Why I break traditional interview "no, no's" and why I it works for me--
This might sound totally nutty to most of you looking for jobs, but sometimes unconventional is what you need to find the right job--not any job--the job that fits you. We are so used to employers doing all the interviewing--they question us with what I consider to be silly interview questions like "tell me about yourself." I am generally thinking--what do you want to know--how I sit in a school carpool line an hour a day; that I hate mornings; or that I read the whole "Fifty Shades of Grey" series in a weekend.
Seriously, this is such an over used interview question--and I think this line of questioning doesn't help reveal what your needs are in employment, and if you are a right fit. Instead, it is just a generic way to weed people out and frankly it wastes time--you can get down to business a lot faster if they would cut through the b.s.
I didn't start breaking the little, unspoken rules of interviews for fun--it was more about time management and getting to the point instead of playing these ice breaker games!
So what exactly do I do differently? I break the RULES! You are probably wondering why I would dare do that. I do it quite simply because so many H.R. people are little robots of their industry and they could save everyone time and money by cutting to the chase. I NEVER confirm an interview appointment until I have had the opportunity to ask a series of questions. WHY? The answer is simple, I don't want to waste my time or gas money going on an interview if I can ascertain over the phone that the place of employment is not a good match. What do I mean? For example, if I know that I hate doing Brazilian Waxes, and this spa calls me and tells me they want me to come in for an interview. I drive 15 miles each way and spend money on gas only to find out 95% of their business is Brazilian Waxes---well, I've just wasted a lot of my own precious time and money.
This is called Interviewing over the Phone Smarter by asking questions that are important to you. I will give you a list of questions that I ask, but these are particularly relevant to me and not necessarily to you. You will need to customize them to your own needs. I do this because I want to go on interviews that will actually lead to a job--not to me leaving frustrated that I wish I had found that piece of information out before driving all the way there. Here is another example, I got an interview for a job at this place that sounded fantastic over the phone. I researched them on the Internet, and I was sure I wanted to work there. Then I asked my series of questions, and it turns out they do not pay the esthetician anything if he/she has no clients, which is fine, except they the esthetician must stay for the entire shift for no pay! Okay, I don't know about you--but I need to get paid. If I am not working, I am not staying unless I am getting paid! Period. So, in this particular conversation if I hadn't asked my questions, I would have driven 20 minutes only to find out this job did not meet my needs! Ugh, crazy time waster.
I have to say, most employers have responded well to my questions, it actually turns out that many of them appreciate me NOT WASTING THEIR TIME EITHER. This is a win-win for everyone because no ones time is wasted, and you save your precious time for a job that is better suited for you. I also find some employers think you must be smarter than the next esthetician because you are confident enough to ask questions (I am not smarter than any of you out there) and that you have the nerve to interview them as much as they interview you. Employment is a two way street, and it needs to work for everyone. I think the worse thing you can do is take a job you know you can't do: one that is too far from your home; and/or one that doesn't fit your lifestyle. You are automatically setting yourself up for failure.
Instead of waiting to talk only when questioned, I jump right in and ask questions. Yes, I have a big mouth and I like to talk, but more importantly I want to get down to business and stop these robot H.R. people from asking me lame and useless questions. And you know what, it has worked for me...every job I have interviewed for I got, and I think it is because I went in there with a realistic view of the job and maybe asking questions helped me look more confident. I think asking questions surprises a lot of interviewers because generally applicants are too nervous to speak until spoken to.
Below are some of the typical questions I ask. Remember, when you ask these questions do so in a polite and inquisitive manner, and not an overly intrusive or defensive way. You want them to be at ease and comfortable with you, and you want to seem genuinely interested in the position. Think of it this way, you are gathering all the relevant information you can about the position, and then with that information you can move forward with an interview with your eyes wide open, or politely decline.
Here are the typical questions that I ask:
(1) What product lines do you use? ( I ask this so I know if it is an easy transition for me-or will I have to learn a new product)
(2) Why is your current esthetician leaving? What are you looking for in an esthetician?
(3) What are the days/hours you need to fill? (I ask this because I have kids and I am a slave to their schedules!)
(4) What are your most popular services? or What treatments does your spa do mostly (waxing or facials)? Or are the treatments evenly divided between the two? Do you do Microdermabrasion and/or Peels?
(5) What type of education and training is provided?
(6) What is the payment structure? Do you pay on commission or hourly? This next question is if it is commission and shift based. Let me clarify, if I work on commission am I expected to stay for the whole shift? Will I get paid a nominal hourly fee for staying on the shift for walk-ins or is this strictly a commission based? (This is important because a lot of spas are doing commission only and then expecting you to stick around for an entire shift with only one customer--thus, you only get a commission on that one customer and lose money by sitting around waiting for walk ins--if no walk ins come in you don't get paid!)
(7) What kind of marketing and advertising do you do to attract customers (important one)?
(8) Do you offer retail compensation for selling clients products? What is it--5% or 10%? This gets them thinking about their compensation plan--it shows you know some about getting paid for retail. Some spas will take advantage of new estheticians by not offering compensation, most will tell the esthetician they aren't making enough money yet themselves to offer compensation--this is b.s.--demand compensation!
(9) Am I guaranteed a certain number of hours a week? How many estheticians do you have on staff?
Thank you for reading my blog! Grace Riley Esthetics, author of JumpStart Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians and Spa Divas: A Place to Hang my License both available on www.amazon.com.
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