Interview Questions for Beauty Therapists

How to hire the right staff for your beauty salon - Some of the most essential Beauty Therapist Interview Questions and Answers.

Your staff is the most crucial factor in your salon's success. Certainly, they need to work as a motivated, cohesive, passionate team and one of the best ways, alongside with the right training, to guarantee the success of your business is to hire the right people. Therefore, your interview questions must reflect this.

Uniquely, it is the entrepreneur's responsibility to define the type of employee he or she wishes. That definition facilitates the growth and development of the beauty salon.

With that in mind, we have gathered some tips for an interview that will help you hire the most qualified staff for your beauty salon.

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Check the Professional References

Firstly, presenting a good resume and making a great impression in the interview is excellent, but when it comes to hiring salon staff, it is essential to check the professional's references.

Of course, any person who seeks a job strives to convey to the owner of the salon the message that he or she has the ideal profile for the job, but it is in the daily relationship that this is confirmed or not.

Therefore, check the references not only with administrators and owners of other beauty salons but also with clients who have already had contact with the professional. This way, it is easier to understand if he or she has the ideal profile to work in your salon.

If possible, seek at least two or three opinions to avoid personal issues that might end up hindering the hiring of an excellent employee.

Analyse Practical Skills in the Interview

Secondly, a curriculum with many courses and specialisations is an excellent sign - after all, it indicates that the potential employee is interested in the profession and is keen to keep up with the trends.

However, how is this knowledge applied in practice?

To answer that question, before hiring salon staff, always do a practical test. That is to say, look for an activity where the candidate says to be an expert.

Moreover, it is important to give clear instructions on what you want he or she to do and to ensure that the professional has the necessary structure to perform. In this way, you will be able to assess not only beauty skills but other essential skills such as the ability to work under pressure.

Do not value technical skills alone

Thirdly, when it comes to hiring employees for your salon, technical skills are fundamental. After all, you need someone who maintains the quality standard you have printed on your business, right?

However, it is essential not to stick to this type of skill alone. Although having the excellent technical knowledge, some professionals may end up distancing customers from their salon if they do not have other vital requirements.

Consider, for example, punctuality and commitment - and also, the way they interact with the rest of your staff.

Indeed, being friendly, helpful, communicative, patient and having passion for what they do should be strongly valued, as well as the technical skills for the job.

Evaluate the ability to attract new customers

In addition, an experienced and communicative professional can also help attract new customers to the business. While not essential, this ability is positive and should be taken into account when hiring salon staff.

So, during the interview, ask the professional if he or she has a loyal clientele, regardless of the salon he or she is working in.

A job interview presents the best opportunity to select the most qualified professionals to join the company.

That is why it is crucial to know what questions to ask the candidates, what profile the company needs and how to approach them.

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So here are some of the most essential Beauty Therapist Interview Questions and Answers:

Q: Can you tell me a little about yourself?

A: The main objective of this question is to know how the candidates can benefit the salon.

For example, an answer to this could be something like “I am passionate for what I do. Specifically, I'm great with time management, have excellent customer service experience and a big work ethic”.

Q: Are you a team player?

A: Being a team player is a valuable asset in terms of this job, so the only possible answer here is YES.

Q: Why are you interested in working for us?

A: Motivation and passion are the keys. To put it another way, are the candidates passionate about this job or just want a nice pay check at the end of the month?

To demonstrate, a correct answer should be showing how they’re an excellent fit and would add value to the salon, especially explaining that they admire the company’s culture and relate with it and are passionate about the job, needing little time to integrate.

Q: Why should we choose you?

A: Well, this is much like the first question so the candidates just have to explain how they could be an asset to the salon.

To answer this question, the candidates should always try to value the points where they have more experience, building their speech based on what is most important to the job. Ultimately, the goal is to show that they’re the ideal candidates for that opportunity.

Q: What did you like the most about your previous job?

A: There is not necessarily a wrong answer here, but the candidates should give an answer that could translate into the beauty career. Something like "I enjoyed working with the people there," because it conveys the impression that they are a good team player.

Q: What did you like the least about your previous job?

A: This is kind of a tricky question. No matter how much their honesty is appreciated, complaining about the old job or their professional dissatisfaction will not be beneficial. Even if it's just about the uniform!

For example, the candidates could say that they simply did not have room to grow in their previous job, that they want to grow professionally and that this is the ideal place to do it.

Q: What was the job you liked the most from all your previous jobs? Why?

A: The point here is to know if what the candidates enjoyed doing is something they will enjoy doing in the salon.

Namely, they should choose one of their past jobs where the activities were related to those in a beauty salon like customer service or sales.

Q: What was your least favourite job? And Why?

A: To answer this question, the candidates should choose something different from salon activities where they had to sit all day or it was boring. In other words, something different from the busy day of a salon.

Q: What are your strongest points?

A: This is self-explanatory... Generally, the candidates should tell about what they are excellent at... mentioning their strengths that would bring value to the salon.

Q: What is your biggest weakness?

A: The candidates shouldn’t choose anything that could adversely affect salon life and whatever they choose, they should add, "...but I'm working on it." 

Q: What are your objectives for the future?

A: Looking for the candidate’s professional goals here rather than personal goals.

A bad answer here would be "I don't know."

Q: What drives your passion?

A: There´s no wrong answer. Overall, the candidates just need to make sure to remain on a professional level.

Q: Do you think presentation matters? How do you make sure you look professional and friendly?

A: Presentation and cleanliness should be a priority to your interview candidates. After all, they are representatives of your business.

The ideal answer here would be the candidate's use of beauty tunics, salon aprons and other uniform items to help themselves look the part.

Q: The best boss you ever had? And Why?

A: The point here is to understand what the candidate acknowledges as a good manager.

In this case, the candidates should think carefully and pick a manager with positive qualities and strong leadership and not choose the one that let the employees get away with anything!

Q: Worst boss you ever had? And Why?

A: Of course, the way the candidates should handle this one is to say something like "I've never had a terrible boss, but there are some things that I would not do".

Q: When are you available?

A: When asked, the proper answer should be...ANYTIME.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A: This is to know if the candidate has a vision of the future, whether she/he is really interested in the field or is just passing through. After all, the real question here is, Are you worth my investment?

Again, the only bad answer is to say, "I don't know."

Regardless, the candidates should keep their goals in line with the ones of the salon and state that they are all about developing their beauty careers.

Q: Do you have any problems working weekends?

A: Obviously the answer is ... NO... it´s part of the job...

Ending the interview

Overall, thank each candidate for their interest in the job and the company;

However, do not make comments that can be misinterpreted, that is, let the candidate think he or she will have the vacancy;

Rather, explain to the candidate what the next step in the selection process is, how many candidates are you still going to interview, and how long until you´ll be contacting everyone to inform if they have been selected.