Looking to relocate, advice needed!

[Violet-Rose]

Hi, I'm wondering if anybody can offer any advice on my situation?

I've been a qualified Beauty Therapist for over 6 years and this summer I'm relocating from Somerset to London!
Obviously I need to find a flat to rent and ideally a full time job in a beauty salon or spa. I'm just not sure on the best way to go about finding work in a new area. Is it best to just post copies of my c.v and a letter to salons in specific areas? Or is it worth going through a recruitment agency? Google has given me one called "Rose Hadley" but I'm not sure if you have to pay a lot for that sort of thing?

When I type "salons in London" into a search engine I get an enormous list of businesses but I just have no idea where to start! I've only ever worked in small towns before so am used to just popping in to the salon to introduce myself and handing in my c.v.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
Thanks all. x

 

[ClaireL]

Hi

I used to work in recruitment and when you send a cv in with a letter of application its called a cover letter, when your sending a CV and a letter of application to a salon that isnt advertising a position its called a speculative letter what I would advise is it is better to research 5 salons and send a good spec letter than send a spec letter and cv to 20 plus which says the same.

For example if salon a has recently won an award you could mention it in your spec letter to show you have researched that company etc

I hope Ive explained myself right lol if you want any more info feel free to pm me xx

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Fantastic advice from ClaireL.

When I had my salon I often advertised on hairandbeautyjobs.com. So perhaps have a look on there and see who might be advertising in the area you're looking at.

 

[lillamy]

If I were u I would contact salons in the area of London that you are relocation to and maybe salons in central london (well anything with good commute for u) as well as sign up with some agencies, they dont cost u anything. I dont work in beauty (yet) but have always had all my jobs come via agencies

 

[EMK]

I heard a statistic which said 80% of jobs are not advertised. This is a large percentage, and I think this is where the personal touch make a difference. Dropping in a CV personally is always good. However, in saying that online recruitment has worked for me in the past but I think it's good to bear this in mind.