the interview, I had second thoughts because it was 45 miles out of the city, but I gladly accepted any opportunity to practice interviewing for a job. I researched the company a bit, from when it was started,what it was based on, and how well they were doing on the stock market since we were in the midst of a recession. I was greeted by the Assistant and Store Manager as I walked into their store and they were pleasant and welcoming. I dressed casual and for the part, a rock t-shirt, and jeans. Since the company is "Rooted in Rock," I figured I would fit in better dressing normally than over dressing with a shirt, khakis and tie. The two managers both interviewed me together in the store, on the store couch, me sitting between them. My perception of them drastically changed after we started chatting. I figured since this mall I would working at was on the Nevada/California border, my first thoughts were they were wiling to hire anyone who'd travel out here to work. But they were serious about they're hiring process and explained to me what position I would be applying for. The asked some basic interview questions at first like, why do I want to work for this company, what drew me to applying to Liz Claiborne, and what prior experience have I had in management. Researching the company prior was a big help because I already had a feel of what they were looking for and being that I've worked in a relax retail store before, I knew what I was getting into when I applied for this company. After the basic questions, I casually began to ask them questions about their store such as their sales, loss prevention, shrink percentage, staff size, and payroll hours. By showing them I had knowledge about these areas, they definitely seemed to feel more relaxed and the interview shifted more toward a friendly conversation, rather than an interrogation. We were able to converse about how consistently they make their payroll plan and what they were looking to accomplish in their first year of being open. By the end of the conversation, they wanted to know what I was looking for pay wise, and the store manager gave me a realistic amount of what she could offer me. She also told me that she would get back to me within the next few days and basically said should would love to extend the job to me, she just had to confirm it with the District Manager first. When the interview was over, she had me fill out all necessary paperwork that day so if they could extend the offer and would accept, I could start as soon as possible. As I handed her the application and background check, I heard a rare song that was playing on the store sound system. Since I was familiar with the era the company was trying to base its clothes on, I knew the song and impressed them with my knowledge by asking them who the band was. They had no idea and sure enough, about 3-4 days later they offered me the job, and on my first day I worked, they told me that last comment basically cemented the job for me. So it goes to show that at least some basic research on the company you apply for is an excellent way to prepare yourself for any situation you may get into.