update 11/19: YAY I got hired as a permanent employee at MAC! WOOO!
Here is a detailed entry about my MAC interview in case anyone is interested:
Where shall I start? Okay so the interview was in Emeryville at their training facility. We arrived an hour early but decided to go to the mall nearby to get some food. So we leave the mall 25 minutes before my interview starts which was at 1:00 pm. But...
We got LOST! YEA lost. What the hell? Yes I am horrible at directions and I guess I made a wrong turn which took me all the way to Telegraph St. in OAKLAND! AHHH wrong city. Okay so we finally find out way to the place and I was already LATE. It took forever to find the right parking lot. The clock read 1:02 pm. I was thinking, "Oh crap, I'm already not gonna get hired cuz no one's gonna wanna hire someone that's LATE." I was about to CRY. UGH I hated myself because we were technically early but because of my horrible navigation, we make a wrong turn and everything just get ruined.
So we parked, I SPRINTED into the building (literally). Let me tell you, I have never run that fast in heels before. It was actually quite amazing. Anyway I'm shaking because I'm nervous about being late, panting because I just sprinted. Everything was just going BAD. Luckily as I got there, the artists and their models hadn't been called in yet. So PHEW, I wasn't actually late. That put me at ease again.
We walk into a huge room and the verbal interview was going to start. It was a HUGE group, probably around 25 girls. CRAZY right? I knew in a group that big, I had to stand out and answer all the questions. TIP: Try to answer the questions first because if you answer last, it'll just seem like you're repeating what the previous people said. So first they ask us questions about MAC's Back 2 MAC program, Viva Glam, Kids helping Kids etc. They asked what we knew about MAC's history. Next they asked about what the most important thing about MAC was. The questions were pretty general. I answered all the questions and made sure I stood out with my answers. I explained what the B2M program was and what Viva Glam stood for. I told them about how MAC was founded in Canada by two men and when their first store opened up and where and how the brand was meant for professional makeup artists but later on released to the public. The interviewers were so impressed with my answers. They called me "Ms. Google" as a joke. TIP: So do your research, learn all about the company and what they stand for. It will blow them away.
So for the last question, they asked us which products was our favorite. I said that paint pots were my favorite because the neutral colored ones like Painterly can be used as a base and neutralized redness in your skin. I also said paint pots can also be eyeshadows and they come in all different colors.
Then came the demo part. At this point, I wasn't so nervous anymore because I knew I did well in the verbal part. So we got with our model and then they made us switch models! The reason why they did that was because in the real world, you can't choose which customer comes to your counter. You have to be able to do everyone's makeup. I ended up with a really pretty Indian girl. She had great eye structure and good skin which made my job a lot easier. When they started the timer (they gave us 30 mins to do a night time red carpet look for a movie star), all of us girls ran to the products and started picking out the stuff we would use on our models. It was CRAZY! OMG I started at the foundation side and by the time I got to the eyeshadows, there were only like 10 left. NOT KIDDING. I was freaking out because I had chosen colors in my head already but none of the ones I wanted were there.
So they supplied us with only 5 brushes and 2 of them I never used before. For my everyday looks, I always use the 224, 217, and 219 no matter what. They gave me the 109, 275 (angled eyeshadow brush), 252, 219, and the stiff angled eyeliner brush.
I ended up using Vex, Grey Stone, a dark brown color, and Next To Nothing on her eyes and smolder to line. I put some Atlantic Blue on her lower lashline to give a pop of blue. I used mascara on her top and bottom lashes. I used Pinch Me blush on her cheeks and Viva Glam VI lipstick with a pinky lipglass. As I was doing her eyes, I explained why I was using the colors on her and how they work together. I was so in the zone and so quick with my work. I was actually surprised because it usually takes me forever to do my makeup. I explained why I was using certain brushes and why different finishes really make the look have more dimension (instead of having a disco ball on your eyes). I used the 252 to apply Vex all over, then the 275 for the Grey Stone (outer v), the 275 for the dark brown color in her crease, and also the 275 for Next to Nothing. I used the angled liner brush to do her eyeliner as well as fill in her brows with the dark brown color. I introduced the 109 brush to her for foundation, loose powder, strobe lotion, and blush. She was so surprised at how versatile one brush was. I prepped her skin with some strobe lotion (the prep and prime was no where to be seen probably because it was so chaotic in there) and added Studio Fix Fluid in NC40 on her face. I explained how it had SPF which is good for sun protection. I set it with the loose powder in medium then added the blush. I lined her lips, then explained what Viva Glam was and then gave her some lipgloss. As a highlight, I used Next to Nothing because it's slightly shimmery and it looked pretty on her skin. I told her how eyeshadows can be used as blush and vice versa. Everything can be used for more than one thing!
I was the first one to finish which I think gave me an advantage. The interviewers were very surprised that I finished in less than 20 minutes and they said that I explained everything very well. (They walked by every so often to check up on us.) I put all my stuff away before the 30 minutes was up.
Next, they said they're gonna discuss things (we cleaned the brushes during this time) and they would come back and let us know if we got the job or not. They came back a little while later and passed us all green cards. On the other side, it either had the number 1 or the number 2. If you got 1, you are in. If you got 2, you're not hired. I turned my card over and it was a 1!! YAY!!
So out of the 25 people that were interviewing with me, only 5 of us got in. So for all you MAC hopefuls, you can do it!! Let me know if you have any questions.
For the first time ever, my mom said she was so proud of me!
