I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Sephora (New York, NY) in Dec 2014
Interview
The process overall was quick and easy. Since it was two weeks before Christmas, I got to meet with the Store Director, General Manager and one of the Lead Managers. They asked about my past experiences and it was not at all scary.
I applied online. I interviewed at Sephora in May 2017
Interview
This consisted of a group interview, an interview with the DM, and an interview with the regional education consultant. This process takes hours of your time. The initial group interview took two hours. Each additional interview took one hour. This is not counting getting ready in your best makeup and driving there. It is a very long process. But, I understand why. They really want to get to know the people that they may be hiring. The group interview was better than I expected. There was an opportunity to showcase your leadership skills in the group activity, but the rest of it is individual. The district manager was late to my interview and said he had forgotten about it. The interview with the DM is more like the typical interview. He said that it wouldn't be like the typical interview. He asked me questions and listened to my responses, which is about as typical as an interview could be, in my opinion. The third interview was a phone interview with the regional education consultant. In my case, they told me that it was in person. I got a new outfit, carefully applied my makeup, and headed through bad traffic to the store. I was a little flustered from the traffic when I got there, but calmed down and went to the office. It is locked so I stood there knocking for 10 minutes. When I eventually got in to the office, NO ONE WAS THERE. I went down to the store and asked an employee and neither the person I was interviewing with nor the person I set up the interview with were there. I waited for the store manager to get back from lunch, and she called and texted around till she figured it out. It was supposed to be a phone interview when they had specifically told me to come into the store. I was so flustered and embarrassed (even though it wasn't my fault) that when I had the phone interview in the office, I could barely think straight. Also, the interviewer kept interrupting me. I was trying to be succinct, but it didn't seem to matter, almost everything I said was interrupted. I left that interview feeling as if I has said nothing. She said I would be hearing from them by the end of the week. I had to call them on Monday, because the poor communication had continued at this point. They apologized for not calling me and told me the position had been filled. I accept that they need to pick the candidate they think is best suited for their business, but I feel like the lack of communication in the whole process has been very disrespectful. If you say that you are going to let me know by the end of the week, do it. That phone call will take 30 seconds and there is really no excuse not to follow through with what you have said. By the end of this process, I was feeling apprehensive about working there due to this poor organization and communication.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Typical interview stuff. They ask a little about makeup, but it is more about management and customer service.
I applied in-person. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Sephora in Aug 2016
Interview
I was at a job fair and got interviewed on the spot. The process was smooth and easy, asked a few questions and your experiences in the past. Be prepared and know who you're speaking to. It is also best to not look nervous and just be yourself. The process took about 2 weeks, first week is being interviewed by one of the supervisor and then the 2nd week you will be interviewed by the head manager.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What makes you a better candidate compared to others?