Esthetics Books that Help Boost Your Career

Jump Start Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians has reached thousands of readers, and has helped many recent graduates find their way to an esthetics job. Many of my readers send me notes and let me know how this book has helped them with their career journey. I wrote this book because I was frustrated with the lack of career resources available to new graduates when I graduated, and it was difficult to get an esthetics job as a newly graduated esthetician. The school I went to had a job board, but the jobs were few and far in between. It was frustrating, but I learned how to turn this challenge into a rewarding career. In Jump Start Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians, I teach you how to find a job at a high end spa even as a new esthetician, while it is not easy many of my readers have taken my advice and they have landed jobs at swanky spas. When I wrote this book, I never fully intended to publish, it was more of a catharsis to the bleak job market for estheticians and lack of career preparation of many schools, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would even sell one book much less connect with so many of my readers. This book has turned some readers into friends, and it has brought me so much joy to hear from my readers, and to help guide them on their path to success. I love hearing your stories, I love answering your messages on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/grace.riley.5) and on e-mail (gracerileypublishing@gmail.com) and I love watching so many of you succeed in your dreams.

My second book, Spa Divas: A Place to Hang My License was written because I wanted to share my first job experience with my readers--I wanted them to know that we all have bumps in the road on this journey we share. Sometimes our first couple of jobs might not be the ideal job, not the dream job we had been hoping for, but mistakes are valuable because they teach us lessons we could never have learned without those bumps in the road. This book is a true account of my first job, it was a crazy place to work, but it made me a stronger esthetician and more business savvy. It made me realize I had to look out for me, and that I had to be more involved in my career, and that I had to protect my interests in the future. When you are just starting out you will pretty much take any job, but here I had found this spectacular job at at swanky, upscale spa and it turned out to be an absolute disaster albeit funny to many of my readers, but it was the learning experience of a lifetime. The mistakes I made and the numerous frustrations I encountered at this spa made me who I am today, and I have no regrets. This book is a light hearted account of a truly crazy and ridiculous spa experience run by two housewives (akin to something off of Beverly Hills Housewives show) that had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and they ran it like it was a sorority party.

Both JumpStart Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians and Spa Divas: A Place to Hang My License are available on www. amazon.com

Coming Soon--"Spa Party Success Plan: Your Guide to Starting Your Own Business"

How Spa Franchises Can Catapult Your Career

Franchise spas are booming with new ones opening at what seems like lightening speed, everything from wax bars to full spas. Places like European Wax, Uni K Wax, Wax Center, and Lunchboxwax are making it easier than every for clients to go bare, and with full spa franchises like Natural Body Spa and Shop, Hand and Stone, Blue Mercury Spas, and then add that to places like Massage Envy and Massage Heights that focus only on facials and massages and there are a lot of opportunities for employment at the booming franchise businesses. Take your pick, there popping up everywhere.

Like them, love them or hate them--they provide some valuable employment resources.

How can working at a spa franchise catapult your career? For starters, many of these franchises that I have spoken to will consider hiring recent graduates because they will train you in their methods and as many of you recent graduates know getting a job in esthetics fresh out of school can be very difficult. Everyone wants experience, but how do you get experience when you have been in school? It is a catch 22 and to me personally I think it is unfair and unjust to discount a student's resume because quite frankly I've met a lot of students who are more professional and talented than many working estheticians. The franchises come into play because many of them give students a chance to learn more about the world of esthetics, to hone in on their craft. It is a great stepping stone to the next job.

How can working at a franchise help an esthetician who is already working in the industry?
Working at a franchise is can help expand your knowledge base and get you more free training. While a lot of small spas don't invest in training for their estheticians, these franchises train their employees. Even if you only plan on staying at a franchise for a short time, absorb every piece of training you can get and take it with you! Once you've learned their methods, you can use this on another job--it will help you whereever you might go. In addition, if you are an esthetician that is terrible at waxing, and you work at one of these places for a short time you will improve your waxing skills, and the same goes for if most of your business is waxing and you don't feel confident in facials--learn the protocols of one of these franchise spas and you will be confident in no time. They are a great stepping stone for new estheticians or seasoned ones that want to expand their skill base, and or/learn new trade techniques. Usually, these franchises offer the latest and greatest.

The question I have to all of you, especially you recent graduates, why wouldn't you want to work for a franchise at least for the short term? Why wouldn't you want to gain valuable advanced techniques to add to your resume, and to take with you on future jobs?

What if you intend to do booth rent? Would working at a franchise help? Yes, absolutely. You can learn about the business, and what works and doesn't work. Don't steal their business model, but use it as a source of inspiration and guidance on how you want to run your own business.

Author of JumpStart Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians and Spa Divas: A Place to Hang My License available on www.amazon.com

 

Why I Break the Traditional Interview Ice Breaker Games: Sometimes Unconventional Works!

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.

Esthetician Spotlight: Meet Lindsey

                                             Esthetician Spotlight: Meet Lindsey from Idaho
                               Lindsey attended Austin Kade Academy and is about to embark on her on esthetics journey. While she is new to the field, her entrepreneurial spirit has helped Lindsey carve out her own business with ease and confidence. Read her Q & A below--this beautiful esthetician with flawless, baby doll, porcelain skin and just- as- sweet personality is sure to inspire you to achieve great things! Congratulations Lindsey on diving right into the field and paving your way on your own terms!

(1) Why did you choose esthetics?
       "I chose esthetics because of my interest in the skin care industry, but also because of the versatility of an esthetics license. The limitless possibilities of where I could take my career within esthetics was very appealing to me."

(2) Have you found a job yet
     " I am a very independent and ambitious person so I knew from the beginning I wanted to booth rent. Making the decisions to do so right out of school was very intimidating and overwhelming but I am looking forward to the challenge. When deciding where I wanted to booth rent I approached my options and interviews as two way streets. I needed to make sure they were just as good a match for me as I was for them."

(3) How did you find the booth rent location? Can you tell us how much it will cost you for rent? Did you decide on a product line and how are you managing that?
 "I will be paying $275 a month for booth rent, which is the cheapest of any location in my area. Deciding on a product line was one of the toughest decisions, trying to weigh the financial aspect of it and making sure it is a cost efficient line as well as a reliable, top of the line product for my clients was very difficult. There were a few things I looked for when choosing a product line, I wanted to make sure the company was well established, and offered product knowledge courses, as well as providing exceptional customer service for when I had questions or needed help. I also wanted to make sure they offered a full product line, without too many products to insure I or my clients don’t get too overwhelmed. Because I will be starting out independently the financial aspect of the product line played a huge role in which one I chose. It was important that I could order products individually, with no monthly fee or minimum purchase requirements. I will be using a few different product lines when starting out. The main line I will be using is Lira, as well as a few products from Cuccio Naturale, and Bio Elements."

(4)  Do you feel that your school prepared you well for the esthetics job market?
       "While my school did give me a broad understand and knowledge of many crucial things for a career in esthetics I found it was very important to research on my own, take advanced education classes and speak with other licensed professionals while I was in school in order to enter the esthetics job market confident in my skills and knowledge."

(5) What are three 3 things you wish they had taught you in esthetics school that they didn't. 
       "I wish they would have taught me more on the business side of an esthetics career, I personally believe those skills are just as important in order to be successful as knowing how to do a facial etc. I wish they would have taught me my options for continuing education one I graduate, and how to choose which courses and classes to invest my time and money into. I also wish they would have taught me a broader knowledge of not only product lines but also products in general, how to choose a microdermabrasion machine, which components of a 10 in 1 machine are crucial to have etc."

(6) What are your favorite esthetics treatments you like to give? 
      "I really enjoy giving body treatments. I love the overall feeling of rejuvenation you feel after receiving them."

(7) Is this a career change? Are you fresh out of school?
       " I was a semester into my bachelor’s degree when I decided to set aside the time to complete my esthetics program. I was pretty fresh out of high school when I started so other than a few part time jobs this was the start to my career."