Hair Stylist: What is the cost of hiring?

Why recruit a hair stylist?

Whether you are opening a new salon or need new hair stylists for your current team, choosing the right hair stylist will help your business to grow. A good hair stylist will have excellent customer service and stylist training. They will be able to listen to their customers’ needs, working with them to find ways to create the style that they are looking for.

Qualities of a great hair stylist:

• Has vocational qualifications in hair styling.
• Is able to suggest new styles to customers in keeping with their hair thickness and preferred length, and will be able to recommend colours.
• All of their practices comply with health and safety regulations.

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance hair stylist

Recruiting full-time stylists is a good idea for many reasons. Having regular hair stylists in your salon gives your customers the chance to become familiar with the personalities and styles of your different stylists. It also gives you a better opportunity to train stylists in the styles that your customers prefer on the whole, as well as your own salon processes and policies. Full-time hair stylists will have the knowledge to confidently talk customers through discounts, pricing and your products. However, you might want to consider recruiting a freelance hair stylist if you are short staffed for any reason, such as if your full-time stylist is sick, on holiday or parental leave.

What are the different types of hair stylist?

Within a hair salon, there are usually different ranks available to customers depending on their experience and level of expertise. Customers looking for a complete restyle of a cut may choose a more senior stylist, as they may be more confident with this type of cut. However, your senior stylists will cost more. Junior stylists are cheaper and less experienced, although you should still look to recruit the best junior stylists available in your area. This will help to build your reputation if you are running a salon. As your junior stylists become more confident, experienced and reputable, you can consider promoting them to a higher rank.

• Junior stylist: junior stylists will assist your hair stylists with customer service, shampooing and conditioning hair.
• Hair stylist: hair stylists can cut basic or popular styles, and are able to advise on colour treatments.
• Senior stylist: senior stylists will give your customers bespoke cuts, advice on colour treatments and other consultations.
• Salon owner/manager: manages your team of stylists, ensuring that operations run smoothly and that all stylists are working together harmoniously.
• Afro hair stylist: stylist who is skilled in cutting, styling and providing consultations for Afro Caribbean hair.

Where to find a hair stylist

To find the right hair stylist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Hiring internally: having quality junior stylists in your team will give you the option to select from them when you have an opening for a senior role.
• Networking with hairdressing academies: try posting an ad on their notice board or enquiring about students who they would recommend for a junior stylist role.
• Recruitment service: this is an option if you are short of time and want to outsource the recruitment process.
• Networking with other beauty industry professionals: a potential way to find recommendations.

Post your job online: Try posting your job for a hair stylist on Indeed to find and attract quality hair stylist candidates.

Skills to look for in a great hair stylist

A great candidate for a hair stylist role will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• listening skills
• attention to detail
• creativity
• interest in trends and fashion
• lifelong learning.

Writing a hair stylist job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified hair stylist candidates. A hair stylist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your job description for a hair stylist, consider including some or all of the following keywords to strengthen the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms resulting in clicks on jobs for hair stylists, according to Indeed data:

• hairdressing
• hairdresser
• hair stylist
• hairdressing apprenticeship
• hair
• barber
• salon.

Interviewing hair stylist candidates

Strong candidates for hair stylist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• on-the-job experience
• customer service
• ideas for new cuts and knowledge of trends
• what they enjoy most about their profession
• their interest in hair product brands.

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of hair stylist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).