Practical interviews in the massage industry have become a point of tension, with many therapists feeling that performing full massages during hiring is unfair and devalues their work. While these sessions help employers assess skill and professionalism, they can leave applicants feeling exploited. Offering candidates a complimentary massage in return creates a more balanced exchange, showing respect for their time and effort. This approach also allows both the therapist and the studio to evaluate compatibility, fostering fairness and mutual respect in the hiring process.
Key Takeaways
- Practical interviews are common in massage therapist hiring, but are increasingly seen as unfair when applicants perform full massages without compensation.
- Therapists value fairness and respect, viewing unpaid practicals as devaluing their time, skill, and professionalism.
- A one-hour reciprocal massage offered by the studio can balance the exchange, turning the process into a fair trade of effort and experience.
- Reciprocal interviews benefit both sides, allowing the therapist to assess the studio’s environment, expectations, and team culture.
- Creating mutual respect in the hiring process strengthens industry standards and supports better long-term working relationships.
The Growing Demand For Massage Therapists
The massage industry is seeing a steady increase in the number of massage chains and brand-defined studios and spas. Wellness and Spa Med franchises are regularly listed as strong fields for small business entrepreneurs and investors. This puts employee massage therapists in high demand. Even many self-employed MTs supplement their private practice with a few days a week at a retail studio.
An inevitable part of an employee’s journey is the job interview. For MTs this typically includes a verbal interview with a manager or lead MT; followed by a practical interview, where the interviewee performs a 60-minute massage on a reviewer.
The Controversy Around Practical Interviews
The practical interview has become somewhat controversial. While it used to be an accepted given, MTs are now questioning its role in the hiring process. Therapists on social media sites describe them as useless or yet another way to exploit MTs. They resent being asked to perform what they see as free labor, and they believe that it devalues their skills. Some therapists are fine with being asked to perform a practical, but say that a full one-hour massage is excessive. “If they can’t tell if I’m good enough for them in 15-30 minutes, that’s a red flag,” wrote one commenter.
Other MTs have described managers abusing practicals, asking applicants to give full body massages to their entire management team – the manager, the assistant manager, and the lead MT – only to be ghosted after the interviews. It’s easy to see how practical interviews have left a bad taste in the mouths of people who feel they have been taken advantage of.
But there’s much more to a practical than “a free massage”. For a reviewer, it’s not a normal massage that they can relax into and enjoy. They have to keep themselves alert and present the entire time to fully critique the experience. While techniques are high on the list for assessment, they are also tracking draping, pacing, and energy.
In addition the reviewer must decide whether any concerns that come up can be corrected with training, or if the applicant is just not a good fit for the location. A quick 15 minutes of table time is not sufficient to get a full picture of a therapist’s session presentation.
Balancing the Interview Process with Reciprocity
Fortunately, there is a way to balance the power differential of the practical interview – offer the applicant a free one-hour massage from one of your team members. This solution not only helps ease the concerns of MTs feeling undervalued, it brings compelling additional benefits for both sides.
The most obvious benefit is equalizing the exchange of effort. Instead of a “free massage”, it becomes closer to a trade. The value of the interviewee’s labor is mirrored back in the value of the studio massage they are given. It shows respect for and recognizes the fact that the MT is doing work, and that work deserves compensation.
Offering a massage exchange acknowledges that the applicant is interviewing the business as well. By directly experiencing what the studio expects from their therapists, a potential employee can decide if that studio’s ambiance and style is suited to them. They can personally weigh whether they’d be comfortable with the music, lighting, equipment, and routines mandated by the employer.
It gives the interviewee a chance to talk with a current employee in a less formal atmosphere and ask about the working conditions at that location. They’ll get a sampling of the people they might be working with and start to assess whether the team is the kind of group they want to be a part of. The MT who performs the reciprocal massage might also offer input to management on whether or not they think the applicant would fit in well with the chemistry of the existing team.
The practical interview is a valuable tool that helps managers decide whether or not to hire a new massage therapist. Getting rid of it completely would not support the industry’s goals of ensuring quality massage from quality therapists. But as it is most often practiced now, it leaves the massage therapist in the awkward position of providing a valuable service with no guarantee of compensation.
Giving an applicant the experience of a studio’s massage is a win-win scenario. The MT receives a service on par with what they are offering by performing a practical massage. It creates a more balanced duality in the interview process, recognizing that the workplace is being assessed as much as the applicant is. The therapist and the studio have more opportunity to judge whether they are well-suited for each other, saving time and resources for everyone if it doesn’t work out. As a result of all of these benefits, it gives both sides a stronger chance of launching a working relationship grounded in respect and inter-supportiveness.
About the Author
Lori Olcott, LMT, CMLDT, is a licensed massage therapist specializing in helping clients achieve their health goals through education, communication, and active participation. She is certified in Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy and Manual Lymph Drainage, and has led research on the effects of massage therapy on combat-induced PTSD in military populations.
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