Looking for Massage Therapy Employment

Persons looking for massage therapy employment will discover that the possibilities are almost endless. Narrowing the search to focus on the types of places in which one is most interested will ensure that search efforts are not spread too widely. Checking job boards, such as the one offered by the Massage Certification Zone, help-wanted columns, and other such sources is a good idea. Persons who are both creative and proactive in their searches will be better positioned for finding desirable employment. Each therapist should create a well-written, brief paragraph that states his or her philosophy, vision, and reasons for wanting to be a massage therapist and print it on nice paper with a simple graphic. The statement can be left with each business where the therapist inquires about the possibility of employment. Of course, your chances of finding full time employment are greatly enhanced if you have earned massage certification.

The new therapists should already be aware of such obvious choices as doctors’ clinics, health clubs, and beauty spas but should also consider other options such as cruise ships, casinos, retirement communities, and athletic teams. Another possibility is purchasing a portable massage chair and marketing oneself to larger companies as an employee perk.

A first massage therapy job might be a salaried position, or the therapist might be treated as an independent contractor. Salaried therapists will be given specific hours, and are usually expected to fulfill other duties when no massages are booked. If employed as independents or subcontractors, they can set their own hours and often their own fees. In exchange for using space, the business may take a percentage of what therapists earn. Alternatively, they may charge rent for the space and any shared equipment.

When offered an interview, therapists should prepare and practice some questions of their own. This is a chance to determine whether employment at this particular business is a good fit. Therapists will want to make sure that their visions mesh and that they share a similar business sense. Therapists should ask if the company does any marketing for their massage therapists, where they find massage clients, what kind of client retention they have had in the past, and the number of other therapists who currently work for them. When the therapists supply clients, are they compensated with a bonus? Therapists should be cautious about anyone who requires them to sign a noncompetition statement that they won’t establish their own massage business or go to work as a therapist with another company within a certain time frame or distance. While new graduates may be anxious to start their new careers, accepting such limitations in exchange for employment now can radically affect the opportunities for growth in the future.