To describe a person as “conscientious” encompasses many different and perhaps more familiar words like hard-working, reliable, organized, efficient, motivated, goal-oriented, disciplined, etc. Research on personality traits demonstrates that conscientiousness correlates with behaviors and outcomes that we value: academic performance, career success, relationship quality, physical health and longevity, emotional health and more.
It’s not hard to understand why being conscientious would be considered desirable not only in a workplace environment, but in personal relationships as well.
If you could evaluate your own conscientiousness, how would you score? Find out by completing this simple 20 question quiz. Be truthful as you answer the questions for the most accurate results. Now for the difficult part: discuss your score with people who know you, including your instructor and fellow students. You may be surprised when you compare your score with their impressions of you based on their experiences.
Why is this important? While you can evaluate yourself, it’s how others perceive you that will determine your progress within the industry. What do your clients think of you? Your colleagues and coworkers? Your employer? You earn your professional reputation based on your words and actions, successes and failures, and how you learn and grow.
You need to make the most of opportunities you have to earn more opportunities in the future.
During beauty school, your career options might seem overwhelming. Taking on more than you can manage will be very tempting, especially when full of enthusiasm, but short on actual experience. Choosing where to work and for whom will be the most important decision you’ll make once you become licensed. Immediately after beauty school, some licensees feel prepared not only for the realities of salon work, but for the responsibilities of salon ownership. If only it were that simple.
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
As a licensee and salon owner who’s never worked as a salon employee, I can understand the appeal. Even before attending beauty school, I definitely planned to work for myself. However, I can also attest to the unlikelihood of success. Even with resources (primarily money), inexperienced pros frequently struggle to provide quality services, build a loyal clientele and maintain adequate cash flow. That’s the reason why I encourage aspiring salon owners and new licensees to seek salon employment as their first position after beauty school, even if being an employee is not their ultimate goal. Why repeat the same mistakes made by others when you could be learning and earning without significant financial risk?
Moreover, working for someone else not only helps you develop good habits, but gives you experience that builds your skills and reputation. The most successful beauty pros don’t necessarily have the most talent, but what they do have combines their talent and skills with their work ethic. This should encourage all of us to be more conscientious in our everyday and work lives for the benefit of our families, our coworkers and ourselves.
An earlier version was published by Beauty Cast Network.