Idea Of Working (Hairdressing) Gives Me Jitters

stuartSan

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Hey all. In my long time away from this site (and from the world basically) I've got myself a hairdressing diploma and somehow managed to be the first Malaysian to score a distinction in City & Guilds theory papers too (seriously didn't know how).

I went for an interview today, and I was expecting to start off my career by being a shampoo boy, you know, starting from the bottom of the ladder and stuff. She said she was looking for 3-4 years of experience, while I only had 9 months (something like an internship at the academy) but was willing to hire me for the moment as she was shortstaffed. I thought wow, if I really prove myself I might be able to skip the 'hair-washing/hair-drying stage only' for good, and get a great jumpstart in getting REAL experience.

Now the deal is, any customer that walks through the door is my responsibility (three of us will take turns doing). Their every whims and requests have to be tended to. Every part of the process they desire has to be done by me. Every decision has to be made by me. And of course, every mistake, blamed on me. No one would be around to guide me as my employers would definetely not want their customers to think a noob is doing their hair. Its my first job ever after graduating from the academy, and I still have this tendency to look for a superior of some sort for approval. (e.g: is this hairstyle done properly? / did i get the colors even? etc.)

Its a fair trade-off in my opinion, but its giving me butterflies in my stomach everytime I think about not being up to par yet in this industry, and stepping up to a 'senior' level so instantly, which is whats stopping me from taking the vacancy. One slight mistake (which I still usually do with my freelance customers) and I might risk getting f*cked over real good by my employers. At the same time, if an employer hires me only as a shampoo boy, I might get stuck in that position for quite a while, wasting the advantage I have at this current vacancy.

What would you guys do? Thanks in advance.
 

diablo

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They're coming in and paying good money for a professional job. You have to act like you know what you're doing, and exude confidence in your job. If you're unsure and timid, you're going to get fired. I just got a job as a photographer in a studio nearby and was told the same situation you basically let on. They said "Even though you might not know everything to do the first few weeks, it's important that you never let the customer catch on to that." Basically, fake it 'till you make it.
 

Julian

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whats with all the self doubt, bro?
 

stuartSan

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Well its basically due to the fact that I just graduated, and seeing all the pro's (like my previous mentors) strut their stuff, which is probably around the region of what my employer is looking for, I can't help but feel nervous whenever the need arises for me to demonstrate my abilities.
 

Ken785

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dude i got my hair done at this one place and wanted my hair like a brad pitt dirty blonde. she turned my hair brownish orange and had the nerve to say it was blond and looked good. they made me pay $120 for it and i was pissed i thought it was supposed to cost $45 orginally but they said since i already had color in my hair (i have natural black hair but since i have a lot of grey in it i dye it black myself) it cost that much to work on. then later after i complained her co-worker agreed to "fix" my hair....she turned it like this blond color but still didnt look like what i wanted. i thought it was ok but everyone was telling me how i had patches in my head and it was orange. so i come back laike 2 weeks later and complained again....

the "fixes" my hair again and put some toner in to get rid of the orange. and put black patches in my head....it looked better than before but still not what i wanted!! i wasnt trippin though...at least it was better.

another time i went to this other salon place and this lady who couldnt even speak good english charged me $65 and she turned my hair orangy blond again and i was complaining and she was getting pissed at ME insisted that i pay her. i got pissed. ended up paying her and left. went to walmart and bought some black bye and turn my head black again....****in waste of money.


next time i know if i want dirty blond is to ask for HIGHLIGHTS.

i thought guys hair suppose to be cheap to dye?? $45 on average but when you get in there they charge you a lot more...
 

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quest

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as others have said... act confident..

think about when you get ur hair cut..
i can't tell worth a damn if my hair is cut properly or not, so i nod and say yea its good..
but IF the lady was like.. "oooo i messed up!" i'd be pissed..

however, thats not getting it coloured..

BUT i can imagine with getting it coloured, people would be like... "errrg" but it'd just take some time getting used to it..

roll with confidence..
 
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