Purpose Driven Recruitment in the Beauty Industry

11/18/2020

On today’s podcast hosts Kelly Ehlers and Jeffrey Lunnen interview Canvas Me co-founders, and married couple, Jen and Matt Martinelli, about the purpose behind their digital platform.

Canvas Me is a portfolio platform for salon professionals that allows brands to communicate with talent around the country. Opportunities include behind-the-chair roles, brand education and mentorship with some of the industry’s biggest names. Much like what Behance does for the graphic designers, Canvas Me is the place to see and be seen — creating space for pros to make authentic connections.

“My mom had me when she was 17,” Jen Martinelli said, “I was raised by immigrant grandmother who didn’t have a voice. I remember helping her translate and figuring out the world in America. I’d help her write checks, she couldn’t write in English, really dig into that past and honoring the young person inside yourself.

I felt like I didn’t have a voice, and that I didn’t belong. I was so different from the rest of the world who didn’t think I was good enough.

Then I became the adult version of me who would stop at nothing to give other people a voice.”

As with all industries, hiring practices in beauty are under review after the Black lives matter movement has shone a brighter spotlight on diversity and inclusion. Canvas Me supports salon-owners and salon pros by creating an online culture that values diversity with the hope that it can transfer IRL.

As a platform, Canvas Me helps applicants take a deeper look into the roles they are applying for, to look for diversity and inclusion. Canvas Me is working to educate the job seekers as to what questions they should be asking.

On the flip side, Canvas Me co-founders are working with salon-owners as they create portfolios on the platform to highlight their own diversity and inclusion through video on their page.

Finally, mentors are helping stylist bridge the gaps for things they may not have been taught in school and creating mini communities in the digital space by matching mentees with mentors who have similar struggles or can complement each other experiences. The platform’s goal is to level the playing field and highlight amazing artists who don’t have a voice.

Listen to the full interview wherever you stream.

Learn more at canvasme.com.

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