More than any other sector, beauty and health professionals cite passion as their main motivator for getting ahead in their career, but is passion enough? Vanessa Safajou investigates.
A new study has revealed 43 per cent of beauty and health professionals are driven by passion for their career (as opposed to an average of 33 per cent of workers in other industries).
The Think Education survey of 1500 Australian workers aged 18-35 has revealed that while the passion is undoubtedly there, almost 60 per cent are feeling undervalued, and identify a lack of workplace opportunity as the main barrier to getting ahead in their career.
So what is it that young beauty and health professionals need to do to stand out?
“My advice is to continue your education, and continue learning. Keeping skills and education up to industry par will give young workers competitive edge in finding employment [and] will also keep them in industry,” says The Star spa manager, Catherine Lazarou.
“Pride and passion really shines through in the way they speak and in their hands on treatments.”
Judging from the results of this recent study, passion is not lacking with beauty and health professionals, in fact passion for their career provides just as much motivation as the opportunity to earn more money for 44 per cent of workers in the industry.
What remains to be seen is why these passionate workers are having so much difficulty progressing to more senior positions.
“If you want to get ahead, you have to take charge and find ways to make yourself stand out,” says Think Education dean of health, Kath Curry.
“It’s also quite surprising that less than nine per cent point to their lack of industry connections as the main barrier to career progression. This can be incredibly important in getting ahead.”
“For those looking to take their career to the next level, further education could be the right step to take. Not only can you expand your skill set, you can also develop new industry connections and create opportunities that weren’t previously possible,” says Curry.
Have your say: How difficult is it to get ahead in the beauty industry?