Careers at 3rd Coast Salon

3rd Coast Salon is a specialist salon in River North. Every stylist here owns a service area instead of trying to be good at all of it. Cuts, color, color correction, extensions, vivids and pastels, texture and smoothing, styling, conditioning treatments, and nails all sit with the person who does that work every day. If that is how you want to build your career, we want to hear from you.

What it is like to work here

The specialist model is the whole point. A stylist who spends their week doing color correction gets better at color correction than a stylist who does one every other month. Work gets routed to the person who does it best, so you are not stretched across services you never wanted to build a book around. You get to go deep on one thing and be known for it.

That means you have room. Nobody is going to hand you a schedule of services outside your area to fill a gap. It also means you are expected to actually own your area, keep learning in it, and be the person the rest of the team sends clients to.

Consultations come first, always. Nothing gets started until the stylist and the client have talked through hair history, condition, what has been done to it before, what the client wants, and what is realistic to do in one visit. We do not rush a consultation to save ten minutes, and we do not let a client sit down for a service that will not work on their hair. If you are used to being pushed to say yes to everything that walks in, this will feel different.

The tone in the salon is professional and low drama. Stylists talk to each other about hair. Someone who has done more foil work than you will tell you what they would do, and you are expected to do the same when it is your area.

Who we are looking for

Licensed cosmetologists, first. That is not negotiable, and it is the first thing we check.

Past that, the fit we look for is a stylist who wants to specialize rather than do everything. Some things that tell us you are the right kind of applicant:

• You already know what you want to be great at, or you know what you want to build toward.
• You take consultations seriously and you are comfortable telling a client no, or not today, when the hair says so.
• Your portfolio shows real work on real clients, not just class photos.
• You keep learning after the license. Classes, hands-on training, brand education, working under someone better than you.
• You show up when you say you will and you communicate when something changes.
• You want to be part of a team, not a solo operator who happens to share a room.

Newer stylists and experienced stylists both get read. What matters is whether the specialty you want lines up with what the salon needs, and whether the work in your portfolio backs up what you say you do.

What the salon offers

• A River North address. 223 W Erie Street, Suite 1E, in a neighborhood with real foot traffic, downtown workers, and clients who care about their hair and travel for it.
• An established reputation. 4.9 stars from 192 Google reviews. You are not starting from zero credibility, and clients arrive already expecting good work.
• Professional product lines. Professional color and care lines are stocked in-house and available for retail, so you are working with product you can stand behind and recommend.
• A real booking system. Online booking runs through Rosy. Appointments, service history, and rebooking are tracked in the system, not on paper, and clients rebook through it.
• A clientele that pre-books. Our clients book their next appointment before they leave, which is what makes a specialist schedule work in the first place.
• Clear service areas. The service menu is built out across eight categories, so what you are responsible for and what someone else is responsible for is not a guessing game. You can see the full menu on our service menu.
• A schedule with real closures. The salon is open Tuesday through Friday 10am to 7pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

How to apply

Email info@3rdcoastsalon.com and send:

• Your resume.
• A portfolio, or your Instagram handle if that is where your work lives. Either is fine. We want to see finished work on real heads.
• A few sentences on the service area you want to own and why.
• Your Illinois cosmetology license status.

Put the specialty you are applying for in the subject line so it lands with the right person. If your work fits what we are building, we will reach out to set up a conversation in the salon. Specifics about the working arrangement get covered in that conversation, not over email.

Questions before you send anything? Call the salon at (312) 929-2627 during business hours.

Questions stylists ask before applying

Do I need to bring my own clients?

Not necessarily, and it is not the only thing we look at. A stylist who already has a book is easy to talk about, but so is a stylist whose work is strong and whose specialty fills a gap on the schedule. Bring whatever you have and be straight about it. What we want to know is what you do well and how you work with clients.

Is this commission, or booth rent?

We go through the working arrangement in person, once we have seen your work and talked about the service area you want to own. It is not something we quote in a job post, because the conversation depends on what you specialize in and what you are bringing. Email us and we will cover it directly.

I only do one thing well. Is that a problem?

No. That is the model. If extensions or blonding or color correction is your whole thing and you have no interest in becoming a generalist, this is a better fit for you than most salons. What we do need to know is which thing, and we need to see the work.

What actually happens after I email?

We read the resume and go through the portfolio or Instagram first. If it looks like a fit, we set up a time for you to come into the salon so we can talk in person and you can see how the floor runs. Depending on the specialty, that may include a technical, and we will tell you ahead of time if it does. Give us a bit of time to get back to you, since we are on the floor with clients most of the week.

Not applying, just want to book an appointment? Book online here.