Wendy McCown owned her salon for 27 years and hired on one rule: 80 percent personality, 20 percent talent. Here are the questions that find out which is which.
Most lists of stylist interview questions are written for the stylist. This one is for the owner on the other side of the table. The questions are grouped by what each one tells you, with the answer to listen for. Then comes the working interview, and what four owners I've interviewed at length say they actually hire for.
What owners say they hire for
Before writing a single question, decide what you're screening for. The owners I've interviewed kept coming back to the person more than the portfolio.
"I always said 80% is the personality and 20% is talent."
Wendy McCown
Becky Dobbs, who built an associate program at her salon, hires for the urge to keep learning:
"I wanted to attract graduates who wanted to keep learning and were really kind of thriving and passionate about the industry."
Becky Dobbs
Greg Chavez, in the industry for over 40 years, frames the team he wants as "a culture that wants to lift each other up and help each other." And Scott Buchanan, who grew one salon into five, warns owners about who they overlook in a room:
"I always look for the person that's just sitting there looking like they're not engaged, but I know they're engaged but just quiet, and I give them their five minutes to speak."
Scott Buchanan
That last one matters in an interview. The most confident talker in the chair is not always the best stylist for your book, so give the quiet candidate room to answer.
The questions, by what they reveal
Ask about real situations, not preferences. "What would you do if a client hated her color?" gets a rehearsed answer. "Tell me about the last time a client wasn't happy" gets a true one.
Craft and skill
- Walk me through your last color correction, from consultation to the finish.
- Which service do you most want to be known for, and which do you avoid?
- Show me three photos of your own recent work. What would you change in each?
- What's the last class or course you paid for yourself?
- How do you decide when to say no to what a client is asking for?
- How long does your typical balayage or full highlight take, start to finish?
Listen for: specifics, honest self-critique, and learning they chose rather than learning they were sent to.
Clients
- Tell me about the last client who left unhappy. What happened next?
- How many regular clients do you have, and roughly how often do they come back?
- What do you say at the end of an appointment to get the next one booked?
- How do you run a consultation with someone you've never met?
- Tell me about a client you had to let go, and why.
- If you joined us, how many of your current clients would follow you?
Listen for: ownership of the bad outcome, and real numbers. A stylist who knows her rebooking habit is a stylist who manages her book.
Team and culture
- Tell me about a time you helped a coworker who was behind.
- What did you like least about your last salon, and what did you do about it?
- How do you want to be told when something isn't right?
- What does the front desk need from a stylist to do its job well?
- Who taught you the most in this trade, and what was it?
- How would your last manager describe you?
Listen for: how they talk about people who aren't in the room. Someone who runs down every past salon will one day run down yours.
Growth and fit
- Where do you want to be in two years, and in five?
- Are you thinking about booth rent or a suite someday? What would make you stay on commission?
- What pay structure have you worked under, and what did you like about it?
- Which days and hours can you commit to, including Saturdays?
- What would make you leave a salon within the first six months?
- What do you want to ask me?
Listen for: a plan. "I don't know yet" is fine from a new graduate. From a ten-year stylist it can mean she's already halfway out the door somewhere else.
The working interview
Talk tells you how someone thinks. A working interview on a model shows you how she works. Book it as its own step, on a service you actually sell.
- The first five minutes. Does she consult before touching the hair, and does she ask about history and lifestyle as well as the look?
- The station. Clean as she goes, or a mess by the end?
- The talk. How she speaks to the model, and to your team when she needs something.
- The finish. Blow-dry and styling are where rushed stylists show.
- Timing. Did she finish inside the time you'd book for that service?
Some states have rules on unpaid trial work, so ask your accountant or labor attorney whether a working interview needs to be paid where you are.
Questions a good candidate will ask you
A strong stylist interviews you back. Expect these, and have honest answers ready.
- How does pay work, and what changes it?
- What education is included, and who pays for it?
- How do you fill a new stylist's book in the first three months?
- How many stylists left in the last year, and why?
- What does a typical week look like for someone in my role?
If the questions about pay and turnover make you uncomfortable, that is worth knowing before she asks them. For how pay models compare, see booth rent vs commission, and for keeping the people you hire, why good stylists quit.
