Thankfully, active-wear brand Lorna Jane has removed a Seek job advertisement for a “Fit model/receptionist” position available in the company’s Brisbane office.
But we’re still wondering why it ever appeared online in the first place.
The job ad, published by our sister publication Crikey yesterday, stated applicants must fit strict size requirements in order to fill the “dream job” at Lorna Jane’s support centre.
The size requirements were featured in capitals, and before the Receptionist Duties were outlined. They were quite comprehensive with little margin for error, including:
BUST: 87-90cm
WAIST: 70-73cm
HIP (at widest point): 97-100cm
HEIGHT: 165cm or taller
It must make for an interesting first round interviewing process, featuring tape measures, scales and other apparatus to ensure the potential candidate’s bust, waist and hip sizes are within the specified 3cm green zone.
Applicants are also warned that while no experience is necessary, you must, “Be patient as you may be required to stand for long periods of time”.
As well as standing and looking good, the successful candidate would also be handling all correspondence, answering the phone, administrating stationery requirements, booking travel and doing other bits and pieces around the office. She will be busy.
Applications were also told they will be given the opportunity to grow in their “DREAM JOB!” (Just as long as they don’t grow too much.)
A spokesperson told Crikey the ad was removed from Seek on Monday morning after receiving a “fantastic response, with a large number of applications responding straight away to be part of our team.” Given they only required the “fit model” on a part time basis, the company felt it appropriate to combine the position with the part time receptionist role.
Lorna Jane’s mission is to inspire women to “live their best life through the philosophy of Active Living with the daily practice of Move Nourish Believe”.
Are waist measurements the ultimate KPI of personal success in such a mission?
Lorna Jane has since issued the following statement to a number of commenters criticising the job ad on its Facebook page.
“We are sorry to have caused a misunderstanding in regards to the role. As the ad states, the position we are hoping to fill is for a “fit model”, which is an in-house model (specifically a size small) to assist with the fit of our activewear. A fit model ensures that we maintain consistency in our sizing across our entire range of different products. As you can imagine, we have a great variety of styles & fabrics and it is imperative that we keep our sizing as consistent as possible. Having a fit model allows us to do so. We hope this has clarified any misconceptions about our advertisement. We certainly pride ourselves on hiring healthy, active women of all different shapes & sizes, but as we hope you can understand, a fit model must have certain dimensions to help with our garment measurements. Thank you for reaching out to us. If you would like to take this conversation further, please get in touch via [email protected]. All the best in Active Living, xx LJ”*
Thanks to our friends at Crikey, you see the original ad below.
* This story has been updated to include comments from the Lorna Jane Facebook page.
