A few days ago, a L’Oréal recruiter reached out to me. I never applied for any jobs with the company. The company reached out to me first. I decided to reply. After speaking to the recruiter, I was impressed with the company. In turn, the recruiter set me up for a 2nd phone interview with the hiring manager for the position. The manager called me 5 minutes late, which showed me that she is not punctual and did not value me as a candidate. There was also a second manager on this call. I could barely hear the two managers during the interview because they had me on this speaker system that would echo my voice.
To begin they asked me to speak about my background. They then questioned one of my business certifications and asked me if I “PASSED”. Why would I have something on my resume if I did not achieve it?
The managers also asked me to describe my supply chain courses. I was cut off a few times by each manager just so they can give their two cents on whatever little knowledge they have of supply chain management. One of the managers then stated, “we are just trying to see what is the point of you taking these courses to obtain a supply chain management certification”. Hmmm, I don’t know: “What is the point of learning a new skill?”. As I continued, to describe my supply chain courses I was interrupted with sighs and remarks about various supply chain processes. They brought up some glossary terms (that they probably Googled before my interview) for processes within supply chain management as if those were the only processes in that industry. They were speaking to me as if they did not believe that I was taking courses in supply chain management.
They never spoke to me about the position or job details. They only expressed how it is more challenging than my current position. They are comparing a position with my current company that has a variety of products (beauty, hygiene, fitness, health, sexual health, household and pet products) versus a position in a makeup company. There is no basic need for L'Oreal's products so people may skip buying the products. Therefore, I highly doubt that a logistics position with L'Oreal is a challenge. Sitting in front of a computer for twelve hours to ensure that makeup products are delivered to your local neighborhood stores is hardly a challenge. It’s not rocket science. Anyone with a grade school level education can do that.
This aggressive style of interviewing may put some candidates under pressure. But it did not faze me one bit. I was not intimidated at all. I was very entertained by the lack of industry knowledge between two managers who oversee the shipment of L’Oréal products.
News flash L’Oréal is just a makeup company. It is not some top-secret government agency. When an employer acts in ways described here during an interview, I look at it as a gift. If I am aware enough to catch it, then I can take it as a sign that it might not be a good fit.
If you research the turnover rate between L’Oréal and Revlon you will find that L’Oréal has a high turnover rate and Revlon has a growth rate of 18.80%. Not to mention there are hundreds of reviews from L’Oréal employees on glassdoor.com complaining about long work hours or poor management. Don't bother interviewing at L'Oreal it is a waste of time.
