1. Do you have any experience with men's hair styles?
Yes I do I have worked on mens hair cute for few years now. Its a hair cute I enjoy very much.
2. What is your ideal company to style hair for? What makes them ideal?
I would love to work for a ABC salon because I love the products. Basically, any salon I can be myself and enjoy what I'm doing is ideal.
3. Do you consider yourself a team player as Cosmetologist?
Being a team player in a salon is a strength. Everyone is there to make money, for themselves and for the salon. It takes a village. If you are highly self absorbed by nature start working on that issue. You will need help in a salon and you will be called upon to help others. So if this question is asked and you are NOT a team player, meaning you prefer to work alone, fake it.
I'm not saying lie to the interviewer but you need them to know you ARE a team player. Saying you prefer to work alone in a salon environment will disqualify you. So YES, you are a team player, and you will consciously work on it in the salon. Think of a time when you worked as a team on any project. Write it in your notebook with an example of how you helped the team, just in case you are asked for one. Your beauty career will mostly be a team sport.
4. What are your goals for the future as Cosmetologist?
A manager would like to see that you have thought about your future and what direction your beauty career is headed.
The only wrong answer here would be "I don't know." However, she is looking for your professional goals rather than your personal goals.
If you want to someday own a salon talk about the path you intend to take. Let her know that you desire to be in management to gain the experience.
No one expects you to have your life plan laid out already. But she would like a general idea of your direction. If you really just don't know pick the hair activity you like the most and make a tentative goal of it. For example you may like doing color. You could say, "I love doing highlights and learning coloring techniques. I plan on becoming a master colorist within the next 2 years and then see where that takes me."
5. What excites you about designing hair styles?
Its fun, and exciting being able to see their reaction and how they feel when its all done. Also i love seeing the end results and how much you can change things and how drastic or not drastic you can make things and just how much of a difference it can make
6. Explain what are your principal duties and/or responsibilities?
They are to teach my students the basic skills of cosmetology, meaning personal hygiene, hair and nail care, while helping them reach their full learning potential.
7. Why do you want to work for us? or Why do you want this job as Cosmetologist?
They are looking for your motivation here. Are you driven by your passion? OR...Are you looking for a place to just get a paycheck? If you love your work you would be an asset to the salon. If you are just trying to find a job anywhere there is no indication to a manager that you are a good fit on her team. Show them that your values, desires, passion and the direction you intend to take your beauty career are in line with the salon culture. For example, Paige is passionate about hairstyling and updo's. Her resume will state this. Going to work in a male grooming salon would not be a good fit for her and the salon manager would recognize that Paige probably wouldn't feel fulfillment only working on men. If she were to hire Paige she knows that Paige most likely won't stay long.
Answer this question by proving you are a good fit in her salon. State what you are passionate about and where you would like to grow your skills. Acknowledge their salon culture in a positive way by giving her a compliment on an element of the salon. Then say how they are everything you want in a salon.
8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years as Cosmetologist?
Hiring a new employee is an investment on the part of the salon. It takes time and money to train a new hire. Stylist retention is important to owners. Losing stylists means losing clients. In a way, this question is asking "Are you worth the investment?"
That being said, ambition is a virtue.
And again, the only wrong answer is "I don't know."
Tell her how you see your professional life growth, not personal. She doesn't want to hear how you are going to be married with a new house and 2 kids, one boy, one girl.
9. Tell me what styles do you prefer not to work on?
I enjoy making people look their best. Whatever style needs to be done I have no problem doing. However, I really love coloring hair. It's fun to see the finished product and how you can completely change someones look.
10. Tell me how do you interact with customers?
I actually have a good attitude and put on a smile. I try to help them and try to see what kind of personality they have and work with that.
11. Tell Me About Yourself personal?
Sounds easy, right? This is going to blow you away. They could care less about anything personal. They are NOT asking you about where you live or if you are married or your GPA. They want to know how you can benefit their salon.
They want to know what you bring to the party. So here is what you are going to do. In your notebook write out each of these questions on a separate sheet for each. For this one you need to tell them in the shortest way possible what your USP is (your Unique Selling Point).
12. How many years have you worked on styling?
I am a recent graduate of the Aveda Institute, so including school it would be one year.
13. Tell me do you build in time for breaks?
Some stylists don't take breaks, but I do. I'm fresher and a better stylist if I give myself short breaks throughout the day. I don't like running late, and I'm particular about staying punctual, so I build my breaks into my schedule.
14. Tell me who was the worst boss you ever had? Why?
I've never had a really bad boss, but I have learned some things NOT to do.
15. What are your greatest strengths as Cosmetologist?
I am a hard worker, highly efficient and am able to maintain a positive attitude. I'm also very passionate about hair and am excited to start my beauty career.
16. What did you like best about your last job in Cosmetologist?
She wants to know where your attention goes on the job. If you blurt out, "I loved the people I worked with," it would lead her to the idea that you are easy to get along with and a team player.
There is not necessarily a wrong answer here, but there could be a more helpful answer to lead the interviewer in the direction you want them to go. Zero in on the quality you would like to support. In the sample above, being a team player was reinforced. And that's a good one for a salon. If you want to show customer service is important to you maybe say something like, "I enjoyed making people smile when I gave them their morning coffee drink. I feel like I made their day!"
17. Explain what hair styles do you believe look the best for women?
Depending upon the particular client I like to ask how much styling time they are willing to put into it. It is always important to do a proper consultation because what you may want to do for the clients hair, the client also has to be willing and know how to recreate the look.
18. Tell us how outgoing would you say you are?
I am both outgoing and reserved, I know what things to be kept to myself and also have a nice, fun conversation with the client always keeping it respectful and professional.
19. Tell us do you find your own clients? If so, how?
At this point, I have a following -- a clientele that has developed over the years. But for new cosmetologists or stylists, it's all about advertising. A business card is really important. I always carry cards with me, and especially when I was just getting started, I would hand out my cards to friends and new acquaintances and encourage them to come see me. Then there are little rules, like always schedule the next appointment while the client is still there. It helps build consistency and develops your client base.
20. Explain what is your typical workday like?
I like to show up about half an hour before my first appointment. This gives me time to check my schedule and see who is getting chemical services, in order to have the products ready for when my clients come in. I make sure the salon is set up, turn on the coffee pot, turn on the music and have everything ready to go.
During the day, I'm mostly cutting hair and doing chemical processing, making people look beautiful. My appointments are often back-to-back, so my work tends to be fast-paced, and I'm on my feet all day. It takes an hour and a half to two hours for a chemical process and half an hour for haircuts, so on a day when I'm just cutting hair, I see a lot of people!
21. What hours are you available as Cosmetologist?
Know the hours of the salon before you go for the interview. The best answer is always...ANYTIME.
However, life sometimes gets in the way. My advice is to work out your issues to the best of your ability before interviewing. This can be a deal breaker.
You should know by now that you will most likely be working some nights and weekends. This is a beauty career, not a bank job.
If you have a lot of restraints on your availability it will hurt your chances of getting the job a great deal. Be as flexible as possible.
22. Why should we hire you as Cosmetologist?
Because I have a strong work ethic, I'm great at time management, I understand the importance of superior customer service and I am willing to do everything I can to help the salon and myself grow.
23. Explain what hair styles do you prefer to work on?
I like working on all hair styles. Each style is a learning experience and to work on it over and over again would enhance my skills.
My advice would be to be punctual, always come to work ready to go, and when someone walks in, be ready and willing to give them a haircut, and not grumble about wanting a cigarette break! For at least the first three months after I started working, anytime a senior stylist needed help, I would jump in. I always kept busy, always introduced myself as a new stylist, and just tried to get my name out there. Stylists should make sure they advertise who are.
As for what I wish I knew now, I've never done hair extensions, and that would be neat to look into. I wish I knew even more about color, but I try to keep myself educated. At this salon, we get education classes about once a month, and also do a New York hair show, where we sit in classes in coloring and cutting. That always makes cosmtologists realize how much they know, and boosts their confidence. If you can learn one new little trick or technique or idea, it's been a good day.
25. Tell me how do you deal with troublesome clients?
I rarely have difficult clients! When I do, honesty is the key to working it out. If someone doesn't like what I've done, I ask them to tell me what didn't work. On occasion, when someone has been repeatedly unhappy, I've told them that I obviously can't give them what they want, and recommend another stylist. But the response is always, "Oh, it's not you!" Usually those people are just unhappy with their hair -- they hate the wave or straightness, not what I did. I think, generally, that it works to troubleshoot problems together, and I think of it as a positive thing. I also always welcome my clients to come back at the end of the day if they're not happy with the style or have any challenges.
