School’s out and you’re off, waving a certificate that says you are fully qualified. But then, so are all your classmates and other graduates from other beauty schools. The real world is a busy place and it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. The way you talk, the way you look, the way you perform in your skillstest will all count, but is it enough to grab the attention of a potential employer? How do you get them to consider your application above all the other new graduates?

Paul Tate, CEO North America at Shortcuts Software, gives his advises to those students who are about to finish school and are looking for a job.

"For the more discerning students and beauty schools, leaving with more than a licence has become a crucial part of the recruitment process," says Tate. "Newly qualified job seekers are now searching the web, dropping in on salons, scanning the job ads with more than a resume; they’ve got print-outs of their performance during practical training.

"All professionally run beauty schools will run management software, with the more sophisticated systems providing detailed reports into the performance of every student. These reports can double your chances of securing a good position, and quickly. They can record the percentage of bookings you had during your clinical training and more importantly, how many rebookings you got. The data can also show how many services and how much retail you sold. It’s all there in black and white to impress your future employer.

"Sadly, there are still some schools who are not issuing these reports even though their main focus should be ensuring the success of their students in the hunt for a position. But many are. Indeed, some schools are even presenting their students with the names and contact details of clients who requested them or rebooked with them, giving the student a ready client list to take with them to their first job. It definitely ups your chances if you are proactively bringing business along with your enthusiasm.

"But it’s not all about the numbers or the income generated, important as it is. Utilizing software reports can also illustrate the soft skills you’ve developed. Recently we’ve been customizing our client profile cards so that they include suggested questions for students to ask which encourages a culture where the consultation is a crucial part of the service.

"This data allows the students to pick up from the last visit, checking up on how much the client liked the retail product they bought or the extra service they had. Instilling this sort of interaction at school level helps create the ideal employee. And the report is the evidence.  In a highly competitive job market, having proof of your abilities in a report from your beauty school can make the difference between getting noticed or not."