What is the difference if there is any between working at a mac counter in a department store or working at an actual mac store? and is it easier to get a position at a counter?

no one can tell me if there is a difference?

There is no real difference although in my region, they only hire for stores from within the company. (now - as it's a new rule) and my counter (I work at Macy's) is included in this because it's such a fast paced store that pulls in more revenue than anyone else in the region. "Within the company" means that they'll transfer people in from other stores, or hire from the freelance list. Most regions are constantly hiring freelancers so that's a good way to get your foot in the door. I'd ask at your local MAC counter/store because every region is different. If you'd like to work at a Macy's MAC, don't go through Macy's - they have nothing to do with MAC. The space is leased so MAC does the hiring, not Macy's, and no Macy's employee will ever be transfered into MAC. Nordstrom is different. The MAC employees who work there, are technically Nordstrom employees, not Estee Lauder employees. You *could* go through Nordstrom directly and request to be placed with MAC, but the MAC manager would have to interview you as well as Nordstrom cosmetics manager and you'd have to do the makeup demo interview. Nordstrom would not place someone in MAC, unless the MAC manager approves it. Working for Nordstrom, you're paid by Nordstrom, so you generally would have a much lower hourly rate, but you get commission on everything you sell. From what I've seen through a coworker, it can be rough to transfer out of Nordstrom to a MAC store or Macy's (or other federated) counter in the sense that you may go through a few weeks without receiving a paycheck because they have to add you into Estee Lauders payroll. Those are really the only differences. Employees at MAC stores don't always have more experience as people like to think, although some may. People transfer in and out of stores for various reasons. There may be someone who has only been with MAC for a month working at a store and then you have some old timers at counters who have been with MAC for 10 years. I hope that kind of answered your question.

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My soul is in my smile . . .

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.

Thanks guys that helps alot!

Just as a side note, I know three MAC MAs who worked at Nordstrom and now work at MAC stores. They all remember their Nordstrom days with wry bitterness. Apparently they felt a lot more pressure to achieve sales goals at Nordstroms and they much prefer working at the store.

Just my two cents.

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Amanda, 29, Blue Eyes, NW 15... Lover of all things M.A.C.