Top Most Cosmetologist Interview Questions

Q – 1 Tell me who was the best boss you ever had? Why?

Ans- My boss at PetSmart was the best boss I ever had. He gave us ways to develop our product knowledge and encouraged us to take on more responsibility. He was very fair and gave recognition to employees who did something outstanding. He respected the employees and we trusted him to help us if we needed it.

Q – 2 Explain what is one thing you like least about this career?

Ans- The thing that can tire me the most is living on a schedule, with cuts every half hour. Everyone is busy, and time is important, so I work hard to stay on schedule and be punctual. That’s the most draining part of the job, and the only part that can be stressful for me.

Q – 3 Tell us how many hours a week do you expect?

Ans- She needs to know your expectations. She wants someone with unlimited availability, in a perfect world. Not every salon considers 40 hours to be full time. There are some franchises that consider 30 hours full time. I know of one that doesn’t want a stylist on the floor over 7 hours in a shift to keep them from burnout.

If you absolutely need full time let her know this. Or maybe you can make do with 20 hours a week until you can work your way into full time.

Q – 4 Tell me what self -marketing tips do you have for cosmetologists?

Ans- Always have business cards. When meeting someone new, give them a card. Give those cards to friends and ask them to hand them out too. Another thing: cosmetologists should look beautiful all the time. I was told by my teacher in school that clients should never come in looking better than their stylist. Cosmetologists are providing a service, and the clients want to see the stylist as an example.

Q – 5 Tell me how do you build relationships with customers?

Ans- I think the best way to build a good relationship with a customer is to really get to know them. Client consultations help in figuring out what kind of look the person is going for and what the DEFINITELY don’t want. Also, taking notes never hurts. Personally, I wouldn’t want to walk into my hair salon and have my stylist forget my name! So if I have to reread my consultation notes I will.

Q – 6 Tell me what is the most challenging part of your job?

Ans- It can be tricky when someone comes in who wants something new, but doesn’t have any idea what they want. During the consultation, I have to find out what they like and don’t like, and feel confident that I can give them what they want. I also have to strike a balance between giving clients what they ask for and suggesting new ideas. Looking at books for examples can help if they don’t understand the lingo when we’re talking about styles – dimension, shape, and that sort of thing.

Q – 7 What is your greatest weakness as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Turn a negative into a positive. Don’t say anything that will throw up a red flag to the interviewer like, “I have a hard time getting places on time.” If a candidate said that to me we would be done with the interview. A salon manager not only needs you at work on time but so do your clients.

Don’t choose anything that could adversely affect salon life. Things like being too trusting, or being too guarded with your feelings, or taking on too much responsibility are good ones to use that won’t work against you.

Q – 8 Tell me how did you find your first job?

Ans- I came here from Maine to go to school at Whitman’s Academy of Hair Design. When I finished, I went back to work in a salon in the little town I grew up in. That job didn’t give me the excitement and creativity that I needed, though, so I scheduled a couple of interviews at salons in Brattleboro. I was at Whitman’s salon, getting a haircut from a friend so that I would look beautiful for my interviews. The owner, who was my former teacher, overheard that I was looking for a job, came over to me and said, “Hey, why don’t you come work for me?” So I did.

Q – 9 Tell me what was the best job you ever had? Why?

Ans- She is wanting to know if what you really enjoy doing is something you will enjoy doing in the salon. If you loved being a number cruncher and sitting at a desk all day you probably won’t like being a creative, stand on your feet all day hairdresser. In her eyes, maybe you are not the best suited person for her open chair.

However, if you worked at PetSmart and enjoyed running around the store and helping customers with their beloved pets the interviewer could see how those activities could easily translate into beauty career activities.

Q – 10 Explain how did you deal with nerves when you first start working on real people?

Ans- At the beginning, you’re always really nervous, although for me, it was more excitement than anything. I generally felt comfortable and confident because of the education I had. I felt that I could do it, and always knew that I could ask senior employees for advice. That’s important — being able to get help when they need it. I was always comfortable asking questions and finding the answers.

Q – 11 Suppose your job requires you to interact with people constantly. How do you handle days when you’re in a bad mood?

Ans- There’s a saying we had at my previous salon: “Leave it at the door.” In other words, if a stylist is having a bad day, theyr are tired or having problems with the kids at home, they can’t bring their problems to work with you. I live by that. Clients don’t want to hear about my problems — they want to be taken care of.

Q – 12 Tell me what was the worst job you ever had? Why?

Ans- This is similar to the other question about what you liked least. To use the example from the last question, go in the opposite direction of salon activities. Since you will be up and active all day you could choose a job you had where you had to sit all day. Or you could choose one that was boring and didn’t engage your interest.

Example: I once worked as a receptionist in a dental office. It was difficult for me to stay put all day because I am much happier in a fast paced environment.

Q – 13 How long do you believe you will be styling hair?

Ans- I have a passion for it so i dont see myself stopping anytime soon .

Q – 14 Did you receive any education regarding cosmetology?

Ans- Yes. I am currently enrolled in the cosmetology program at CCTE and I have 1250 hours. I need 1500 to take the State Board Exam.

Q – 15 Tell me do you advise cosmetologists to choose a specialty right away?

Ans- I think that partly depends on whether one wants to work for a large or small salon. In larger salons, it’s more common to specialize — sometimes clients may get color processing from one stylist, a cut from another, and a style from even another! Even if a cosmetologist want to work in a smaller salon, it’s a good idea to choose a specialty early, because they get established in what you do. It’s hard to go from hair to nails to waxing, for example, and to be considered an expert in all of those.

Q – 16 Tell me how dependent are you?

Ans- I’m a pretty independent person. I like to figure things out on my own but I am not afraid to ask questions or ask for help if needed.

Q – 17 What other techniques do you enjoy while styling hair?

Ans- I love completely enhancing the entire look, the hair color, cut and style.

Q – 18 Tell me do you have any thoughts on building clientele?

Ans- If you are a brand new stylist starting your beauty career the manager does not expect you to come with a clientele. However, if you are in a private salon you will be responsible for building your clientele. I hope you knew this already.

Q – 19 Hair styling is a tricky business, building customer relations is a must, what experience do you have in that regards?

Ans- Finding out what my client likes/dislikes and remember faces and names. Listen, listen and listen some more. I rephrase what they want so we are clear on our plan.

Q – 20 Where do you gain your inspiration for trying new trends, styles?

Ans- No it doesn’t it really depends in what salon your working at and how many hours you work.

Q – 21 When did you decide to become a cosmetologist?

Ans- I decided that I wanted to be a cosmetologist about 5 years ago. I was working in a hair salon and I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.

Q – 22 What is your favorite hair style to work on, when you are just at home?

Ans- Well my favorite hair style to work on at home is to wash and straight in the hair.

Q – 23 How many years experience do you have coloring hair?

Ans- I have colored my hair every color under the sun. So I’ve been coloring since my teen years.

Q – 24 Tell me do you have any problems working weekends?

Ans- No.

You are now a professional stylist and starting your beauty career. You know good and well you now work on weekends. Don’t even try it.

Q – 25 Tell me what do you like most about being a cosmetologist?

Ans- I love to make people beautiful. And I love my clients. I enjoy being social with them, and being creative in my work.

Q – 26 Tell us what is your favorite cosmetic product? Do you have the opportunity to work with the product?

Ans- My favorite product is Paul Mitchell Super Sculpt Glaze and Fast Drying Sculpting Spray. They also make a dry wax I like to use — it to gives the hair texture. I use these products on my clients all the time, and on myself, too.

Q – 27 Have you worked on anyone hair before a big event, such as a wedding?

Ans- Yes I have and I have two more wedding I will be working on I am very exited to be working it and make them look beautiful.

Q – 28 What did you like least about your last job as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Oh, this is a tricky one. It’s a setup. It is very easy to fall into this snare. People just wait for an opening to vent. But you now know ahead of time NOT TO DO THIS.

Instead of coming back with, “OH, I really hated my boss. He was such a pig!” you want to go to a task that is harmless to what you are trying to achieve. If you worked at Starbucks you had to clean, you had very busy times, it could be stressful, people complained, you may have had a bad co-worker, etc. But if you point any of this out in your interview it will look like a negative for YOU.

Q – 29 Describe a difficult work situation and how you handled it in past?

Ans- A toddler got sick in the aisle of PetSmart. The child was throwing up and crying and the mother was flustered. The mother was concerned for her child but embarrassed by the situation. I ran and got a lot of paper towels to immediately cover up the mess. I also brought a clean, damp towel for the mom to clean the baby. I stayed with them and helped mom get her child and her bag to the car easily.

I then cleaned up the mess as quickly as possible. She later called the store and told my manager that she appreciated how I had helped her to her car with her sick baby and that she posted it on Facebook so others would know we had great customer service at our store.

Q – 30 Tell me how do you deal with troublesome clients?

Ans- I rarely have difficult clients! When I do, honesty is the key to working it out. If someone doesn’t like what I’ve done, I ask them to tell me what didn’t work. On occasion, when someone has been repeatedly unhappy, I’ve told them that I obviously can’t give them what they want, and recommend another stylist.

But the response is always, “Oh, it’s not you!” Usually those people are just unhappy with their hair — they hate the wave or straightness, not what I did. I think, generally, that it works to troubleshoot problems together, and I think of it as a positive thing. I also always welcome my clients to come back at the end of the day if they’re not happy with the style or have any challenges.

Q – 31 Do you know what advice would you give to entry level cosmetologists just getting started? What do you wish you knew now?

Ans- My advice would be to be punctual, always come to work ready to go, and when someone walks in, be ready and willing to give them a haircut, and not grumble about wanting a cigarette break! For at least the first three months after I started working, anytime a senior stylist needed help, I would jump in. I always kept busy, always introduced myself as a new stylist, and just tried to get my name out there. Stylists should make sure they advertise who are.

As for what I wish I knew now, I’ve never done hair extensions, and that would be neat to look into. I wish I knew even more about color, but I try to keep myself educated. At this salon, we get education classes about once a month, and also do a New York hair show, where we sit in classes in coloring and cutting. That always makes cosmtologists realize how much they know, and boosts their confidence. If you can learn one new little trick or technique or idea, it’s been a good day.

Q – 32 Explain what hair styles do you prefer to work on?

Ans- I like working on all hair styles. Each style is a learning experience and to work on it over and over again would enhance my skills.

Q – 33 Why should we hire you as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Because I have a strong work ethic, I’m great at time management, I understand the importance of superior customer service and I am willing to do everything I can to help the salon and myself grow.

Q – 34 What hours are you available as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Know the hours of the salon before you go for the interview. The best answer is always…ANYTIME.

However, life sometimes gets in the way. My advice is to work out your issues to the best of your ability before interviewing. This can be a deal breaker.

You should know by now that you will most likely be working some nights and weekends. This is a beauty career, not a bank job.

If you have a lot of restraints on your availability it will hurt your chances of getting the job a great deal. Be as flexible as possible.

Q – 35 Explain what is your typical workday like?

Ans- I like to show up about half an hour before my first appointment. This gives me time to check my schedule and see who is getting chemical services, in order to have the products ready for when my clients come in. I make sure the salon is set up, turn on the coffee pot, turn on the music and have everything ready to go.

During the day, I’m mostly cutting hair and doing chemical processing, making people look beautiful. My appointments are often back-to-back, so my work tends to be fast-paced, and I’m on my feet all day. It takes an hour and a half to two hours for a chemical process and half an hour for haircuts, so on a day when I’m just cutting hair, I see a lot of people!

Q – 36 Tell us do you find your own clients? If so, how?

Ans- At this point, I have a following — a clientele that has developed over the years. But for new cosmetologists or stylists, it’s all about advertising. A business card is really important. I always carry cards with me, and especially when I was just getting started, I would hand out my cards to friends and new acquaintances and encourage them to come see me. Then there are little rules, like always schedule the next appointment while the client is still there. It helps build consistency and develops your client base.

Q – 37 Tell us how outgoing would you say you are?

Ans- I am both outgoing and reserved, I know what things to be kept to myself and also have a nice, fun conversation with the client always keeping it respectful and professional.

Q – 38 Explain what hair styles do you believe look the best for women?

Ans- Depending upon the particular client I like to ask how much styling time they are willing to put into it. It is always important to do a proper consultation because what you may want to do for the clients hair, the client also has to be willing and know how to recreate the look.

Q – 39 What did you like best about your last job in Cosmetologist?

Ans- She wants to know where your attention goes on the job. If you blurt out, “I loved the people I worked with,” it would lead her to the idea that you are easy to get along with and a team player.

There is not necessarily a wrong answer here, but there could be a more helpful answer to lead the interviewer in the direction you want them to go. Zero in on the quality you would like to support. In the sample above, being a team player was reinforced. And that’s a good one for a salon. If you want to show customer service is important to you maybe say something like, “I enjoyed making people smile when I gave them their morning coffee drink. I feel like I made their day!”

Q – 40 What are your greatest strengths as Cosmetologist?

Ans- I am a hard worker, highly efficient and am able to maintain a positive attitude. I’m also very passionate about hair and am excited to start my beauty career.

Q – 41 Tell me who was the worst boss you ever had? Why?

Ans- I’ve never had a really bad boss, but I have learned some things NOT to do.

Q – 42 Tell me do you build in time for breaks?

Ans- Some stylists don’t take breaks, but I do. I’m fresher and a better stylist if I give myself short breaks throughout the day. I don’t like running late, and I’m particular about staying punctual, so I build my breaks into my schedule.

Q – 43 How many years have you worked on styling?

Ans- I am a recent graduate of the Aveda Institute, so including school it would be one year.

Q – 44 Tell Me About Yourself personal?

Ans- Sounds easy, right? This is going to blow you away. They could care less about anything personal. They are NOT asking you about where you live or if you are married or your GPA. They want to know how you can benefit their salon.

They want to know what you bring to the party. So here is what you are going to do. In your notebook write out each of these questions on a separate sheet for each. For this one you need to tell them in the shortest way possible what your USP is (your Unique Selling Point).

Q – 45 Tell me how do you interact with customers?

Ans- I actually have a good attitude and put on a smile. I try to help them and try to see what kind of personality they have and work with that.

Q – 46 Tell me what styles do you prefer not to work on?

Ans- I enjoy making people look their best. Whatever style needs to be done I have no problem doing. However, I really love coloring hair. It’s fun to see the finished product and how you can completely change someones look.

Q – 47 Where do you see yourself in 5 years as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Hiring a new employee is an investment on the part of the salon. It takes time and money to train a new hire. Stylist retention is important to owners. Losing stylists means losing clients. In a way, this question is asking “Are you worth the investment?”

That being said, ambition is a virtue.

And again, the only wrong answer is “I don’t know.”

Tell her how you see your professional life growth, not personal. She doesn’t want to hear how you are going to be married with a new house and 2 kids, one boy, one girl.

Q – 48 Why do you want to work for us? or Why do you want this job as Cosmetologist?

Ans- They are looking for your motivation here. Are you driven by your passion? OR…Are you looking for a place to just get a paycheck? If you love your work you would be an asset to the salon. If you are just trying to find a job anywhere there is no indication to a manager that you are a good fit on her team. Show them that your values, desires, passion and the direction you intend to take your beauty career are in line with the salon culture. For example, Paige is passionate about hairstyling and updo’s.

Her resume will state this. Going to work in a male grooming salon would not be a good fit for her and the salon manager would recognize that Paige probably wouldn’t feel fulfillment only working on men. If she were to hire Paige she knows that Paige most likely won’t stay long.

Answer this question by proving you are a good fit in her salon. State what you are passionate about and where you would like to grow your skills. Acknowledge their salon culture in a positive way by giving her a compliment on an element of the salon. Then say how they are everything you want in a salon.

Q – 49 Explain what are your principal duties and/or responsibilities?

Ans- They are to teach my students the basic skills of cosmetology, meaning personal hygiene, hair and nail care, while helping them reach their full learning potential.

Q – 50 What excites you about designing hair styles?

Ans- Its fun, and exciting being able to see their reaction and how they feel when its all done. Also i love seeing the end results and how much you can change things and how drastic or not drastic you can make things and just how much of a difference it can make

Q – 51 What are your goals for the future as Cosmetologist?

Ans- A manager would like to see that you have thought about your future and what direction your beauty career is headed.

The only wrong answer here would be “I don’t know.” However, she is looking for your professional goals rather than your personal goals.

If you want to someday own a salon talk about the path you intend to take. Let her know that you desire to be in management to gain the experience.

No one expects you to have your life plan laid out already. But she would like a general idea of your direction. If you really just don’t know pick the hair activity you like the most and make a tentative goal of it. For example you may like doing color. You could say, “I love doing highlights and learning coloring techniques. I plan on becoming a master colorist within the next 2 years and then see where that takes me.”

Q – 52 Do you consider yourself a team player as Cosmetologist?

Ans- Being a team player in a salon is a strength. Everyone is there to make money, for themselves and for the salon. It takes a village. If you are highly self absorbed by nature start working on that issue. You will need help in a salon and you will be called upon to help others. So if this question is asked and you are NOT a team player, meaning you prefer to work alone, fake it.

I’m not saying lie to the interviewer but you need them to know you ARE a team player. Saying you prefer to work alone in a salon environment will disqualify you. So YES, you are a team player, and you will consciously work on it in the salon. Think of a time when you worked as a team on any project. Write it in your notebook with an example of how you helped the team, just in case you are asked for one. Your beauty career will mostly be a team sport.

Q – 53 What is your ideal company to style hair for? What makes them ideal?

Ans- I would love to work for a ABC salon because I love the products. Basically, any salon I can be myself and enjoy what I’m doing is ideal.

Q – 54 Do you have any experience with men’s hair styles?

Ans- Yes I do I have worked on mens hair cute for few years now. Its a hair cute I enjoy very much.