Clinique - Talent plus interview! help!

[Robin Hemenway]

The person I spoke to said there is pass or fail. I did get an interview for Macy's. I scheduled it for Monday so I will be studying. I do know this, My cousin works for EL and she is not employed with a store and she loves it. She says once they fill a position, it's hard to get in because the people just LOVE their jobs. I am sure they will wait until after the holidays. That is when new budgets come out etc. I will ask my cousin if you'd like? You are up for an account Coordinator?

 

[kiddles412]

How long did it take for Talent Plus to contact you after your interviews? I just interviewed with Clinique Wednesday with the assistant manager and manager of the store. They told me that Talent Plus would be contacting me soon to set up a time to do the interview. I went Thursday to have my interview with the counter manager. So today is Friday and I didnt get a call. Did it take them awhile to call you? Do they work weekends?!

 

[sammybick]

After reading this thread i was SUPER nervous about my Talent Plus interview that was to take place this morning... but i made this account just to calm the nerves of those to follow in my same foot steps. Position applied for- Clinique Counter Manager at Dillard's

Lets back track a bit. I've noticed that a lot of people on here and on other sites have had the process happen in a different order so here's how i ended up so worried about my phone interview.

About two weeks ago i responded to an add for the position with my resume. The next day i received a phone call from the Dillard's Store Manager, we set up an interview for the following day. I met with him, he was nice, friendly, asked me the general interview questions. Where i live, what jobs i have held, how i increased sales, set goals, ect. Two days later he called me again and we set up another interview with the Cosmetic Manager for Dillard's on the following morning. She was also very nice, we talked about ourselves, a little about my past experiences, and about my goal with the company. It all seemed to be going quite well. Then, i got a call schedule my Talent Plus interview. I set it up and googled it right away (because i like to be prepared for these things.) I started seriously stressing because i was reading all kinds of bad things about it. I was worried, and when my interview time rolled around i felt a little sick to my stomach.

My phone rings...
A delightfully chipper woman is on the other line. she was warm, and sounds excited to talk with me. She told me she was having slight computer issues, tells me a bit about how the interview works, and shortly thereafter we started the interview. she asked the questions, they were all about drawing from previous experiences, some of them were yes/no answers that i was then asked to explain, or recall a previous situation i was in. it took under an hour, the woman gave me plenty of time to respond, and at the end i was allowed to provide any additional information about myself. All in all a fantastic interview. It didn't even feel like we were on the phone for that long!

So, if you're just like how i was a few hours ago, stressing out because of all the negative posts out there, it's really not as bad as some are making it seem.
Take a deep breath, and be yourself.

 

[J Rae]

Hi Everyone,

I had my Talent Plus interview Thursday. Sounds like I biffed on the "should you be friends with co-workers" question... I said its good to be friendly and kind but that its better to not bring too much personal drama into the workplace. Hope that doesn't ruin it for me.

I sent my resume in through the Clinique website, immediately was contacted by the Recruitment person, we interviewed two days later and then Talent Plus was two days after that. I am interested in the Associate Consultant program.

Have to say I was excited and appreciated the thank you note and sample they sent me... pretty fun!

Now I wait, not sure how long to expect but she did let me know up front that you don't get feedback if they do not want you. So you hear from them about moving forward or you do not.

Wasn't a fan of the TP interview, so many questions were left to interpretation so I hope I did a good job explaining myself.

Jenni

 

[emilyann0023]

I have had the exact same interview process so far. I am applying for Dillards- Clinique counter manager. I have met with the store manager and the cosmetics manager. I got a call yesterday to set up my phone interview for talent plus. I have my interview this Saturday. I was told this is just to understand my personality. After reading this thread, I am seeing that it is a pass/fail interview? How long does is take to hear back from them after the interview? Have you heard anything from them(Dillards) since your interview?

 

[Elizabeth1965]

I am a recruiter in the Beauty industry and have used Talent + hundreds of times to see whether or not the candidate that is responding for the job is suitable for a position.

I can state that there is absolutely not a pass/fail rate; this is an assessment of your core skills as a person to see if you would suit a retail environment. I have interviewed people that by their talents are a perfect match to work with the general public in a retail environment and some that would better suit an office job with minimal customer contact.

There are many people that think retail is easy, a job anyone can do. However it is not. If you do not have the necessary people skills then you will not be successful and of what use is that to yourself or the company?
Talent + takes the guesswork away for managers. It shows us who will flourish in a retail environment and be able to make a career out of it and who is best suited to use their natural talents elsewhere.

For example my talents indicate that I should work with the public; I tried a desk job years ago and failed miserably at it. So I set up my own Spa and was very successful.

A friend of mine was not so fortunate; she went through the same schooling as myself and could not hold down a job as a spa therapist.......... because she was not strong in customer service. She went on to work for a health and beauty magazine, and did really well sitting at a desk researching beauty products.

So this is what Talent + does; identifies your core strengths to see if you fit the position you are going for. If you don't happen to get the job due to your talents not being the right fit you should be thankful as you would not have been successful, felt a failure and been unhappy.
I would recommend that everyone that takes a Talent+ ask the prospective employer for their talents; it gives a huge insight into the person you are and where you should steer yourself and your career.

 

[cosmeticgirl]

I work for Clinique and have for a number of years. Recently however I was offered a promotion within the company and was told in order to receive it I would need to take another Talent Plus interview. So I did and really didnt think much of it since I have done very well at my job and am well liked by my colleagues and management. However after taking the test I was informed I didn't pass it and therefor was not offered the promotion. Interestingly during this time a new hire was interviewed who aced this test and was brought on board. Now the truth comes out. She has been a failure in every way. When she was workiing at an offsite location she was so rude that management sent her home. Isn't that interesting? And she was hired entirely based upon the results of this test which I might add was incredibly lame. I subsequently was passed over a promotion because of not passing it. Sounds like there is a company getting very rich off the Estée Lauder companies out there and their name is Talent Plus. My opinion is they are a total scam and fail to identify valuable employees. My example is only one of many. Sadly I wonder how much more $$ companies will waste on them until their hoax is figured out. Very very sad.

 

[ABBY23]

HOW LONG DID THE JOB TAKE TO CALL YOU AFTER YOUR TALENT PLUS INTERVIEW??? I HAD MY INTERVIEW AND HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING. THE LAST THING THE TALENT PLUS LADY SAID WAS BLOOMINGDALES WILL BE CONTACTING ME TO CONTINUE MY HIRING PROCESS. IS THAT A GOOD SIGN ?????? THANK YOU VERY MUCH ; ))))

 

[ABBY23]

WHO TOLD YOU YOU HAD FAILED ????

 

[Julzrael]

So a few weeks ago I went into an EL owned store to apply for a position. I had previous experience with this particular brand and the two employees I spoke to were really intent on me the moment they heard that. They were enthusiastic about me applying, which i immediately did. I got a call from the mgr w/in a day or two and we spoke for maybe15-30 minutes, getting to know each other and really hitting it off. She was super-excited about me, and i was equally excited about working for her and the company, who's ecological and specific focus' I had already been studying for several years. I was SO excited. I also have lots of retail experience including Lancome, L'Occitane, Elizabeth Arden (just to stick w the cosmetic side of it)and management. I couldn't wait to get in the door. I took the talent plus interview about a week later and felt really excited and confident when I finished it. I am great at sales, positive, upbeat, ethical and a team-player. Having had management experience, I would hire me in a NY minute. All of this leading up to...me not being recommended by Talent Plus. Now seriously. If this company isn't approving someone like me, who are they hiring? What went wrong? What the heck could I have said to be so bad as to give me this rating? For every question they tried to back me into a corner with, i gave solid, positive answers. This really does make me doubt the validity of Talent Plus. The manager was sympathetic to this and is going to work with her DM to see what, if any, specifics can be given and also to see if there is any way i can either re-take or be considered anyway for future employment. I don't relish being locked out of Estee's formidable group. I understand the tests purpose in determining a good fit. However, if they are turning away someone like me, I can't imagine the personality they are looking for. Upsetting and puzzling. And possibly career-handicapping! It's such a big deal you might think there may be a few tests or interviews that judge a person...smh in confusion and shock.

 

[Catwoman76]

"Talent Plus'" is the biggest bunch of nonsense I ever endured or witnessed. I passed mine and yet 3 people that didn't eventually got jobs some in Lauder counters, that "I" was not a fit at!!! In this particular location ... HUH??


I have watched unqualified, uninterested associates, (who eventually got demoted) put into counters such as Clinique and Estee Lauder, who underperformed flex- associates, who could run circles around them in sells and talent, but could not get a permanent counter spot.

In fact in the last month, I witnesses 3 of it's Talent Plus, "Passers," be fired or demoted.That's how good this ' test???? Works.

Wake-up ... Lauder and Cosmetics lines in general, Talent Plus, is nonsense, and any half-intelligent person, can figure out ,,, just what you want to hear.

Talent Plus is a "Minus." Some of the best make-up artists and I say artists, I know failed the test
Anyone who fails don't take it too badly. It doesn't work from my observation, as well as many others.
I have to say it is really just sales Major lines want, NOT well trained professionals, as years ago.

Catwoman

 

[anothermessage]

I was a manager for an EL company for ten years. I became the SME of talent plus in my district and conducted over 200 store level interviews. talent plus is not a magic bullet. it does not automatically tell you the most amazing person. it does, however, help predict their success. while I regretted some hires who did well on talent plus, I ALWAYS regretted hiring against talent plus' recommendation. every single time. people who are high skill (those of you who talk about having lots of experience or witnessing someone who had experience) but low talent tend to: hate change (which always happens), not want to follow new techniques or rules, think their way is best/only way, not have loyalty to a company so their turnover is higher. talent plus is not pass/fail. people who use that language executing it are doing themselves a disservice. however, it does have a "fail" side in the sense that there is a threshold for recommendation. someone who is hiring solely off of talent plus is also doing themselves a disservice. we had a secret saying "talent plus can't predict the lazy or the crazy." I did not hire someone who was super high talent because she struck me as manic, overreaching in authority, and a problem waiting to happen. talent plus also convinced me to hire someone with no cosmetic experience because she was high talent and seemed enthusiastic. she was an amazing salesperson. WHY are people surprised when they're asked about sales?! this is a SALES job. you would be surprised how many people say they're not competitive or aren't better than others. they're either: the wrong person to be in sales or trying to fake the system and working against themselves. because the interview does feel cold, I usually take a couple minutes to describe the persons top talent to them. it leaves it on a more positive note. however, when you have seven of these scheduled back to back, you do tend to stop caring about the people who scored so low they do not have a discernible talent in the categories you're looking for heh the other thing about makeup artists: a big reason they often don't do well in talent plus ime is that they don't want to sell! oh they want to do makeup but most lines are not just makeup anymore. in the interview process, they show little interest in selling other items or in bringing competition into the environment (a huge factor of success in a department environment). the questions are structured so as not to influence you and in GENERAL, are set up so that even if you "fake it" on one part because of what you think they want to hear, you will ultimately not "get" the next related question. it is hard to fake it brought the entire interview.

 

[SincerelyLivX]

this thread has me seriously freaking out over my TalentPlus interview on monday *dies*

 

[girlfridayxo]

I just had Talent Plus interview last Thursday for a position with Aveda. So far I have only heard from an EL rep and the Talent Plus interviewer. I am getting a bit impatient waiting. I wondered why some of the questions in the interview were so personal, but I answered them anyway. Hopefully my answers were good enough because I really want the job. I currently work for the government and I HATE it with a passion.

 

[simplebeauty94]

I was recently a seasonal at a Macy's location. I was just doing my job and a lot of managers saw me working and liked how I worked. After seasonal, 3 different counter managers recommended me to work for a certain brand. In the end I didn't pass the talent plus interview. I thought I sounded pretty confident…but I guess it's really the answers you give. I feel like you have to be pretty selfish when you give the answers. They ask you a lot of questions in how you think you are better than your peers or co-workers. In these questions I did say I was better, but I probably lacked the "sales" personality they were looking for. The counter manager that I was suppose to be working for was so shocked and confused that I didn't pass the test. Let's just cross out fingers that I get another opportunity at another counter

 

[EddieVA]

I am in the interview process witj Macy's and the sales beauty manager wants me to interview with Talent plus and now reading all these comments I feel very nervous! I don't have any retail experience but strong customer service background for very complex tasks and working all day sitting in front of a computer was killing me! I quit my job to stay home with my kids and I like makeup so much that I even help people at the drug store to pick up their makeup and no one is paying me for it hahahahahahaha it just comes out naturally I'm very outgoing and extremely friendly but now this talent plus things is scaring me :/ well......all I know is that my faith that everything happens for a reason, will lead me to the right path I keep applying for other jobs anyways. I need money! Hahahahha so makeup is a fun thing but making money is a lot better

 

[Astonneil]

I haven't had my TP interview yet, but I noticed a lot of people were complaining about the person being 'emotionless' and answering questions with 'it's up to your interpretation'. I used to work for a marketing research company, so I thought I would shed some light on this. The 'emotionless' is actually a job requirement. They are taught to be professional, and showing too much emotion (either positive or negative) could sway the results/how questions are answered. As for the 'up to your interpretation', again, they're told to do this. They are given a very specific script, and any deviation could change your answer. When I worked for the marketing research company, we were even taught not to use fillers like 'umm' and 'okay'. Strictly scripted.

 

[bringmesugar]

I interviewed for an EL counter manager position with the department manager and the store manager at Macy's (same day). I was referred for the "Talent Plus" interview. I had the TP phone interview in mid December. I then received an email inviting me to schedule yet another interview, but there were no available time slots. I figued that it was due to being the holiday season. I called HR to let them know that I received the interview invitation and that there were no available time slots, but to please let the cosmetic's DM know that I was still very interested in the position.I did a routine follow-up call today, only to be told that I did not do well on the TP interview and that the DM could not proceed with the interview process. The DM said he followed up and left me a message. I never received a message(?). I also don't know what to make of that email inviting me to schedule an interview (?).
I would have loved to have gotten the position. I too think it's stressful that everything hinges on the TP phone interview. I thought the questions were obscure and somewhat ridiculous. I do not recommend "being yourself and answering honestly." I recommend just saying "yes" to everything that could be a "yes."
Not the news I was hoping to hear on New Year's Eve.

Good luck to all perspective employees and...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[gekaap]

Quote:angieangel I know how to motivate and drive my employees in the ways that are most important to them.



And yet, the one time in the history of the world where you had to motivate and drive an employee who did not fit into the one little cookie cutter as everyone else, you could not get any decent results out of them.