Brushing Up on L'Oréal

Being a long-time buyer of L'Oréal products may make you familiar with their 20-plus brands, but L'Oréal recruiters aren't interested in consumers. They want savvy marketers. For the past year-and-a-half, Jennifer Feuer has been the director of corporate strategic recruitment for L'Oréal USA in New York. Before that, she worked on campus recruitment for a consulting firm.

François de Wazières (left), vice-president for corporate strategic recruitment, has been with L'Oréal for seven years, first as head of human resources for its luxury brands in Europe and then as vice-president for Mexican business before taking on his current role in New York.

L'Oréal recruiters say they take pride in innovative, entrepreneurial, and global thinking. Students who have that mindset will fit in well at L'Oréal -- but they have to be prepared to move around. The company likes to promote internally and may send you to one of its offices around the world. Feuer and Wazières recently spoke with BW Online's Meredith Bodgas about what it takes to get on board at the beauty giant. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:

Where are your offices?
Wazières: We have offices in big cities in most countries, but our main office is in New York. L'Oréal is truly a global environment, and people who work for us will likely move outside of the U.S. at some point.

Where do you go to recruit MBA students?
Feuer: L'Oréal has a small number of schools with which we have a strong partnership, and we'll go and make presentations there. We recruit MBAs from 18 top programs including the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, Columbia Business School at Columbia University, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Geography is a big factor in where we recruit, but we welcome talent from everywhere.

Why is it important for L'Oréal to recruit MBA students?
Wazières: We want people who have already been exposed to the business world, and we recognize the value that the MBA has in the workplace. There's a strong emphasis on global learning in B-school, and we want people with international mindsets, since we're an international company. The team approaches used in B-school are also applicable here.

What qualities do you look for in candidates?
Feuer: We're an organization that celebrates diverse backgrounds and experiences, so we look for those [traits] (see BW Online, 12/4/05, "Demand for Hispanic MBAs Is Caliente").

Wazières: We also look for people who are flexible and energetic, but business-minded at the same time. They should be interested in working in a dynamic, innovative industry. We want people who are willing to dream and, at the same time, have what it takes to make those dreams reality. Our people have to help generate emotions in consumers. We also evaluate a person's potential to be part of the senior management team one day.

What do you look for on résumés?
Feuer: We want to see proof of leadership qualities and evidence of an entrepreneurial, innovative, and creative spirit (see BW Online, 10/25/05, "Teaching the Startup Mentality").

We also pay close to attention to an individual's additional interests. They can give away information about people's attention to detail and appreciation and understanding of business. We also highly regard study abroad and foreign-exchange experiences. We feel they encourage people to think outside the box and their comforts. People who can do that add value to our organization.

Do you look for MBAs with particular concentrations?
Wazières: We see marketing as the most common pathway to general management (see BW Online, 11/15/05, "Selling Marketers on MSN"). We strive to find people who aspire to work in marketing and might have taken specialty courses in the field.

What should students avoid doing when they meet with a recruiter?
Feuer: They shouldn't come unprepared or without having done research. They need to have a clear explanation of why working at L'Oréal interests them. We want candidates who speak the language of marketers and not just that of consumers. Candidates should also be prepared to offer compelling answers to our questions.

What questions will interviewers ask?
Feuer: We'll ask students why marketing -- and doing marketing at L'Oréal -- appeals to them. We'll also want to know why that particular student made the professional and personal decisions that he or she has made.

What should potential candidates know about the company?
Wazières: The L'Oréal group provides an amazing environment to have a wonderful and rich career. Most people know all of our 21 brands, like Maybelline, Redken, and Kiehls, but very few people know that all of these brands belong to the same group. We're the world leader in beauty, with $18 billion in sales, and we give the MBA population a chance to engage in business entrepreneurship.

What can MBAs expect if they work at L'Oréal?
Wazières: We're a company that's built on ideas and innovation. There's adventure and passion here. Our business is based on creating products that not only satisfy customers' needs but also enrich their lives.

It's emotional. We work on fulfilling people's dreams, but this is a business. There will always be finance, supply chain, and manufacturing issues. We want to develop our managers internally, so there's high potential to grow here.