Hello everyone, 

I was just offered a position at a small skincare clinic/beauty supply shop. It's run by a clinical esthetician and her husband. She is very eager to have someone to mentor and also wants to expand her business, recently adding a recent cosmetologist to her team to offer hair services.

She wants me to sign a contract stating that i will stay on with her for 3 years, because she feels she;s been burned in the past with training and sending people to advanced classes, then they leave her. She wants a COMMITMENT to her. Since she doesn't enjoy waxing, i'll be able to expand waxing clientele while also developing my facial skills. What do you think? What are some questions i should ask? Provisions that should be included in this contract?

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thanks for your comments. I've been thinking about the minimum wage she is offering and when i go in to see her tomorrow, I'm asking for more money. She wants this huge commitment from me, but isn't willing budge from her guidelines in the past. Also, she told me she doesn't want me to even LOOK at other spas or salons to work while i'm with her, but she doesn't mind me doing part time temp work at an office. They don' t offer health insurance because in her words, they are too small. I feel like there are benefits to working there, but i;m looking at the pros and CONS. Do you think it's ok for me to ask for more money. In school, they told us that most places when they hire a new graduate start you off at minimum wage then begin to give you commission. So that's why i wasn't so shocked when she said that. What is your experience with that?

agreed

Most states are a right to work state which means that she can fire you at any time. Contracts like this are usually not held up by courts. This owner really needs some employment law classes before she tries to lock someone into a job. I agree with Christy, why has she lost so many people?

Good Luck!!

Hey Lexy, I wanted to give you my thoughts on this job. To me, it sounds like a huge red flag. Of course your employers are your bosses and they are there to give you direction and tell you what they need of you, but I think she is crossing the lines with how controlling she is being to you.


To give her a promised 3 years of your life is unrealistic. You may find you cannot live off of what she is paying you and may find yourself in the position to accept a better job offer. Life could happen and change your plans of working in the field at all, too. I would think long and hard about this job.

As well, the fact that she is telling you that you cannot work at other spas and only in an office is unfair and another red flag. If she is not paying you sufficiently, and you have bills to pay- you should be able to do what you need to do.

It kind of sounds like she's been burned a few times by estheticians who have left her. Who can say if it was her or them, but I'd really take a look at any place with a high turnover rate.

I think it's ridiculous that she would ask you to sign a 3 year contract right out of school. Paying for her employees to get training is just a part of the risk of doing business. The trade off is that she can still make money without having to be there herself. If she's been burned then she needs to analyze why her employees are not staying and fix that rather contracting them into job that may not be everything it was promised. Or she needs to do a better job of screening her potential hires.

I would suggest negotiating a contract that does not go farther than 6 months. You need to have an out as well. She's already demonstrated that she's unreasonable (red flag?). Also, you might suggest adding a clause for a three month review, during which your pay can be renegotiated. The things she will review you on should be clear and measurable, and communicated up front (i.e. on paper). All contracts can be negotiated before signed. You are taking a risk when you are committing to an employer who you have never worked for before. Make sure you are getting $omething out of it.

hi everyone, 

I just returned from a meeting with her. She didn't mention anything about a contract and is willing to try things out to see if we can work well together. she wants to have me working for 3 days a week for 2 months. 5 hours only at minimum wage. She says then we can discuss more hours and more money. The commission will come later. I asked her about the other people that worked with her, and apparently most of the other people were just working the store section. She only had one esthetician working with her for 3 years in the hope of her growing with the business, but the girl left when she found another opportunity.  I'm nerrrrrvous. This is my first job, and she wants to have my room be the spa type treatment area, and also i'll be doing waxing.  This is all new to me, i come from a corporate desk job setting...

I am not sure how to advise, but I think only you know in your heart of hearts if this is a good fit.

The way I see it, you are a trained professional, with the knowledge, passion and maturity to take care of clients' skin care needs. Minimum wage is something you'd receive working at fast food without extra knowledge/school. I am all about climbing your way up, BUT I think you could be getting a better deal than just hourly minimum wage for 2 months without the ability to work in another spa. Could you set up incentives with her? If you real X goal, you can receive X bonus? What about retail sales? Are you getting commission for that?

I know it is hard to get a job right out of school, and it's hard to get a job in general (I am currently seeking employment too). So hang in there, and keep your head up. :)

If you worked 5 hours a day at $7/hour (I don't know what your minimum wage is) and you worked 3 days a week, that's: $105 a week. That's $420 a month, and $840 for those two months. Just something to think about! 

EVery part of your posting was using words such as:  her, she, what she wants, what she doesn't want.   What about YOU?  what do you want?    Do you really in all honesty want to be tied to something for 3 years????

There is a fine line between being a mentor and taking advantage of somebody for their benefit only!

Claire that is great insight, and very true. I like your advice, and am always excited to see what you've posted on here!

Exactly. I spent all weekend long thinking about this and what I want. I can't commit for 3 years, no way! And i also intend on continuing my search for work in other spas. She can't enforce where i will or won't work, especially since she is only willing to pay me min. wage ($10 here) for now. I feel like working there could be a great opportunity but there is a lot of work to be done to establish a new person in that place.  There is so much to learn and i feel like she is kind of stuck in the past. She wasn't even aware of nostril waxing!  But that was her point,she wants new blood to come in. I just finished school so i feel like whoa, this is a lot..I don't want to get taken advantage of, and i don't want to squander my potential, so i am going to work with her but also continue searching. Am i making sense?

She just called me and rescinded the job offer! All that wasted time.  Oh my god!  She said her husband looked over the books and got afraid to bring in a new employee because they would just be "standing around". 

That was a blessing in disguise!  Phew!   Btw, none of that was wasted time for you.   It was a lesson in who not to deal with and how some people try to pull a fast one!

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