Preparing For Training - Part 1...

When I was writing down notes for this post I realised there was so much to talk about that I had to do it in 2 parts. This first post will be about things you need to do and the next post will be about what you need/should bring with you in your suitcase.

When you get confirmed a place at training you will get a starter pack emailed to you. Print this out as soon as you can and read through everything (apart from fitness if you aren't doing that). There is so much information in this pack and step by step instructions on how to apply for your CRB and American visa. There also should be a check list but for me personally I made my own one as there was some other things I personally had to do.

Your contract will arrive in the post in around a week. You need to sign this and scan the signed contract to an email provided to you. I think its something like recruit@theonboardspa.com. Everything you do needs to sent to this email as they need to make a log of it.

Something I will say is save, save, save. You need alot more money than you think for this new adventure. I think i have spent around £2000 on fees, living costs, travel, medical stuff and some new clothes/toiletries. You need to be fully prepared for this, I was very fortunate as my family members chipped in when i ran out of funds during training.

The first thing I did from the starter pack was my Criminal Record Background Check (CRB) there are again instructions in your pack and it costs around £30 ish. This is a very quick thing to do and very easy and should arrive in the post in about 2-3 weeks after you apply for one.

Next I would recommend for you to do your American visa. You need to apply online, which takes forever but its necessary and then you pay for it and book an interview date and time. The interview will be at the US Embassy in London and will be an early time. Once you have your date make sure you have everything you need. You will get an email
listing what you need to bring. At the interview you have to wait in a queue outside and then have your documents checked. You will then be called into a little security box where your bags will be checked (don't have any large liquid items, I had a large perfume bottle which they weren't happy about). You will then walk around the building and into the doors and collect your number which will be stuck onto your passport. After this you will then go into a massive waiting room with a large screen with numbers flashing up. You just have to sit and wait for your number to come up and see what booth you have to go to. You get called up twice. The first to hand in your documents (and passport sized photos), you sit back down, then when your number flashes again you go back up (could be a different booth) and have your interview. This isn't very long and is very easy. After this you exit and wait for your visa to be sent to you with your passport.

Your training and uniform fees need to paid via a bank transfer which i would pay for as soon as you can as this confirms your place at training and at the YMCA where you will be staying. This is between £300-£400. After you have transferred the money I would email them to let them know you have. Make sure the reference on the transfer is your full name.

When it comes to the medical side of things there are a few things you could do. If you are on the pill I would go to your doctor and get a years prescription so you can take it with you on board. If your doctor refuses or wont do it then clinics should be able to do it for you. You need to get confirmation of you MMR jab which you can get printed from your doctors surgery very easily. You are also asked to have a smear test and a yellow fever jab. I didn't have either as lots of ships don't need you to have them but if you want to have them and can afford it I would as it saves a lot of time and hassle if you do need to have either one done. If you are over 25 you must have a recent smear test but if you are not (like me) then I wouldn't worry too much about it, however it is recommended.

4 weeks before you start your training you will have your online training information which you will have 2 weeks to complete. You will have 2 modules each with 3 sections. The Elemis training is very lengthy so I would suggest completing the other one first as it is easier. The Elemis module is all product and company knowledge and I would write everything down as you need to revise and learn it. If you want to take photos of the information then that is also good but for me personally I learn better from hand written notes so that is what I did. It is vital that you pass these tests, if you make notes then you should pass them.

In the first 2 weeks of training you have product knowledge tests which you also have to pass and i made the mistake of not revising that many so I would highly recommend that you do. Your first week is just body treatments and your second week will be what you will specialise in (facials/la therpie/ionothermy/massage).

The last few things:

Make sure your hair has no roots and is recently dyed (if you colour your hair). No crazy colours either as they will probably get you to change it before you go on your ship.

Make sure your nails are clean, polish free, short and neat.

Have some money to convert into whatever currency your ship will use as you don't get paid until 4-6 weeks into your contract.

Say your goodbyes to everyone you want to.

Sorry again for a massive post but more is yet to come.

Thank you for reading

Meg Rose

xxx

The Interview...

Following from my last blog post, you walk into the big red doors and got to reception and say you are there for an interview at (say time). She will then double check for you and you will be directed to the canteen/cafe area. I was one of the first there so there was loads of seats to choose from. (that's another reason why its good to get there early). What I would recommend is to start to talk to people who are there at the interview at this point. Start to make friends with these people as they are all in the same position as you and you could be in training with them. Its also a good idea to add these girls on facebook and message them. I have kept in touch with about 5 or 6 girls and we talk regularly. Some of them were at training when i was there, some of them went on ships ages ago and some are still waiting to start their training so its really nice to talk to them and hear about their experiences and how they are getting on. Also if they start before you then you could get some useful tips from them.

You will then get called to your room which for me was the hair salon upstairs. All rooms in the academy have room numbers above them so its not hard to get around. You sit down and wait for everyone to get in. I would recommend at this point to stay off your phone. I turned mine off to save battery power as my journey home was long and I needed to keep my phone alive to text friends and family.

The first thing you will do is give in all the paperwork you were asked to bring. Its so important that you brought photocopies and not real copies as you don't get anything back. Then you will be given forms and forms to fill in and sign etc. This is also a chance to write down if you have any medical problems or if you can speak any other languages. This does take about an hour to do all of this but it is just something that needs to be done.

In my interview I then had a Steiner presentation about life on board and payment and what you can get out of the experience etc. This presentation is so informative and literally will answer so many of your questions. It is also a long presentation so get comfortable for it. I would recommend to make notes of anything that you feel would be useful to remember. If you are successful, in training you will have some more presentations for you and booklets for you. But notes at this stage may help you to figure out what you need to take with you and how you need to prepare.

Next we did presentations about ourselves. I had to stand up at the front of everyone (around 30-40 girls) and speak about myself. If you struggle with public speaking I would highly recommend for you to practise so you feel more comfortable as you do so much public speaking in training and it is vital on board. In the post I put up last week i listed some questions that could be asked. When I did my public speaking there was some questions put up for us to use as a guide. This speaking lasts for 2-3 minutes or less. Just make sure you seem confident and if you aren't I like to follow this phrase: "Fake it till you make it". I used to be really shy and un-confident but when I came to earlier interviews etc I would just pretend to be confident and now it comes naturally. Have a clear and loud voice as you want to be heard. If your like me and when you get nervous or speak in front of people you fidget with your hands then either hold your hands behind your back or use your hands whilst your speaking by making hand gestures. Another tip is to use the space around you and move a little, try not to be a statue.

After all the above took place it was time for lunch. You can sit in the canteen or go to the smokers area for lunch or there is a subway and waitrose down Uxbridge Road but I wouldn't recommend getting lost during your interview. This was the hardest part of my interview as it was alot of waiting, like I said previously there was a big number in my interview so half of the group did their practical assessment first and after they had all finished then the other half and I did ours. I would highly suggest bring a magazine or something to do during this time. You might not have that much waiting when you have your interview but you just never know. I wasted alot of my battery power from my phone during this time. You can also use this time to go over your back massage routine (or whatever you have been asked to perform). You also want to ensure you are changed into your uniform you brought before you are called back in to do your practical.

Now its time to talk about the practical part of the interview. We got taken into a different salon room. The rooms don't have curtains or anything to separate the beauty couches so you will get getting undressed in front of everyone, so just be prepared for that. This will be the same in training.  You will be asked to pair up and if you went with someone from your college/school you are not allowed to work with them as your techniques and routines will be exactly the same. With the towels you bring in you will be asked to set up the beauty couch how you would normally be asked to do so at college. Make sure you have a towel folded over the head hole if your couch has one. Make sure it looks neat and presentable. I got asked to do a back massage, which for me back then was 20 minutes, however as the lady (who was Donna but now she doesn't do interviews any more) came around and asked everyone individually questions my back massage lasted for 45 minutes. I would suggest to go really slowly and if you feel like you have to then just repeat the whole back massage routine again. That's what I did but you need to be able to understand timings as you could get someone on board booking in for a full body 50 minute massage but they would only want you to focus on the back of their body. If you do get asked questions make sure your massage is really good as whoever is asking you will be listening to your answers but also looking at your techniques. If you can learn or if you have learned how to massage without using your hands and wrists then do this at the interview as during Steiner training and on board you wont be using your hands or wrists in the massages. Don't worry if you don't know this technique as I didn't either and you will get taught the routine which is easy to learn once it is broken down and if you make the correct amount of notes. After you have been spoken too you will probably be asked to stop where you are in the massage and swap over and the same will happen for your partner. After my partner finished I got sent home.

I went out and got changed back into my smart clothes and went outside and got a taxi back to the tube station and went home. Whilst I was outside the academy I asked around to see if any of the other girls was going to Stanmore tube station so we could share a taxi and share the fare. Luckily a girl was so ask around before you leave to see if you can share a taxi to the station you are headed. Once I got to my station I waited ages for a train but 10 minutes on the train I got an email saying I had passed the interview stage and was going to embark on an amazing opportunity and career. (This I where phone battery is good for).

I'm sorry this blog post has been so lengthy but I wanted to put in as much detail as possible for you.

Thanks for reading

Meg Rose

xxx

Preparing For The Interview...

After you confirm your interview location and date you need to start preparing. The first thing i would say for you to think about is how you are going to travel up there. I personally went alone via a train to central London and then I took 2 tubes. I went to the Stanmore station which is the end of the Jubilee line. From this tube station you can get a taxi which costs £5.50 to Stanmore. Outside the station is a little office called Jubilee Cars and you can get a taxi very quickly from there. The driver should take you up to the doors (which are red) and you can walk into reception. Some of my friends went to London with family and stayed in a hotel overnight so they got a lift there but however you are getting there, ensure you get there on time. I got there an hour early and most of the girls at my interview did the same as well. You will wait in the canteen/cafe area in the training academy (if you go to the academy for the interview) whilst you wait to be called as a group to a designated room.

You must remember everything paperwork wise you were asked to bring as they will ask you for it very early on in the interview. I was also asked to bring some towels for a practical assessment so I brought 2 large towels and 2 small towels. I did buy brand new towels for this but I only went to primark to get them, and obviously I got pink ones. I brought mine in a jane norman bag as its big but some girls brought overnight bags and even suitcases to bring everything in. I was also asked to bring my college uniform for my interview and as mine didn't crease that much I just folded mine in my bag. If you have a uniform that creases easily then I would recommend for you bring it in a suit/dress bag to keep it nice and presentable.

How you look is so important. Wear smart clothes, i wore a long sleeved blouse and a pencil skirt. It doesn't have to be too formal but a pencil/skater skirt with a blouse or nice top and a blazer will be fine. I wore flats and I wouldn't recommend for you to wear heels as you don't wear them in training or on board the ship. Your hair should be up either in a bun or a cute hairstyle and if you want to wear a ponytail it has to be completely straight. Steiner are also big on makeup as it represents you as a therapist on how you look after yourself and present yourself, so make sure you have some makeup on. A little tip, Steiner loves a bit of bright lipstick.



I would also prepare some food to eat and maybe something to do whilst waiting like a magazine as the food in the canteen is around £3 for a baguette/sandwich so if you don't want to pay that then you should bring your own food. With my interview as it was such a big group of us, half did their practical and then the other half did theirs. I was in the 2nd half so my lunch was 2 hours (ish) long so be prepared to wait a bit if need be. If your group isn't that big than you might not need to but i would be prepared as I wasted alot of phone battery in this time.


In the interview you are asked to do some public speaking in front of the group about yourself. This isn't very long or scary as everyone is doing it. You will get given some questions on the board and you will have to answer them but what you may have to say is:

• Who you are, age and where you live.
• What and where you studied
• Previous work experience (doesn't matter where you have worked just say it whether it is a little coffee shop or a retail clothing store)
• Salon/spa experience (I didn't have any so it wont matter if you haven't)
• Why you want to work for Steiner
• When do you want to start training

This may have changed since I had my interview but these are just general questions they could ask so it is a good idea to have an idea of what you could say.

Stay tuned for my next post where i talk about the actual interview.

Thanks for reading

Meg Rose

xxx

The First Step: Application

The first step on this journey is to tap onto your keyboard or tablet etc and apply online at www.theonboardspa.com. It is so simple and very easy to apply.Plus take a look around on the website as it holds so many answers on there.

Make sure ALL information is correct especially the email address you give them. After you apply you should hear back within a week or so, however I stupidly forgot to check my spam folder so I thought I never got a reply. So from that experience I would recommend for you to check every folder regularly for a reply email.




If you get a positive email you should get given a date and location for your interview which you can change if you want to. My date was given to me 2 weeks before but I decided not to change as I really wanted to have my interview as soon as possible. I got given the training academy in London for my interview but there are other locations in the UK and around the world for interviews from my knowledge.


Unfortunately you have to be 18 to apply. One of my friends from college (who is on an amazing ship at the moment) had to wait 2 months to apply but she got put into training very quickly after her interview which is what she wanted. Luckily for me my birthday was February so I could apply in march time. If you are in college you can apply a few months before you have even completed your course as long as you let them know.

Thanks for reading

Meg Rose

xxx