Ok, so I had my audition today! We started out by roleplaying traffic stopping and then we had to practice demonstrating the four make up items we were given, these were:
Dr. Feelgood, You Rebel Lite, High Beam and Benetint! - All really easy to apply!
All this was done downstairs at the back of the store, we had to practice on each other so we all had a full face of Benefit make up on.
Then for the next few hours we were out on the store floor traffic stopping - which was really really really nerve wracking at first, but I soon got into the swing of things! There was 11 other girls auditioning! Lots of competition! The majority of them had lots of experience working for make up counters but the girls that work for Benefit already told me it's not about what qualifications/experience you've got, it is all about showing and demonstrating what the product can do and getting as many people into the chair as possible. It was very very hard but I think I did alright as I made it to the last 4 girls!!!! - throughout the four hours, some girls left because they didn't feel it was right for them and some were told they hadn't made it to the next stage and asked to go and enjoy the rest of their day. Couldn't believe it when I found out I had made it to the next stage! I was really happy to make it that far! I didn't think I would, these other girls were all incredibly pretty and bubbly!
I made it the full four hours with the audition and then I was asked to go for an interview and was asked more in depth questions than what they had asked me in my telephone interview, mostly customer service questions like 'How would you deal with a sensitive subject', 'Have you ever had a challenging moment and how did you deal with the situation'. I was then asked which store I would prefer to work in, asked what hours I could work and told what the pay is like - basically my basic, what I would expect (they asked me what I was on now, I wish I'd lied and said a bit more so I would get paid more if I got the job lol! I said £5.52 which is what I'm on now) I was then told I would also get 2% commission and told about other things like I get the new products that are released etc. I think I didn’t do that well in my interview because I get extremely nervous in interviews for some reason! I can talk for England but when I’m in an interview it just goes downhill!
I find out soon if I've got the job - I really hope I have, and if not it was a really good experience, I mean today was the first time I applied make up to perfect strangers so I was proud of myself - I thought I would be really nervous about that or really rubbish at it, and sure it's Benefit and it IS easy to apply but it's totally different doing amazing make up on yourself and then doing make up on a stranger, so that really built my confidence just because I realised it was something I could do for the first time in my life I felt really comfortable doing something! But it's just confirmed even more that I want to work in make up!
Halfway through today they gave me some advice, they said that I was demonstrating really well but when I traffic stop I need to be more bubbly and really persuade them over to the counter - unfortunately I don't know whether I did this very well but I managed to get 6 people to the counter (which considering there was 12 of us auditioning and the store wasn't incredibly busy I was proud of!)and I sold a few items too! So I am proud of myself even if I don't get the job!
Thought I would share my experience because I got some really great advice from everyone here and I’d like to do the same for other girls who are thinking of applying to Benefit!
So thank you everyone for all the great advice that I found on here and for wishing me Good Luck - it really prepared me for today!
P.S Sorry if my English is bad - I'm just excited about today and I can't get my words out fast enough...hence random bits here and there and extra words because I've forgotten what I typed!
