URBN Inc., parent company of fashion-forward brands Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN and Terrain, is coming to Iowa State in search of summer interns and full-time hires.

College recruitment and talent development specialists Lindsay McNutt and Wesley Barnes will host an informational session about opportunities at URBN Inc. at 5:10 p.m. Thursday in LeBaron Hall 1210.

In addition to the session, McNutt and Barnes will also conduct interviews from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in the College of Human Sciences interview rooms.

Students are required to apply online through CyHire or urbn.com. Applicants generally interview at URBN’s corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, giving ISU students an advantage.

Employment opportunities include a paid summer internship program, a merchant leadership program and a general management training program to accommodate students in all stages of their college careers. The posts on CyHire link directly to the URBN Inc. website, which provides a list of positions.

Requirements include an updated résumé, cover letter, completed application and a creative project specific to the position. For example, a visual display internship for Anthropologie asks for a digital inspiration board that represents the company’s aesthetic.

Ann Thye, apparel, merchandising and design adviser, said in addition to the application, interested students should update their LinkedIn profiles, Pinterest boards and other social media platforms to create a personal brand for recruiters to view. It’s also not a bad idea to have an online portfolio showcasing your talents.

“They really want to make sure you get the brand, that you really understand the target customer,” Thye said. “They want to know that you live it.”

Thye has been working with URBN Inc. since the first ISU student interned with the company in 2012.

Thye has visited the URBN Inc. headquarters several times in an effort to make connections with human resources and advocate for Iowa State. This past summer, URBN had two ISU students, Christina Greiner and Mayim Yael, who worked for Urban Outfitter’s women’s e-commerce styling team.

“They are called the five percent,” Thye said.

URBN Inc. gave this name to its interns because it receives thousands of applications, but only five percent land positions. It’s a term of endearment and accomplishment for its interns.

Yael worked at the Urban Outfitter Corporate Campus in the historic Philadelphia Navy Yard. Her primary responsibilities included styling photo shoots for the retail website and print catalog, gathering inspiration, taking care of models, organizing products and managing inventory for the website.

Her most memorable experience from the internship was her first off-site editorial shoot at Staten Island, N.Y. She worked alongside Victoria’s Secret model Stella Maxwell, and was later treated to dinner and a hotel in Manhattan, N.Y.

Aside from her dream-like evening in New York City, Yael loved working with her team and being integrated as a member, not just a temporary employee.

“There were many chances to meet higher-level management within the company and learn about how they got to where they are now,” Yael said.

Yael also appreciated how women-driven the leadership was, which showed her what she could achieve in the future.

She said one takeaway from her summer internship was to put effort into showing who you are as a person. She felt at home with the open-minded culture, laid-back co-workers and “bring your dog to work” days, which made her experience much more enjoyable and valuable.

“They are big on hiring people who fit in with the company, not your skill set,” Yael said.

To learn more about working for one of the five brands under URBN Inc., make sure to attend the informational session Thursday night.