Benefit Cosmetics Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for the E-commerce apprentice position at Benefit and they emailed me to do an online video interview assessment. They sent the email on a Friday afternoon and I had until the next Wednesday to complete it. I prepped on Friday evening and over the weekend and filmed it on Monday. The day after I submitted it, Tuesday morning, I got an email saying the role was already filled, even though the deadline to submit was the next day. This was super frustrating because it felt like I didn't have a real chance. I know I applied late, but if they already picked someone, why make me do the video interview? It seemed unprofessional. They said it would take 15 minutes, but there were 8 questions with 2 minutes to answer each, plus 30 seconds to read each question, making it over 20 minutes, not even counting prep time. Honestly, Benefit totally wasted my time on a role that was already filled. They gave me barely any time to record it, and then they filled it before the submission deadline even passed! My advice? Don't get your hopes up with this company, and don't count on their deadlines.

The interview was scheduled for 12 p.m., and they were flexible with the timing. When I got there, the counter manager and recruiter met me. They gave me a warm welcome and laid out the plan for the day right from the start. They asked if I knew much about the brand and its products, then showed me some of their top sellers. They also explained why Benefit is a top brand. After that, I had to do a 'traffic stopping' exercise, where the goal was to get at least one customer to stop and try some products. The interview wrapped up with them thanking me and saying I'd be moving on. They were really nice and understanding throughout, which helped me feel relaxed and less nervous from the beginning.

I was first asked to do a video interview, which I really didn't like because it felt awkward talking to a screen. Then, I got invited for an in-person interview at their main office. The people there were really nice and made me feel comfortable, and the questions were pretty standard for this kind of job. After that, they hit me with a written test about retail, which was tough since that's not my background, but I gave it my best shot. Unfortunately, the follow-up after the interview was a letdown; they didn't get back to me when they said they would and kind of dropped the ball.

The interview process in the UK for this senior leadership role was really tough. I was invited to an in-person assessment day with a bunch of back-to-back tasks, both individual and team-based. I actually found it exciting because I'm super competitive. Before the assessment day, I got an invite with some info about the location and what to expect, and it sounded fun, passionate, and professional. When I got there, it was a classroom setup. There wasn't really data protection for the other candidates, so everyone knew where people worked and why they were leaving. The day was a full 8 hours with no breaks from the group, tasks were back-to-back, and there was no lunch break away from the classroom. They gave us Domino's pizza and sodas, which was a surprise, but honestly, pizza was the last thing I needed in the middle of the day surrounded by strangers in a classroom. Then, we were taken to a local store to do a 'traffic stop' and try to sell products. In our group of 8, we all managed to sell at least one thing. Back in the classroom, the tasks kept coming. At the end of the day, around 4:30 pm, the HR director told us we all deserved to be there and thanked us. She then commented on a previous group before Christmas, saying she felt some of them 'shouldn’t have bothered coming.' I thought that was unprofessional and a major red flag. After this, I had a final interview via Teams two days later. I prepared a lot for it and spent extra time on it. A week after the Teams interview, I followed up for feedback, but I've been completely ignored, no response.