This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
If you’re looking for a way to boost your resume, want to get noticed by the world’s top companies, and have “working in Paris” on your vision board (and literally who doesn’t?), then you *need* to register for the 2024 L’Oréal Brandstorm competition.
ICYMI, Brandstorm is L’Oréal’s yearly business competition for innovative young people who are passionate about their careers and are interested in gaining valuable work experience with L’Oréal — the world’s number one beauty company and home to some of your fave brands like CeraVe, Kiehl’s, Urban Decay, and Maybelline New York.
Each year, Brandstorm chooses a different, unique theme for the competition, and this year’s mission is all about reinventing the future of professional beauty through tech. So, if you’re tech-savvy and want to pursue a career in the beauty industry, this opportunity is an absolute must — especially because Brandstorm competition winners get to live in Paris for a 3-month paid intrapreneurship in the L’Oréal Global Offices with all expenses covered.
Yep, that means that in addition to enjoying fresh croissants every morning before heading to work, you’ll have the chance to develop your Brandstorm project, watch it come to life, and learn from successful experts in the beauty industry and executives at L’Oréal.
Even if you don’t win, you’ll still gain so much from the competition, like learning new skills, joining the Brandstorm community, and opening doors to new career opportunities. Two former Brandstorm competitors, Josh Greenwald (He/Him) and Catherine Park (She/Her), were even able to land their dream jobs working at L’Oréal, thanks to participating in Brandstorm.
Check out what Josh and Catherine had to say about their time competing, and learn more about how you can sign up to participate in this resume-boosting, once-in-a-lifetime, career development competition below.
Josh Greenwald, Rutgers University
Major: Business Analytics and Information Technology
Current Role: Digital IT Management Trainee at L’Oréal
Catherine Park, Rutgers University
Major: Marketing with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship
Current Role: US Brand Marketing Management Trainee for Maybelline
Her Campus: How would you explain Brandstorm to someone who has never heard of it?
Josh: Brandstorm is L’Oréal’s innovation competition that allows young adults to pitch their ideas to help be a part of L’Oréal’s purpose of being the “beauty that moves the world.”
Catherine: Brandstorm is a competition hosted by L’Oréal, where you build up a team to come up with new innovative ideas for the company and the beauty industry. You will have the opportunity to work with L’Oréal mentors who are experts in the field and will help guide you through the art of storytelling, presentation pitches, and a better understanding of what it takes to build a business.
Her Campus: Can you describe what an intrapreneurship is?
Josh: Intrapreneurships are a way for people to flex their “entrepreneurial muscle” within an organization. Having a framework and guide to work with adds some challenges while also making certain aspects easier.
Her Campus: How did Brandstorm help you with your career path?
Josh: Before Brandstorm, I was still determining what I wanted to do after I graduated. At the time, I was a business major with a passion for technology. However, I needed to figure out how or where that would translate in the post-grad world. While participating in the competition, I uncovered my passion for innovation, which is the field I see my career heading toward.
Catherine: After participating in the international finals, L’Oréal invited me and my team to the L’Oréal NYC office for a tour. This was a great experience to meet people from L’Oréal and to imagine day-to-day life working there. Joining Brandstorm opened so many doors within L’Oréal for me. I was introduced directly to a recruiter who put in a lot of time and effort to find a role that was the right fit for me. I have also adopted so many great mentors that I am still connected with through this experience.
Her Campus: How did Brandstorm help prepare you for your day-to-day job at L’Oréal?
Catherine: Brandstorm makes you think like an entrepreneur, forcing you to think outside of the box and come up with novel ideas. This is extremely important within L’Oréal and marketing. As there are so many existing and new beauty brands gaining market share year-over-year, it is our job to stay relevant and competitive.
Her Campus: Why is Brandstorm rewarding and valuable to participants, even if you don’t win the final prize?
Josh: The connections you make and the skills you hone in on are even more valuable than the win itself. This competition taught me so much about how to think like an innovator and has given me so much more clarity on my career goals, that I can’t recommend it enough.
Catherine: Brandstorm will open many doors and opportunities for you — and not only at L’Oréal — but it will widen your network. The most valuable part I’ve received from participating in Brandstorm was all of the incredible mentors and friends I made along the way.
Her Campus: Do you have any advice for future Brandstorm participants? And why should they be excited for the 2024 opportunity?
Josh: No idea is bad. Sometimes a “bad” idea can help you lead to a good one.
Catherine: If you are passionate about beauty and innovation, Brandstorm is an incredible opportunity and experience for you to roll up your sleeves and practice your entrepreneurial skills. Brandstorm is also an amazing networking opportunity to learn more from experts from L’Oréal. Take advantage of it!
Register for Brandstorm right now to start gaining valuable career experience that you can’t get anywhere else, and have the chance to win a 3-month intrapreneurship to Paris!