Key Factor in Securing an Esthetics Job

 Key Factor in Securing an Esthetics Job

             Sending out millions of copies of your resume after you graduate esthetics school can be emotionally exhausting. It can seem like the biggest hurdle in your life when you finally got your license only to find out that not many spas hire recent graduates.

              One of the best employment practices, and one that has worked for centuries is the old fashioned method of networking. No, not SOCIAL NETWORKING (that can be useful too) but the art of networking with people from all aspects of you life. You never know when a job opportunity might be lurking right beneath your nose.

               When I was in school, I used to get my hair done at this salon, not so much a spa, but a little salon that had a massage room. I had my eye on that massage room, dreamed of being that future esthetician, but I knew I wasn't getting my license anytime soon. "How could I get experience?" I thought as I got my hair done one day. I asked the stylist to give me the owners phone 
                                      number and  e-mail address, and I contacted her immediately. I told her I
                                      would work for free. It was not an easy sell even with FREE as part of the
                                      sentence.

                                                      The main problem for me was that I had zero spa experience,
                                      nothing-nada-zip and in the spa world that is bad news. I had work experience
                                      but spas could careless if you were the President of the U.S. if you don't have
                                      real world experience in esthetics--they don't want to waste their time training
                                     someone. In my situation, I had to constantly call the owner of the salon until I
                                     could even get her to agree to meet me about a "FREE INTERNSHIP."  How
                                     sad is that? I was determined to get her to say "yes" and she finally did.

                                                    Another networking scenario that turned out to be an opportunity
                                     smacking me right in the face was a nail salon. I would go in every other week
                                     to get my nails and toes done, and I would spend my time talking to the owner
                                     about the spa world and we would chat about the industry for my hour plus
                                     there. Anyway, after a few weeks she asked me to join her and work at her
                                     salon, and even when I declined (I already had a job in the works) she would
                                     ask me every time I went in for a service.
                        
                                                     In a different networking twist, I met a mother at a mom's group
                                     who was friends with a friend of mine. She was a chiropractor and she
                                      suggested an interesting agreement between us where we would operate a
                                       spa together that focused mostly on back issues, but one that would offer
                                        esthetics services. We ended up not going into business together because I
                                       had to move out-of-state, but it was a great opportunity.


                                                  Without networking, without talking about what I do and I what I
                                         wanted to do, I would never had come into contact with these opportunities.
                                         Not every opportunity will pan out, but having the opportunities makes it
                                         easier to get a job in esthetics. Even if you have been in esthetics for a while
                                          it doesn't hurt to have a network of people  and/or opportunities to pull
                                          from. And of course staying focused and never giving up on your dreams
                                          help make the difference between a working and unemployed esthetician.