From my personal experience, I think it is easier to get a job at a counter. I interviewed with two different counters at two different malls and interviewed with the store in one of those malls as well. I found the manager at the MAC store was looking for more experience (and for some reason, not as friendly as the counter managers). That was the one out of the three interviews that I wasn't considered for the position. But like SonRisa said, I'm sure it is different from place to place. For the actual information you need to know on the job, I don't think it is that different from counter to store...the only thing is that the counter does not carry all the products that would be available in a MAC store. Anyways, the hiring process here in Toronto is that all the resumes that are handed to the counters or stores go to the head office and they are sorted from there. When you hand in a resume, they will usually ask you to write down your top 5 locations that you would be willing to work at.