In this troubled economy, mastering interview skills is essential in order to get a good job. However, having a professional and superior look at that interview is something that could give you a leg up in a competitive job market.

Luxe Salon and Spa in Sacramento is lending a hand to Sacramento residents by offering a free hair style and make-up application to those going on a job interview. Salon owner and Sac State alumna Tennison Longs hopes that by offering these services, people will feel better and have confidence going into their interview which will give them an advantage.

Luxe stylists said they’ve had a lot of clients tell them they’ve lost their jobs and are struggling to find new ones. Some stylists also have clients who are fresh from college and are under pressure to get a good job.

The anxiety that builds when a person is going on an interview is what sparked the idea for the promotional campaign. The Luxe team came up with the idea together one day at a staff meeting.

“We decided that we wanted to do something to get people in the salon and help out because of the economy and because people are going on interviews after having lost a job,” said salon manager Bernadette Bettis.

At the staff meeting, stylists then began to brainstorm ways to make it an even stronger campaign. “We have stylists that are really excited about doing makeup and someone had said ‘Well we can always offer to do a hairstyle for an interview.’ Someone else had said, ‘What about putting makeup with it?’ Then one of the stylist said, ‘It’s like ‘pay it forward’ for free,'” Bettis said.

Long was so inspired by the “Pay it Forward” movie reference that he came up with the campaign’s name: “Style it Forward.”

“The idea came up so organically,” Long said.

Bettis believes that this type of campaign is exactly what people need right now. “I think it is really a fun idea,” Bettis said. “Everyone wants to do something to help because they understand how hard it is right now.”

The campaign began a couple weeks ago and doesn’t yet have an ending date. “We will see how it goes. Definitely for a couple of months because I don’t want to have it come out in print in a monthly magazine, like Sacramento Magaizine, and have it not going on anymore,” Long said.

Monica Ramos was Luxe’s first client to receive the “Style it Forward” services. Ramos works part-time for her daughter’s school and is in search for a full-time job. She was getting ready for an interview for an administrative/clerical position.

“In times like these people should do nice things,” Ramos said. “It just goes to show that there are still people out there that do care.”

Ramos heard about the “Style it Forward” campaign through “Good Day Sacramento” and called to make an appointment to better prepare herself for her upcoming interview. “It’s important and it makes people feel good. I am going to go in there with confidence,” Ramos said.

Ramos’s stylist Kat Brown understands how hard the job market is right now. “I know I was out there searching for a job not too long ago. I applied at a coffee shop and there were 200 other people that had applied, and that is just a coffee shop,” Brown said. “Anything that can give you an edge over that and can make you feel good is worth trying.”

Being a part of the “Style it Forward” campaign makes Brown feel like she is really doing her part to help out in this difficult time. “It feels good to help people out and make them feel pretty,” Brown said.

Is Luxe taking a financial risk by giving away free services? Bettis does not think so, “Its mostly time that is being given away. We don’t think it will do negative because the amount of time it takes to just help somebody style their hair is not much, we are not doing extravagant stuff,” Bettis said.

Long agrees that the campaign can only help and not hinder the salon: “We have a big salon, there are stylists that have time between their appointments, so the whole concept is get people into the salon.”

Luxe believes that looking good and feeling good about yourself will help when you are going on an interview. “It is more of a feel-good thing. You are going to look good so it is going to make you feel more confident,” Bettis said.

Long agrees that having the right look can be beneficial to someone who is trying to be hired, “It will instill more confidence which is a huge factor in the interview process,” Long said. “Your appearance is crucial in the economy because everybody needs a slight edge.”

Another great aspect of the service is that clients will be taught how to do their hair and makeup for the professional world. “It is also like a consultation because these guys are professionals so they can give people tips, tricks and shortcuts,” Long said.

Long knew from a previous campaign that not all people know what look is best for them. “We have done something in the past where we did a free styling before you went out at night and a lot of people don’t know how to style their own hair. They will style curly hair the way thin hair should be styled,” Long said.

Bettis is hopeful that by having people come in for a free service they will think about coming back to the salon in the future, “Maybe they will want to come back because we have a great group of people here and it is a nice environment too,” Bettis said.

Luxe Salon and Spa, like almost every other business, has felt a financial impact because of the dwindling economy. “People still get their hair done but they wait a longer amount of time in between to get their hair done or they will get less done,” Bettis said. “They will pull back on things like pedicures or things like massages, too.”

The campaign has Luxe employees excited for what it might bring and what kind of impact it could have. “It is exciting because it gives you that good feeling to know that you are helping out,” Bettis said, “The idea of helping someone out is something that needs to happen more especially with how the economy is and how everything is going in America, pulling together is probably the best thing.”

Cozette Roberts can be reached at [email protected]