I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at L'Oréal (London, England) in May 2016
Interview
One thing to note is that L'Oréal do not interview for a particular role, they interview you. This is something I would say is very positive. They are more interested in how you would fit into their company and culture. They are also very interested in where you see yourself within their business so make sure you know this.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Prior to interview there is a Maths test, if you are not good at maths... practice!
all interview questions are based around their competencies - which more often than not are actually on their job spec! Which makes life ALOT easier! You don't have to go hunting around for them!
Their main competencies are below:
* Innovation
*Entrepreneurship
*Act and Lead with Human Sensitivity
*Manage Complexity
*Achieve results with integrity
*Interact effectively
*sensitivity to the metier
I broke this down and looked at every area both internally (within my current organisation) and externally (Ie, clients) I made sure I had an example of both for each competency ( I have put some of my responses below to help)
I would also say it is VITAL that you do research on the company, find out as much as you can and remember it. This information puts you one step ahead of anyone who hasn't! Reading their financial statement / annual report can be an easy way of seeing what the company has done and where it is planning to go. This is easy to find on google. They also have an app called L'Oréal Finance, which is a more digestible version! Don't just regurgitate these facts but bring different parts into the conversation where you deem appropriate! I did ALOT of research and it made the conversations easier as i knew what their business targets and challenges where.
Also know WHY you want to work there.... they will 100% ask you this question. Just saying your passionate about the products will not cut it... believe me they will drill down.
Don't forget you can have notes with you in an interview! There is no rule against this, i used mine in my interview to refer to things i may have forgotten, it also shows them clearly that you have prepared and you are serious about wanting the job!
Know your own strengths and weaknesses - they will ask you this but it can be asked in a lot of ways. "is there anything you know you could do better" / " is there anything you find hard" / "what would you say you could personally improve on?".
For each of my interviews (6 in total) i also had questions for that individual person. I had done my research on their backgrounds ( linkedin). I asked things like "You were previously in a finance role, why did you decide to move to sales within L'Oréal" or " What do you think are going to be the challenges facing L'Oréal in the future". This interview is as much yours as it is theirs - ask as many questions as you want and challenge them to think.
Finally if you do nothing else ASK THIS QUESTION: " Do you have any reservations about my application?" It gives them the chance to tell you if you have done something wrong straight away, this is your chance to change their mind!
A massive change to what I was used to. No drawn out 5 step process with psych metric testing and case studies. Casual but robust conversations with decision makers and mostly hitting the high notes.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Knowledge of the health & beauty industry and market
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at L'Oréal (London, England) in Dec 2022
Interview
Really enjoyed my HR screening. I was speaking to a lovely person and they tried to speed up the process where they could. The hiring manager was quite busy so drew out the process. I was promised feedback after my last interview in December and to this day have not heard back or received any form of communication.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Very common HR screening questions and hiring manager interview questions were all competency based or behavioural.
I applied in-person. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at L'Oréal (Brussels) in Aug 2017
Interview
1. Call with Human Resources Business Partner
2. Meeting with Human Resources
3. Meeting with commercial director
4. Meeting with general director division
5. Meeting with general director belgium
Very bad communication between Sales & Human recources, and between the different people in general.
Very long waiting time to get an answer.