Hair Cutter Interview Preparation Guide

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Education means something a little different in the beauty industry than in most other job markets. Your education as a hair stylist could be working under someone else who was talented and taught you first hand. Alternatively, you may have attended a beauty school and had a more formal education. If you’ve been working in the field for a while, make sure you address any continuing education you’ve received over the years. As trends come in and out of style, hair stylists often have to learn new techniques or how to use new tools, and it’s important to show that you’ve kept up with the changes. If you’ve never worked in the field, but you attended a beauty school, talk about any experience you received during that education, such as working in an apprenticeship or in an on-campus salon.

I am trained in providing standard salon services. My expertise in Thai massage techniques, nail art, and hair re-bonding has attracted many new clients to the salon I previously worked for. Since I keep updating my skills, I usually have a vast bevy of tricks to bring in more business.

The best way to find out if your potential hire understands your salon culture and mission is to ask them how they might contribute to it. Ask them about their strengths and what makes them the ideal candidate. This answer should go beyond “giving a good haircut.”

Individual curl-cutting technique where the hairstylist assesses each curl and carves out the haircut piece-by-piece rather than just taking length off from the bottom, which in turn could lead to a stacked pyramid effect.

The Businessman is another simple tapered haircut. The top is cut approximately 2 inches long. The rest is tapered with scissors. That’s why this is also known as The Tapered Cut.

The Asymmetrical cut offers the right amount of risk and reward for those daring enough to try it. Think of it as the Rock & Roll of hairstyles. It’s called The Asymmetrical because it’s exactly that. Asymmetrical. That means your hair will be longer on one side than the other. The greater the difference in length from side to side, the bolder the cut.

If you have thick hair and wish to reduce its volume, try asking your stylist to thin out your hair. With a pair of thinning scissors, your stylist can cut some strands short but leave the rest long. This will allow your hair to lay flatter naturally and can tame even the thickest of locks.

As a hair stylist, you will have to discuss with your customer what kind of style they are looking for. You may have customers who will provide you with pictures of celebrities cut from a magazine, pictures of themselves from some other point in time or perhaps just a description of what they’re looking for. Your job is to listen to the client and help them to choose a variation of the style that will work for their hair type, face shape and typical beauty routine. Explain to the interviewer what questions you would ask the client to get to this result, and how you will explain your suggestions. Be sure to talk about how you will deal with a client who disagrees with your assertion. You should give the client good advice, but be willing to ultimately give them the haircut they want, regardless of whether or not you agree with it.

Because I am a big fan of cutting and styling other peoples hair.

Keratin, re-bonding and Extenso, all are hair straightening techniques. While keratin uses natural proteins, re-bonding and Extenso are chemical treatments. Re-bonding gives a dead straight look while Extenso generates a relatively high volume look.

Depending on your perspective, a flexible schedule can be a blessing or a curse. In the salon industry, the busiest day of the week is Saturday, not to mention, appointments can occur in the evening or be scheduled last minute, so your new stylist should be comfortable with inconsistent and/or non-traditional work hours.

Before hiring, it’s important to discuss both the salon and your potential hire’s ideal work schedules and make sure you are able to accommodate both parties’ needs.

This is a hair-cutting tool used to remove volume from hair by collapsing the cut without adding layers, Edward. It can also be used to create texture, Jen added. “I love using it on fine hair types because it means I don't have to sacrifice the fullness of the hair. A razor works great to create movement on all hair types.

The Buzz Cut is a generic term for a short, buzzed haircut, and is also known as a military cut. There are several kinds of buzz cuts. You can ask for anything from a super short buzz cut to a longer buzz cut. To be safe, identify the length you want by its blade number. In this manner, you’ll avoid any confusion.

The Undercut is a trendy haircut in which the sides and back are disconnected from the hair on top. This means very short hair on the sides and back with little to no taper and much more length on top. The result is sharp angles, clean lines, and lots of volume. An Undercut cut can be swept, slicked, and styled in a variety of ways. One modern styling method is The Pompadour, or “James Dean,”.

Another variant on the Undercut that has seen a rise in reputation is the Quiff. We like to think of the Quiff as a fusion of a mohawk and a pompadour. In this style, the sides of the head are cut even closer to the skin.

A taper is when your hair gradually changes from one length to another.

A fade is shorter than a taper and ends when it reaches the skin — essentially “fading” in.

Tapers and fades can be achieved with shears, or with clippers that have guards set to various lengths. Either way, watching a masterful barber artfully craft a taper or fade is a mesmerizing process to behold.

If you ask for layered hair, you are asking for hair of varying lengths. The resulting cut allows some sections of hair to rest atop others in layered tiers. The layers can give your haircut the appearance of depth, volume, and fullness.

When you work in a creative profession, it can be difficult when a client feels you’ve failed to give them what they wanted. Explain to the interviewer that because of your thorough consultation process, you do not anticipate having a dissatisfied customer. However, if a customer were to dislike their results, you would follow salon policy for managing the situation. If the interviewer asks what you would do if there were no policy in place, be diplomatic. Explain that you would offer to restyle the client’s hair or offer additional services to make any changes the client requests. If you failed to give the customer what they wanted, say you’d offer a refund. If the customer had unrealistic expectations, explain you would do whatever you could to make them happy that day, but that you would not offer any money back on the services. Be careful to balance a response that makes the customer happy, and keeps the salon in the black.

Customer services mean everything to me. A salon runs on the loyalty and satisfaction of its client base, and it is the prime duty of every individual working within a salon to ensure repeat business through satisfied clients.

Customers often come with such requests, and I try my best to cater for their preferences, in any case, however, if I know that the result of required treatment will not yield the desired effect on the client’s particular face cut, I point it out before the procedure. If they are willing, I offer an alternate solution that is suitable and closest to their initial request, in case they still want it, I comply professionally.

☛ If you had one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
☛ When have you failed? What happened and what did you learn from it?
☛ What accomplishment are you most proud of, and why?
☛ What do you think are the most important characteristics of successful people, and how do you rate yourself in this area?
☛ Describe a crisis you faced at work. What was your role, what were the results, and how did you resolve it?
☛ What about this opportunity that most excites you?
☛ What qualities in your co-workers do you appreciate most? What about them bothers you most?
☛ If I were to ask your most recent employer what your greatest strength is, what would he/she tell me? What would they tell me about your greatest weakness?
☛ If you were limited to just one person to get advice and help from, who would you choose and why?
☛ What will make you love coming here to work every day?

The Fade consists of a very short taper that “fades” into the skin — thus giving this haircut its name. You can ask for your fade to end high on the sides and back (High Fade), low (Low Fade), or at the temples.

The Side Swept cut is a low-maintenance option that works on both curly and straight hair. A deep side part is key to making the Side Sweep work. You can let it loose and natural or ask for some tapering for a longer swept top and a sleeker hairline cut. This style works particularly well if you have curly hair since it’s a cut that looks better with texture. If you have naturally straight hair, ask your barber for layers to create some additional volume.

For something even edgier, ask for razored texture. This technique involves taking a razor blade (or a special pair of scissors with a razor built in) to the ends of your hair. The result is hair with uneven lengths. Razoring is sometimes used to make curly a bit more manageable.

My clips turned a clients hair pink. I did not tell the client because I was also giving her a perm and the hydrogen peroxide in the perm took the pink out of the clients hair.

That is where the real expertise of a hair stylist comes in. Every client cannot look good with the same hairstyle. Styles depend on how a client carries herself and what the shape of her face is. I make sure that I analyze each client’s facial structure and her hair type thoroughly before making a style recommendation.