Welcome to the third installment of professional development. This week we find meaningful and respectable work in massage therapy. I will share with you the ways and methods I have found very useful in finding massage work in the past.
My first resource is Craiglist. Under jobs there is a medical/health section and a salon/spa/fitness section as well. Under both sections there is usually work listed throughout the state you live in. Be careful with CL though. Only respond to jobs that list the company name, email, phone number and website. With the above information you can do some background research on the company. Listings with vague details please stay away from. If they can't take the time to do a thorough job posting they are not really worth much and can be more trouble in the end.
The second is AMTA. On the AMTA website they have a Job Bank, which is a resource for finding work in your respective city.
Monster.com also has massage jobs on their site. So give Monster a try as well.
Now if you are really hunger and serious about working in the massage field, you can look into doing chair massage. There are a lot of companies that focus on chair massage or on-site massage. These kinds of companies are great jumping off pads for those therapists that are looking to gain experience by working on a variety of people in different settings. Just Google chair massage companies and Boom! Some of these companies have been around quite awhile and are on a national level.
The chair massage companies work health fairs, corporate events, parties, sporting events, etc. You can meet all sorts of great people from around the country. There are unlimited potentials to massage therapy.
Talk to your friends, relatives anyone you know about massage. I am offered work all the time because someone dropped my name to someone else. Please have business cards on hand at all times. When you find work, make sure you work in different places (of course on different days). And I know this may sound redundant but work in different offices, spas, chair events, etc. All places and events have cycles and if you are only in one place you are at the total mercy of that locations cycles. But with many places you have a better chance to maintain a balanced income.
With some of your findings the company may only offer a position on a temp basis such as fill-in when the regular therapist is sick or on vacation. Do not turn down this work because this will give you the opportunity to do some of your best work and really show your skills. Who knows in time you may get offered a permanent position. It happened to me on many occasions.
As I have said in PD1, please stay ahead of the game by working on your skills and being the best you can be. Helping people is our goal and the more you know, the better able you are to help your clients. Every session should have purpose and be filled with meaning. Again only the skillful will survive in these times. There is always room to grow.
PD4 in two weeks!
Peace.
