How We Hire Barbers at Blade & Razor
Written By Shery Oji
Hiring a new barber at Blade & Razor isn’t something we rush through. It’s a slow and careful process, and that’s because we take a lot of pride in what we do. Every person who joins our team shapes the vibe of the shop, the quality of service, and how our clients feel when they sit in that chair. So when we’re hiring, we’re not just looking for someone who can fade and trim—we’re looking for the full package.
First Things First: The Resumes
Like most businesses these days, we post our openings on Indeed. From there, we get a flood of resumes—some great, some not so great. Our HR manager goes through every single one and picks out the candidates who stand out. We’re looking for people with solid experience, good education, and a genuine passion for barbering.
But honestly, a good resume isn’t enough. We’re also looking at things like attitude, presentation, and how well someone might fit with our team. So once we find a few promising names, we invite them in for an interview with our store manager.
The Interview: First Impressions Matter
When someone walks in for that interview, they better be on time, dressed sharp, and ready to bring good energy. We want barbers who are polite, respectful, confident, and professional. You can teach someone to cut hair better—but you can’t teach someone how to have a good attitude or how to treat people right.
The Owners Step In
After the interview, the HR manager shares the top picks with us—the owners. At this point, we take a closer look at everything: technical experience, personality, English language skills (which are important since most of our clients are Canadian), and how well they’d fit in with the rest of our crew.
We’re especially looking for people who can handle all kinds of services:
- Low and high fades
- Scissor cuts and scissors-over-comb
- Beard trims and razor detailing
- Straight razor shaves
- Women’s cuts and even some colouring
If someone’s only good at one thing, it’s probably not going to work out. We need versatile barbers who can do it all, and do it well.
The Real Test: The Practical
If everything checks out on paper and in person, we ask the candidate to come back and show us what they can do. They bring in a model and walk us through a full service—haircut, fade, beard trim, straight razor shave, shampoo, head massage, and hair styling.
We want to see clean work, steady hands, and a calm, confident approach. We pay close attention to how they handle tools, how they interact with the model, and how well they can bring a style to life. At the end of the day, we’re looking for someone who will make our clients look great and feel even better.
Training Time
Even if a barber nails the demo, they don’t just jump behind the chair and start cutting right away. Every new hire has to go through our training process. That’s because we have our own way of doing things at Blade & Razor—and we take it seriously.
We teach our barbers how to greet our clients, how to set them up in the chair, how to ask the right questions during consultation, and how to present each service with class. We also go over hygiene, product use, and how to keep things consistent across the board.
Our barbers don’t just cut hair. They deliver a full experience—clean, sharp, relaxing, and personal.
It’s Not Easy—And That’s the Point
Hiring at Blade & Razor takes time because we only bring in people who are truly ready for it. We want barbers who are skilled, kind, professional, and who understand what it means to be part of something bigger than just a job. If you make it through our hiring process, it means you’ve earned your spot.
So, to anyone thinking of applying: if you’re serious about your craft, love working with people, and want to be part of a team that values quality and connection—you might just belong here.
Because at Blade & Razor, we’re more than a barbershop. We’re a family. And we only hire the best.