Getting a job at Clarins

I always think it helps to read posts on how interviews go and the process in getting a job especially in the cosmetics industry. I will soon be starting a job with Clarins so I thought I would let people know what to expect about the whole process etc. It took just over a month for my process to go through from the time they contacted me back but if I accepted the first job, it would have been much quicker.

I will do this post in a few sections and will do a later post about my first few weeks in the job and the training etc. 

This post will be split into 6 sections:

Applying for the job

Phone interview

Face to face interview

Time on counter

Store approval

Getting the job

Applying for the job

You can either do it online or with an application form. I chose to do mine online. It comes up with  all the jobs in your area and you chose which one you would like to apply for. It is quite a simple form and asks the kind of questions you would expect...your experience, why you want to work for Clarins etc. to be honest it took a long time for them to get back to me and I assumed that I was unsuccessful but I did get a phone call from the recruitment team for a phone interview.

Phone interview

I was pretty nervous for the phone interview to be honest but the lady Michelle that held it was really lovely and made me feel at ease. I did some preparation for it and had my notes with me which I'm glad I did! She asked me what I was doing at the moment, why I wanted to leave and why I wanted to work for Clarins. She then asked me what I knew about Clarins and what kind of hours I would want to work, where I would be willing to travel to etc. at the end of my interview, I was told it was successful and that she wanted to meet for a face to face interview the next week. 

Face to face interview

Again another thing I am always nervous about! Interviews are just really not my strong point, my mind goes blank and I turn into a complete div. When I got there, there was another girl being interviewed and in my head I immediately thought it was pointless. Again, it was with Michelle and she made me feel really comfortable, offered me a drink etc. it was similar questions to what was in the phone interview, what if knew about the brand, why I wanted to work for them the hours I was after. The job role was explained to me and then I was then asked explain a time when type of questions. It was standard things...how you deal with complaints, explain a time in your life when you have achieved something you are proud of, explain how you would increase sales. You then have to complete a little maths quiz which is just the weekly sales sheet with 2 questions about the atv and aus. You are given a calculator so it's pretty simple if you have worked with targets and sales sheets before. The last thing I had to do before I went was write what beauty product I would take with me if I was on a desert island and explain why I would take it and what benefits it has. She then told me that she would either call or email with a decision within the next 7-10 days. 

Time on counter 

I was rung and told that I had been successful and I had to go into store and spend some time on counter 'meeting and greeting' some customers. I was dreading this as I'm usually not very good at traffic stopping and I have been to beauty auditions before where you have to be very forceful and reach a certain amount of sales to pass but I was just on counter for about half an hour. I picked a fragrance that I liked from the counter and just had to stand at the front of the counter and interact with customers. The account manager said it was just to check how you engage with customers and to make sure you wouldn't just stand around doing nothing. She told me after. My time was up that she had other girls coming after me and that she would speak to the Michelle that evening about what she thought of me. 

Store approval

Within one week of spending time on counter, I was called in for store approval at Boots. The department manager took me into an office and began by asking me abit about myself. She then went on to too me a little bit about boots, what the policies are, what shifts I would be expected to work etc. I originally went for just one position and got offered maternity cover until November. The position I have no taken is a mobile position so I therefore had to have 4 store approvals. 

Because I already work in debenhams they already approved it but so people know what it's like, they basically just want to meet you...it's not formal, it's just so they see who is working in their shop. Mine with them when I started at ysl was about 10 minutes. 

The last one I had to go for was house of Fraser and that was much harder than all the others. It was like another interview and lasted for about an hour. Again I had several questions asked about what I understand about the role, how I would go about selling the store account card, how I would increase sales on counter etc. I then got asked the explain a time when questions and he told me that all his notes had to be sent to hr before I could find out whether I had passed or not. 

Getting the job

My last store approval was on a Thursday and by the Monday I had got a call to offer me the job. She went through the hours I would be working, ordered my uniform in the sizes I needed explained about training, how I would get my rotas, commission and allocation etc. She told me that my uniform would arrive 7-10 days after our conversation and in 10-14 days I would receive my contract and paperwork in the post.

Overall I am so so happy that I have been offered this job and I'm really looking forward to starting. I would do another post about what to expect in your first couple of weeks and what to expect from training and the benefits of working for Clarins some point in the near future. I know it's always helpful when looking at jobs to know what to expect!