Esthetician: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire an esthetician

An esthetician is a licensed skin care professional who has the ability to provide skin treatments for specific conditions. They are also able to make recommendations for lotions, apply makeup, and provide hair removal services. Having a great esthetician as part of your health and beauty team can bring more clients to your business and help you maintain a loyal customer base.

Contributions of a great esthetician:

• Sell products and treatments to clients
• Create long-lasting customer relationships
• Grow brand awareness for your business

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance esthetician

Estheticians can work either as full-time employees of one establishment or as independent contractors for multiple businesses. Some businesses choose to hire their estheticians as employees so that they can maintain their loyalty, as this is a great way of also gaining customer loyalty. Customers will often prefer to receive treatments from a particular esthetician, so to make sure these customers continue to come to your establishment, it might be advantageous to hire the esthetician on a permanent full-time basis.

Other businesses are better able to offer estheticians part-time work as independent contractors. As an independent contractor, the esthetician is in charge of their own invoicing and is not subject to the same tax deductions or employee benefits required by the Canadian Government. This also provides the esthetician with more freedom in terms of where they work and their working hours.

What are the different types of esthetician?

Though estheticians are trained in all areas of skin and body care, they may focus on particular areas depending on their preferences. For example, an esthetician may choose to work at a spa that offers body treatments rather than doing manicures/pedicures or hair removal. Estheticians are also able to take extra courses in certain areas that would make their expertise in that area higher than the average esthetician. In addition, there is new demand for estheticians to work alongside cosmetic surgeons or dermatologists, doing such things as laser tattoo removal or providing filler/botox treatments.

• Skincare Professional: Specializes in skin treatments for specific conditions.
• Cosmetic Esthetician: Works alongside a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon and provides treatments such as botox, fillers, or chemical peels.
• Body Treatment Esthetician: Specializes in full-body treatments such as body scrubs or relaxation massages.
• Manicurist/Pedicurist: Provides manicures and/or pedicures for clients; may also have expertise in nail art.
• Hair Removal Specialist: Provides waxing, laser hair removal, or threading treatments.

Where to find an esthetician

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

• Referrals: Since estheticians rely on their reputations to gain clients, checking with your network of friends, family, and colleagues is a great way to find a quality candidate. Within the industry, referrals are very common, so having a good network of people you can ask is one of the best strategies for getting a quality candidate.
• Esthetician schools: When looking for a quality esthetician, checking with local schools is a great way to find who you are looking for. The new graduates of esthetician schools will have all the latest information about treatments and will be eager to get hired after finishing their schooling.
• Esthetician associations: Looking at esthetician associations is a great way to find quality candidates for your business. These are people who are experienced in the business and should have the skills that you are looking for. Most areas will have a local esthetician association, which is a wonderful way of hiring local talent.
• Post your job online: Try posting your esthetician job on Indeed to find and attract quality esthetician candidates.

Skills to look for in a great esthetician

A great esthetician candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• friendly personality, able to make anyone feel comfortable
• great oral communication skills, able to talk to managers and clients
• flexible working schedule, able to work evenings and weekends
• ability to sell products and promote treatments to clients
• time management skills, making sure they are always on time for the client
• understanding of skin care routines and ability to recommend specific treatments

Writing an esthetician job description

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

When writing your esthetician job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on esthetician jobs, according to Indeed data:

• esthetician
• spa
• medical esthetician
• beauty
• waxing
• laser hair removal
• salon

Interviewing esthetician candidates

Strong candidates for esthetician positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• experience with difficult customers
• handling clients who are late for appointments
• willingness to learn new skills or treatments
• experience with selling products and promoting treatments
• experience training new staff on product lines and treatment protocols

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