I’ve expanded my body art business and am going to be hiring people for the first time, and I’d like some general advice about that. I need people to train to be henna artists as a summer job. I’m prepared to pay very well- the crappy competition working in another park pays minimum wage, and you have to wear a truly ugly and itchy polyester uniform in the heat of summer. I’m going to be paying more than I got at my old year-round desk job, which is several dollars an hour more than anyone would expect from a summer job, much less a fun and pleasant one. If the artists do well at the current location, I can send them to parties and bring them to festivals, where they can make up to a few hundred bucks a day. This is a truly great opportunity, and I am super excited and proud to be able to offer it to people.
I put up posters at my college and posted on Craigslist. I have been talking this up to every group I run into. I expected to be flooded by applicants, and that hasn’t happened. I have met a couple of people who wanted in, and were super excited and definitely YES and one went to get her friend who also wanted in, and she was super excited too-but then I haven’t heard from them for a week. I am starting to think that artsy types may be a bit flaky. Who knew…
On the other hand, I am a month out from actually needing anyone, so there’s little sense of urgency for them. Most people at my college are in the middle of working on final projects, so they’re super busy, and may not be motivated to jump on something less time-sensitive. I’m just getting nervous that I won’t have the staff I need.
I have a few interviews set up tomorrow. I’ve never interviewed anyone before. All the interviews I’ve gone on have been for desk jobs, and they were all “Tell us about the time you failed and how you coped with that.” I don’t know how to interpret that sort of answer. I don’t know what to ask them that will tell me anything for real.
So, what I’m looking for here is someone with experience in hiring people. What avenues to find good people am I missing? Once I hook them, what do I ask in an interview? I know NOT to ask anything personal and non-job-related. I am planning to hand them some henna and a couple of designs and see what they can do right off, then let them go home with the design sheet, practice for a week, and send me pictures again. Other than that, I’m feeling a bit lost.
My wife has been a tattoo artist for 22 years and has hired and/or trained approximately 10 people in that time. Its a very hit or miss process. She has had art school grads who failed utterly. She generally goes by portfolio, having them draw something in person, and by gut feeling. Drawing in person is important because unlike hobby/school art projects the artist needs to be able to get the job out in a timely manner. Customers aren’t going to be happy while an artist fiddles around. She was also able to judge their abilities more from the drawing than portfolio. Good luck.
FWIW, between the crazy& lazy partners and the employees she decided to go solo as a by appointment only tattoo artist a year and a half ago. Shes working more for less but is much much happier. 60-hour weeks and booked into January.:eek:
Another thought is personality and customer relations skills. If the customer likes their artist they are more likely to like their art.
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
If you’re getting NO responses, I’d have to wonder what’s on your posters/flyers and your Craigslist ad … can you share any of that with us?
Is there an art-specific school near you where you can put up posters?
I like the idea of having them draw something real time - shows their ability and how quickly they work.
I think you would want to discuss work ethic and reliability and the like, but not sure how you do so. If they commit to being at a show, they need to be there, on time, etc.
Try to get a sense of how they interact with people. They will be talking to the customers while doing the work, helping them be at ease to have a fun experience, right? Get a sense of how they relate to people, are they comfortable in crowds, dealing with strangers politely, etc.
Flaky and capable of misunderstanding any instructions. No, there’s no ideal length or writing style to get around this.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any advise to help you find people. Offer more money?
I second the idea of putting up your posters at artsy schools. My daughter is an art major at one such school (SUNY New Paltz) and would probably jump at the chance for a job like this…
When it comes to artists sometimes I think it might be better to scout them them make an offer. When I had an interior design company I used artists for renderings of furniture, staircases, interior and exterior layouts etc. Speed was a major issue as well as quality. If you hire someone and they are working in good faith but not up to what you were expecting you still have to pay them. You can potentially go through a lot of artists to get someone that fits in.
First of all, congratulations on the success of your business!
Moving on to things to ask your applicants: can you think of a difficult situation or crisis that has happened to you while working, and ask applicants how they would handle it? Are there any sticky situations that crop up in your line of work more than in others? Also, I don’t know who your clientele is, maybe it’s worth asking if there is any type of customer the applicant would feel uncomfortable working with? For example, some people just don’t like working with kids, and it would be better to know that before hiring. Also, if this is the type of job that requires good people skills, you might want to look for people with experience in retail or customer service. It’s difficult to smile and be friendly to strangers all day, and you want someone who has that skill.