Here's the challenge -- find a nail tech that stays in the same salon for more than six months! If you're a salon owner, you know better than anyone how hard it is to get nail techs to stay put, but there is one solution: ask interview questions that really help you to get to know your potential employee, and only hire a person if she tells you that she loves her job and wants to be with you for the long haul.
Learn About the Applicant
Try to keep all questions "open-ended." In other words, avoid those that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." The first part of an interview is best spent finding out about the applicant. Several questions will give you a clear picture of the kind of person you're interviewing: What would you like to tell me about yourself? What are your greatest strengths? What are your greatest weaknesses? If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
Professional Background
Ask probing questions to get a better idea of the applicant's past job experiences: Why did you leave your last job? What have you learned from previous positions you've held? What was your biggest challenge in your last position? What was your greatest accomplishment in a previous job? Give me an example of a challenging situation that involved customers in a previous job and how you handled it.
Experience as a Nail Technician
Get an idea of the candidate's level of experience: What made you decide to become a nail technician? What do you believe are the three most important job tasks of a good nail tech? Not only do you want a person that can provide clients with a full range of services, but you also want a nail tech who truly enjoys and is interested in what she does for a living: What are all the services you can provide for clients? How would you encourage customers to come back again in the future to have their nails done?
Ask Only Appropriate Questions
Keep in mind that some questions are not only inappropriate to ask a job applicant, they're actually illegal. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has established certain guidelines for interview questions that all employers must follow: Avoid asking about ethnicity or any inquiries that might indicate nationality, such as the birthplace of an applicant. Don't ask an applicant how old she is or if she's married or has children. You also can't ask about a person's credit rating or if she's ever been arrested. Don't ask whether a person has any disabilities or about her religious or political beliefs. You also can't inquire about a person's health unless it's directly related to whether or not she can perform the job.
References
Writer Bio
In addition to a successful career as a professional writer, Cindy White spent several years in mid-management positions for a Fortune 500 company. Prior to that, she enjoyed her tenure as a technical writer and technical documentation supervisor in the manufacturing industry. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Nevada-Reno.