Archive for Find a Massage Job

Massage Jobs in a down economy

July 22, 2009 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job, News

Finding massage jobs in a down economy can be very challenging. Just like any other job hunt it takes doing your research and being able to promote your skills as a massage therapist and also as someone who can build their massage business. Even though you will be working for someone else, you have to know what you are doing and be able to get clients to keep coming back. Many massage employers will give you a bonus when people call back and ask for you for repeat massages.

Finding a job in massage is in itself a full time job and should be approached seriously. So many start with the idea that they are looking for a job for themselves to provide financial/job security. I am here to tell you that there is no such thing really. Security is only something you can feel on the inside as a result of building your self esteem and self confidence. Even the most elite massage spa or business can not be depended on for financial/job security.

The first thing that many job searcher want to know is ‘How much is the salary?’ You really have to stop asking that question and start figuring out how much you need to make and how you will get them to pay you want you need to make. It is called negotiation. But it begins with telling them what you will do to increase the income and create a professional atmosphere for the massage employer.

To do that you will need to do your research and find out what the massage employers’ business is really like and what they need and what things could be improved upon.

I can tell you some things to look for:

  • What kind of marketing they are doing?  Go into the spa and get a massage there yourself.  They will or should be asking for your email address so that they can send you info later.   If it offers other services besides massage like facials or pedicures or whatever- go in and get one of those services.  Full service places should be cross promoting their services and also promoting massage.  You should soon be getting many emails on the benefits of getting regular massage.  If they aren’t sending those out – they aren’t doing a very good job of marketing their services to keep your schedule filled.  You can point that out to them and work with them to create  a  email marketing campaign
  • Look for location and visibility of signs directing traffic to the location.  If there isn’t any – suggest some.  One spa I have been to is located next to a Whole Foods Grocery store but they are lost in the strip mall with a teeny sign and the store front just looks like all the others.
  • What educational materials do they have to hand out to clients?  Do they have stretching charts, ideas for after the massage care, a list of services to hand out to clients?  Do they let you offer free adons like hot face towels or hand/feet warmers as an extra service (or something like that?)
  • Their websites are also another place where many employers are lacking results.  The website should come up at the top of Google when you type in the terms ‘massage, your city’.   It should also have a list of the massage therapists with all of their skills and each massage therapists philosophy on doing massage and why they became a massage therapist.  Their website should be full of information with research, articles on various conditions and stress and what massage can do.   I have all of the information one needs to build a website that does get to the top of the search engines on my main site here.

The thing is that you really have to be passionate about your work and really love what you are doing.  You have to start thinking and acting outside of the box.  Start focusing on what you want to do for the massage employer rather than on what you will get out of it and the chances of you getting what you want and more will significantly increase.

Instead of complaining that  can’t find a job in massage like these people on indeed.com (a job listing site) and blame your lack of finding a job on the economy rather than taking responsibility for your success or lack of success in the massage field will really take you nowhere.   Taking responsibility for your thoughts and actions can be a very difficult and painful process but well worth the effort to get out of the victim trap of blaming your job troubles on the economy.

Additional Resources:  Massage Job Guide : How to find or create your ideal job in massage. (from my other site -www.massagecareerguides.com)

How to interview a massage employer.

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The Perfect Massage Job

July 18, 2009 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job

With more people entering the field of massage looking for jobs, it is important to really take the time and learn how to find a job that will be able to sustain you and support you in your career in massage.  That starts with knowing what you need to thrive and holding out until you get it or create it in whatever job you decide to take.

So many people start out with the wrong idea about jobs in general.   People look for jobs and think that they need jobs for financial security.  There is no such thing.    In fact if you are wanting a job the chances of finding financial security are  Zero.   Financial security doesn’t come from a thing or place.  It comes from within you.  It is knowing that whatever you choose you will be able to feel secure and deal with whatever it is that comes up.

Since most massage therapists are self employed the concept of jobs in the massage profession is a fairly new idea.  When I first started 20 years ago there were no jobs in massage.   You could get sub-contractor positions at chiropractors or spas but that meant you were self employed.

The perfect massage job depends on you and what your needs are and what makes you feel most alive.  To discover what this is exactly may require that you take some jobs just to see what you like or don’t like.

Here are some things to consider:

  • Do you want to work at a spa that will mainly be relaxation and deep tissue massage or do you want to work for a chiropractor doing injury work?
  • Do you have the skills to create repeat massage clients by communicating with clients about their needs and how massage can help?
  • What hours do you want?  Spas/franchises will most likely have weekend and evening hours.   Injury massage will be weekdays 9-5 or 6.
  • How much do you need to make an hour to be able to live without having to live simply and have the things in life that are fun and rewarding?   While most massage therapist start out thinking that they need to or want to live simply it is also a deeply held unconscious belief that making money in the massage profession will make you look like you value money more than you value people  which is a really common unconscious core belief that can be changed.
  • How many hours a week can you physically work without injuring yourself or ending up drained and tired?
  • Can you get regular weekly massages yourself at these places for free?
  • Do they offer peer supervision support groups and individual supervision (not the regular supervision of people just telling you what to do but clinical supervision which is more about helping you as a helper.)?  This is essential in the massage profession for a massage therapist to be an effective therapist and also be happy and have a very long rewarding career.  Burnout is one of the common reasons for leaving the profession and it can start with taking jobs that the employers lack respect for massage therapists.
  • What will you do for them to build their business and create your own success?

Doing your research and figuring out what you need to make and what you want out of a job and what you can give to a job will help you in finding the right job for you.  It is possible to find high paying ($45 an hour and up) in the massage profession when you take the time to plan and create your own massage therapy job opportunity rather than just taking the first thing that comes up.  It does require thinking outside the box and being creative and believing in yourself and your skills.

I will have more information in my ebook that will be released hopefully this week “How to Find Your Ideal Massage Job” that will also come with a workbook guide to take you through the process of doing just that.

What does your perfect massage job look like?  How can you work to create that and hold out to find just that?

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Massage Therapy Job Interviews

May 18, 2009 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job

I found this great list of massage therapy job interview questions on www.benbenjamin.net

  • What did you like about your massage school training?
  • Was there anything you felt was lacking in your training or something you would like to have been different?
  • Why did you choose massage therapy as your profession?
  • What do you like about it?
  • Do you get massage regularly yourself?
  • What do you do to maintain your own health?
  • How many clients do you typically see in a day?
  • Is that a good number of people for you to see in a day?
  • How long do you work on each person?
  • Have you had or do you have a private practice?
  • How many private clients do you see each week?
  • Why did you leave your various jobs?
  • Did you have any difficulty with the management at any of your other jobs? If so, can you describe that for me?
  • Can you give me an example of an area in yourself that you think could use some improvement or further development?
  • Were you ever fired? If so, why?
  • Have you ever been in an uncomfortable situation with a client asking for something inappropriate? If yes, what did you do?
  • Do you tend to make friends with your clients?
  • What are the pros and cons of making friends with clients?
  • If you got upset with me or any of the staff — for example, if you felt you had been spoken to disrespectfully — how might you handle that?
  • Have you ever felt attracted to any of your clients? If so, what did you do with those feelings?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you had difficulty with a client or an employer and how you handled it?
  • How would you handle a client who arrived 20 minutes late for a 50-minute massage?
  • Why do you want to work here?
  • Did your school offer any classes pertaining to working?

I also have a list of massage therapy job interview questions on my website.

Then there are the obvious things like wear nice clothes, take your piercings out, don’t wear shorts and a tank top.  Also be prepared to do a massage as a part of your interview.

Go in knowing what you want from a job and what you need to make.  Tell them what you need to make an hour.  You can negotiate your salary but you will also need to give them some proof that you are worth it.  What will you do to help them build their buisiness?

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Massage Therapy Jobs

April 29, 2009 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job

The statistics on massage therapy jobs always seem to be made out to be better than it seems.  The latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics say that they expect an increase in the demand for massage jobs until 2016 because of more people becoming aware of the health benefits of massage.

I am not sure how they come up with the salary statistics.

Median wage and salary hourly earnings of massage therapists, including gratuities, were $16.06 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $10.98 and $24.22. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.48, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $33.83. Generally, massage therapists earn 15 to 20 percent of their income as gratuities.

I guess after looking at the statistics it looks more accurate.  The highest wage per hour is $33.83 which is way under what I think a massage therapist should be making an hour.

I think it is intereting that massage is the only profession I know of that hires people for two different hourly rates- the rate for when they are actually doing a massage and the rate for when they don’t have a client which is usually minimum wage or nothing at all.  Some places like Massage Envy and other franchises only charge $50 an hour for a massage but even then I can’t imagine that their overhead is $35 an hour when there are usually 10 massage therapists giving clients massages at once.   What really aggravates me is when chiropractors or high end spas charge over $100 an hour and I have heard stories as high as $150 -$200 an hour and still only pay the massage therapist less than $35 an hour.

Part of the problem is that massage therapists are just accepting such low wages even though they know that they can’t do more than 25 massages a week without risking burnout.    I was thinking about this the other day and was wondering why the massage profession and other helping professions seem to attact people who just want to help but don’t want to get paid for it.  It is like that too for psychologists who have much more training and also acupuncturists and Naturopaths.   That’s a whole other section on my website – why we help.

Massage therapists also are just looking for jobs most of the time and don’t think of it as a career or calling.  When people who think of a career in massage as more of a calling and way of life they are more passionate about finding work or creating a job of their own.  Instead of just hitting all of the spas and massage franchises they take their time to find out where they want to work based on how the company will be able to let them expand their work and become part of the healing team.

Instead of just going into a job everyday massage therapists are more motivated when they feel like they are respected and paid what they are worth and can work with their own styles of massage instead of having to do a spa massage that is supposed to feel like everyone eles massage.  (It never does of course anyways.)

So if you are serious about finding or creating your ideal job in massage start thinking about what you can do for the company/business instead of what they can do for you.  What can you do for them in the way of creating repeat and new business?  How will you be able to educate clients more and get them coming in once a week?   How can you work with the staff who answers the phone to let them know what type of massage you do and what type of clients that you work best with?

I wonder what the massage profession will be like if massage therapists ever just stopped taking low paying jobs and started creating thier own higher paying postions based on their unique skills and abilities to work with people?   I guess there is always someone who will take the low job because they don’t think that they can do much better.  That is one of my personal reasons for writing all of my blogs and websites to hopefully help massage therapists build thier confidence and start getting out of their own way onto a path of success and being of service (as opposed to helping).

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Massage Employers – what do they want?

October 28, 2008 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job, News
While I was doing research today on jobs in massage therapy, I happened upon this interesting powerpoint presentation on abmp.com in the massage school alliance section. This is what they listed about what employers say about Gen Y employees (as corrected by Ann from ABMP in comments section):
  • A sense of entitlement
  • Bright, but deficient in initiative and energy
  • Will not sacrifice outside activities for job advancement
  • A sense of entitlement
  • Quality of personal life more important than advancement
  • Low tolerance for “meaningless work” even if well paid.
  • Unlikely to volunteer, even for good cause.
  • Strongly connected to peer group and pack mentality.
  • Cynical about job security.
At first when I was reading it, I was thinking about all of the things that I can tell massage therapists to do to set themselves apart from others and create or find their ideal job in massage.
  • Understand that the employer is taking a risk by hiring you and building a massage practice. They have overhead and bills and want to make a profit. You are being given a chance to participate and excel if you so choose.
  • Show an interest in every part of the business so you know what is going on.
  • Look for ways to always be improving your work and the presentation of the business
  • Even though the employer is responsible for getting you clients, your massage is what makes the difference. Take care of yourself so that you can be present in each massage.
  • Make each massage exceptional and made for each person’s needs. While having a routine is a good place to start from, each person is different and needs different things.
But then I started thinking that some of the things that are listed are just about the massage therapists finally standing up for themselves and doing things like asking for time in between sessions or asking for what they need. Who ever said that advancement has to mean that you sacrifice your personal life or professional life?
Is this just a reflection of massage therapists being taken advantage of for so long? Is this just a reflection of massage therapists finally beginning to value themselves and their work enough to ask for what they need?
So there are two sides to the whole employer/employee relationship. As I am studying and learning about the therapeutic relationship and how people heal in relationships, I can also see that work is just another area where we project all of our unmet needs. The employer has power over the employee. Whenever there is a power differential, there is a potential for projection. We think employers will meet our needs for feeling needed and valuable. We think that we are entitled to that. We project these things all over and into our issues around money as money really is about self care and getting needs met.
When I first started doing massage in 1987, there weren’t any jobs in massage – or hardly any. If anything, most people were independent contractors and many still are. Today there are more jobs and the employers are not massage therapists so they may lack an understanding of what massage really does. We have the opportunity to start teaching massage employers how to treat massage therapists and to teach them what massage is really all about. We can do that by doing more research and taking a more pro-active part in creating and finding ideal jobs in massage therapy.
I seem to only get horror stories about massage therapists working for chiropractors, spas and other places. Massage therapist being made to clean and work for minimum wage when they don’t have clients even though it has little to do with them. Massage therapists working for $12-$15 an hour when the employer is charging well over $60 an hour. Massage therapists who are disappointed in the profession as this person voices on Yahoo Answers
Are there any good stories about massage therapy jobs out there?
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