A Sunny Day And Some Good News

I'm doing this new thing in my life where it's called "Do what's best for me and stop thinking so much about other peoples feelings."

That sounds quite selfish but it is obviously something that's within reason. I have this tendency to feel guilty for things that I really shouldn't feel guilty about at all. I also have a tendency to sometimes stay doing things that make me unhappy or that aren't benefiting me at all just because I feel like I will let someone else down if I stop doing those things.

I've been quite fortunate with my jobs and have always worked for companies for long periods of time (and by long I would say about 2-3 years since these jobs were by no means ever going to be my career.) I've only ever actually quit 2 of my jobs though. Some of my jobs were strictly summer jobs. I quit the restaurant I worked at because I was offered a 25+ dollar an hour job (who wouldn't quit?) and then I quit the mill because I was making the move to Vancouver. I've always had good reason to leave and never left jobs on bad terms. Even though I'm not working full time at the steel fab shop anymore I never really "quit" there because I took a lay off for medical reasons and then never really went back because work was slow. I still work there occasionally though.

Basically it's been 3 years since I've had to quit a job at all, and 5 years since I have actually left one job for another that was in the same place.

As most know I have been working at a salon on Main Street for the past month. Unfortunately things weren't really working out for me. I was frustrated, irritated, and everything that I went to school to do (and paid good money for) was going to be put on hold for a year and a half roughly. Basically the salon wanted me to have my license but you need to have a certain amount of hours in order to take your exam to be a licensed hairdresser.

This posed a huge problem for me because I only had 520 school hours and I would need 1500 school hours to take my licensing exam. If you don't have 1500 school hours then you need 3000 related work experience hours. This meant that I needed about 2500 more hours before I would be able to work on the floor as a hair stylist.

I don't mind apprenticing for 6 months but I wasn't about to spend over a year getting hours when I feel as though I'd be ready for the floor full time long before that time frame was up.

I decided that I didn't want to go through with all of that and waste anymore of anyone's time. Not only is it inconvenient for me but it is also inconvenient for the salon because they have to create a more structured education program specifically for me. Since they aren't equipped to take on apprentices (not because they're not capable but because it's a pain in the ass and they don't want to take on apprentices) it was just a lot better that I go elsewhere.

I called AXIS last week and talked with someone about whether or not they were hiring. An interview was set up that day and I was asked to bring in my resume, and at least 5 questions for them to discuss during the interview.

I brought in 2 pages of things to prep me for the interivew. Some were questions but some of that was just reasons for why I wanted to work at AXIS, why I wanted to leave my other job, and what sorts of goals I have for this career. The reason for this is because I do not want to bounce around from job to job. I want to find a place that I feel fits my personality, and also fits what I aspire to do. I asked a ton of questions, some included things like "What is the salons community involvement like? Does AXIS partake in fundraising events? If not, why not? How often are there courses for the stylists? Are there more for the Jr Stylists? If I want to take courses anywhere outside of Vancouver is there travel fund opportunities?"

I loved the way the interview went. It was the longest interview of my life (an hour and 45 minutes to be exact) but it was so thorough that by the end of the interview when I was asked "Do you want to hire me as your boss?" there was literally no hesitation in saying yes. I am 100% certain that this is the right place for me to be.

It is one of the top salons in Vancouver and has been around for 20 years now. There are so many opportunities that are readily available, all I have to do is put forth the effort into using them. If I want to do photoshoots in the salon on a day that it's closed then the entire salon is mine to use for the day. After I have been working there for 6 months I can come in and work on one of my days off per week and the money that I make those days gets put into my travel education fund. This money has to be used on a course outside of Canada which I think is so awesome because it encourages you to travel. If I want to take a razor class with Nick Arojo in New York then I can work hard to get the money in there and go. They do a major charity event every year and choose a different organization each year to donate to. If I want to become a platform artist for the colour line they use then that opportunity is there as well. If I want to be an instructor at John Casablanca's then I will go through a training program and become an educator. It's just an endless amount of opportunity which is exactly what I want and need.

So after the interview I got my schedule, got a stack of business cards (50% off your first haircut with me for new clients or a free haircut with any colour service!) and left the salon. I went to work as quickly as I could get there and within 20 minutes of arriving I put in my notice. I was nervous as fuck but thankfully everyone there was incredibly understanding and supportive which made it a lot easier to quit. My boss gave me a hug and congratulated me and agrees that this is much better for me. I also didn't burn any bridges and was told that should I ever decide I want to come back to their salon then the door is always open (once I have my hours in of course.)

I did feel bad. I was worried about how they would react but I knew it had to be done. I mostly feel bad because I know it screws up the schedule for the other assistant for awhile until I'm replaced. I told her I felt bad leaving her with all of the scheduling issues but she was honestly okay with it and I think as a fellow hair graduate she understood with great ease that you'd have to be an idiot not to take this job.

So, it's all over with. Saturday will be my last day at this location and then I will be moving on to bigger and better things. It's really exciting because I'll now be working alongside all of my instructors from school and even one of my classmates, not to mention all of the other talented stylists.

So... Come get yer hair did!