Quite difficult in terms of a lot of hoops to jump through, an in-depth 4-step process, but if you go in prepared you'll be fine, I studied a lot in preparation for my interview and was offered the role of counter manager, with no previous retail or beauty experience. Stage one - group interview - talking about what's important on the counter - and then putting highlighter on each other Stage two - traffic stopping and selling on the shop floor, promoting top products, talking and demoing products to customers. Stage three - solo interview Stage four - Store approval. Bear in mind this stage is store-specific questions, why do you want to work in this store, what do you like about this store, and why would you be suitable for this store? And less about company-specific questions.

I applied online for the store (Stage) and a few days later got a call to set up an interview. The store interview went really well. It was laid back and conducted by the Estée Lauder counter manager. I interviewed on a Monday, that Friday I was called to say I was their pick for the position. I had to take a Talent Plus assessment online and called them back to let them know when I had completed it. They called me the following Monday and said according to the assessment that I was not a good recommendation for the job. I'm not sure what they were looking for as I had passed the store's assessment easily.

The interview process was lengthy. You must first pass a test when you apply. After I passed, I had a phone interview with the store manager. She was very nice, asked pretty basic questions about my work experience. I then had a phone interview with my Clinique manager. Same type of questions. It was a very comfortable interview. The last was a talent plus interview. There's no give and take. It's almost robotic. They ask, you answer. I'd keep my answers short and sweet, because they will give no feedback. If you stay with the company, they will group your answers into your strengths and weaknesses. It's actually very accurate. The interview process took about three weeks.