How to complete an internship at the world leader in beauty, L’Oréal Paris? How does the recruitment process work? Jay, an intern at L’Oréal Paris in the HR department, gave us all the secrets to a successful interview. He also lifts the veil on his daily life within one of the students’ favorite companies.
Founded in 1909 by Eugène Schueller, L’Oréal Paris began by marketing a simple hair dye. Its activity has grown considerably over the years and has today become the world leader in beauty, thanks in particular to its research and innovation in the service of beauty.
Today, L’Oréal has established itself as the second favorite company of students who have already been in business school for several years. The group is also in the top 15 of engineering students’ favorite companies.
Jay’s journey
Can you present your journey?
Initially, my ambition was to become a surgeon. So naturally I took a scientific baccalaureate. After my final year, I quickly realized that this sector did not necessarily suit me. It is by asking myself the question “ How could I be useful? » that I turned to a degree in economics and management at the University of Bordeaux.
In order to put my knowledge into practice, I did a gap year in a recruitment firm. I was preparing for the entrance exams to business schools at the same time. I was lucky enough to be admitted to the Grenoble EM Grande École Program, in M1.
During the summer of 2020, I started my second gap year. My first internship took place within a recruitment firm specializing in the scientific world. Currently, I am interning at L’Oréal as a Talent Acquisition Specialist Finance & Legal.
Recruitment processes at L’Oréal
How did the recruitment processes go at L’Oréal?
For my part, the recruitment process lasted less than two weeks. I first applied on the L’Oréal website by sending my CV and cover letter.
A few days later, I was invited to take a digital test where I had to answer questions about my previous experiences, the different challenging situations I had to face and the way in which I managed to cope. get out. The objective behind this exercise is mainly to identify the personality of the candidate.
Once this step was validated, I was contacted by HR with whom I had a motivational interview lasting around thirty minutes. She was mainly interested in my motivations, the reasons why I wanted to join the group, and my ability to understand the position. She tried to see how I projected myself within the company, an interview, which luckily was successful.
The last step consisted of a one-hour interview with my two internship supervisors. They looked more specifically at my ability to hold responsibilities and accomplish the missions that awaited me during the internship.
Internship at L’Oréal
How did your internship go? Have you noticed a difference between the image you had of L’Oréal and reality?
My internship is going extremely well, thanks in particular to the supervision and kindness of my manager, who does not hesitate to include me in all the L’Oréal group’s projects. He also ensures that my learning and training are continuous, which allows me to quickly improve my skills.
I didn’t necessarily have any preconceived ideas about the world of cosmetics, I saw my internship as an opportunity to discover a new world and enrich my knowledge in this sector.
I define myself as an HR person with a very particular interest in the world of finance and business. So I turned to L’Oréal to discover behind the scenes of the financial management of one of the largest groups in the CAC40. Beyond the fact that L’Oréal is the world leader in its sector, I discovered in this group a real precursor of sustainable development, who is fully committed to social and environmental causes.
What is a typical day like at L’Oréal?
I would have liked to provide a response for a typical day at L’Oréal headquarters, but unfortunately, I am teleworking 4 days out of 5.
To answer this question anyway, I start my day between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. I read my emails and define my to-do list of the day.
I set recruitment times based on the training and service of each candidate (taxation, banking and finance, intellectual property, etc.). Once I finish an interview, I am required to write a report on the progress of our exchange.
I also have a second hat which concerns the HR management aspect. In this case, I am responsible for monitoring the experiences of interns and work-study students and, among other things, I ensure that their experience goes as smoothly as possible.
What were your missions during this internship at L’Oréal?
I work on two levels, first the recruitment of candidates and then the HR monitoring of L’Oréal interns and work-study students. For the first part, I intervene in complete autonomy in the recruitment process of interns and legal apprentices. In this case, I manage the identification of needs with managers, the publication of advertisements and the conduct of interviews. The second part concerns the assistance of my managers in recruiting senior profiles in finance.
Concerning the HR monitoring part, I ensure that interns and work-study students feel fulfilled in their work and live their experience as it should be. During teleworking periods, I organize many activities so that we can get to know each other and spend more time together, even remotely.
The HR profession
Why did you choose the HR profession?
The experience as HR within L’Oréal is a continuation of my professional project and my ambition to become HR director. I previously went through two recruitment firms. Discover the part corporate was therefore an obvious step for me. I wanted, in fact, to discover a long-term HR policy, given that a group as large as L’Oréal defines its HR strategy over ten years. This allows me to deepen my knowledge of how they work and how they are established.
I also accepted this position because I knew that I would develop enormously and learn alongside my current manager, who has become a real mentor.
Advice for successful L’Oréal recruitment processes
Any final advice for those who want to apply to L’Oréal?
A very important piece of advice is not to neglect digital maintenance. If you don’t go through this phase, there will be very little chance that the HR team will come back to you. You don’t have to spend hours on it, the main thing is to do it so that your application can be read on our internal software.
A second piece of advice is to highlight your strengths in an interview and explain how they will be useful to you during your experience within L’Oréal. You must convey a real desire to discover new things and put your skills to the service of the group’s development.
What we are looking for above all within L’Oréal, well before the assets and experiences mentioned on the CV, is mainly the potential that a candidate represents. We are indeed looking for rough diamonds that we can shape in our own way and bring out the best. We appreciate the ability of candidates to be able to project themselves and to be proactive.
