I had been applying to Sephora for months online. In the careers section on the sephora site, you can track all of the positions you have applied for and they have a section called "actions" where sometimes you will be asked to do an "assessment. Each time I logged in and seen "assessment" I figured I was one step closer to getting an interview but I guess the assessment is meant for them to assess your skills a bit more than what was mentioned on your resume. One day after weeks and months of consistently applying for different positions at Sephora, I talked to a store mgr and just asked a few questions about the actual hiring process. I asked what specifically they were looking for in a potential candidate because given my retail experience working at Lord and Taylor for 3 years, I felt I would be a good fit. She reassured me that my experience matched with what they typically look for but I still didn't get invited to interview. She said she would leave a message for the Hiring Mgr. to take a look at my online application. Weeks and months had gone by and still nothing. In the midst of waiting on sephora to notice me, I had an interview with Macys Boston and they actually hired me. I originally wanted to be in Cosmetics at Macys if I did take the job but that position was filled so they put me in women's shoes to gain the commission based experience which is very similar to cosmetics and told me they would transfer me when something opens in cosmetics. Randomly after about 1 month of working at Macys, I had a missed call from a unrecognized number and when I went on my break, I called the number back and it was Sephora!!! I spoke with the hiring manager who said she had received a note on her desk that I was interested in the position and wanted me to come to a group interview 2 days later. I thought it was weird because she said she just received a note but I had actually called the store months and months before the note reached her desk. Still confused. Anyway, the interview consisted of me and 2 other girls. We went to the food court across from sephora and had a very casual interview. The mgr was really sweet and nice and had been with the company for 12 yrs so I know she knew what sephora was looking for. She went around the table and asked questions from a piece of paper. They were pretty expected questions and I was really prepared from tons of research leading up the that moment. We all introduced ourselves and I made sure that I let the other girls finish their sentences without interrupting to show that I was a good team player. The questions were: tell me a little about your sales experience, a time where you had a difficult customer and how you fixed it, a time where someone you worked with was being dishonest and how you dealt with it, what do you love about Sephora/Why do you want to work at Sephora/Some of your favorite products at Sephora and what is your dream job. Those are the questions that I remember and I tried not to answer first for every question so that I wouldn't seem to overly confident or self centered. I am a very confident person and sure of myself but sometimes that doesn't translate in the best way to people actually making the decision to hire me. My advice is to research a little about the brands they carry and even if they don't ask specifically, throw it in to show your knowledgable about the company and not that they just sell makeup... Because they don't. They have cosmetics, hair care, skin care, tools for hair and skin, fragrances etc. The hiring manager asked if we had any questions for her in which I asked what brought her to sephora and what she loves most about what she does etc. then she thanked is for coming and said she would call in a couple of days. My interview was on sept. 11th (Thursday) and today is the following Tuesday. I am hoping I get a call this Thursday which will make a week and if not I will probably call. I want to remain relevant so that they want to bring me in and go further with the process. Typically they have 1-4 interviews. Just be prepared for the series of interviews during the hiring process. Typically you will start off as a cashier unless you are going straight into a world like fragrances or color. You will only have a Demo interview if you go into the color world. I hope this helped someone, good luck!

Interview process was very straightforward with follow up calls and scheduling happening very consistently and within a couple of weeks. The questions felt client - oriented and applicable to the role.