Breaking into the notoriously competitive world of luxury and fashion has always been somewhat of a mystery. But if you don’t have a big ego or short-term motives, you’re already one step ahead—that’s at least according to Chanel’s chief people officer.
The 115-year-old luxury fashion house may be synonymous with heritage and exclusivity. But in her first-ever sit-down interview, Chanel’s CPO and COO Claire Isnard says the brand is far less interested in where candidates come from than who they are.
“When we look for talent, the first thing that we look for is personalities. You know, values,” Isnard exclusively tells Fortune.
“The first thing that we look for is personality and the fit for the culture. Are they going to be a good fit with our high standards of excellence, integrity, collaboration, and long-term?”
“If people have big egos and want to work solo or are mercenaries doing things only for the short-term, they’re not going to fit,” Isnard says.
The second thing she’s looking out for is a learning mindset. Skills, she says, come last. “But the other two are absolutely necessary.”
“I always ask, what is your story? What has shaped you, what has helped you to become the person that you are today?” she says.
From there, she’s looking for authenticity—especially around how you’ve dealt with any setbacks.
“You hear so much. You can already see if the person has learned from the failure, if people are vulnerable enough to tell you that they had a difficult moment or not.”
And if they give surface-level responses, she’s not afraid to probe deeper: “You can ask them also to describe who they are, what people think of them, and how the feedback they have received has been.”
Isnard says the way candidates tell their story reveals a lot about them: whether they can admit their faults, handle life’s inevitable ups and downs, and bounce back after.
“There is almost an emotional attachment to this brand. That’s why you need to go deeper.”
