Are you thinking about entering this year's Professional Beauty GCC Awards? Here's what you need to know about compiling and submitting a fantastic entry.
Top Tips For Entering The Awards
First and foremost: DON'T PANIC. The awards team are always happy to help, so if you have any questions please don't hesitate by getting in touch. Email us anytime: [email protected]
Understand your responsibilities. Finalists in the spa and salon categories are required to provide treatments for an Official Visitor free of charge. If you are entering the Spa category this may include an overnight stay in your property as well.
Read the entry criteria. Be sure you're entering the right category for you by checking the entry criteria shown on our website.
For Therapist, Make-Up, Salon Stylist and the Nail Professional of the Year categories finalists will be asked to demonstrate their 'hands on' skills in front of a panel of judges. Whilst for the Business Director, Spa Leader and Manager of the Year categories, finalists will be required to attend an interview.
Be available. Shortlisting and visits will take place from October through to December - be sure that you're available for contact during these times, or assign a member of your team to handle awards-related tasks while you're away.
Make a note of important dates. Make sure you're aware of the deadline date, and if you're entering an Individual Practitioner category such as Nail Technician, be sure to check the dates for practical judging days and put these in your diary.
Don't leave entering to the last minute. Our server experiences high volumes of traffic around the deadline date, and this could mean that you may fail to submit your entry in time or lose your submission. We cannot make any exceptions for those who fail to meet the deadline, so please make sure you arrange to submit your entry well before the deadline date.
Writing Your Entry
All entries must be written in English.
Give a valid phone number and email address on which the awards team can contact you, and let us know right away if you're details change.
Be clear and concise. The Awards Judges have hundreds of entries to read and we want yours to stand out! Grab their attention by jumping into the best bits, and be sure to stay within the word limit for each question.
Back up your claims. Won any other awards? Be sure to upload a certificate or photo. Featured in a magazine? Scan the article and provide it alongside your entry. Make the most of the Supporting Documents section to show the judges why you deserve to win.
Check and double-check your entry before you submit it. Make the best possible impression by ensuring that you have answered every question, and by checking carefully for errors.
Submitting Your Entry
Compose your entry in Word. This will allow you to keep a backup on your computer in case anything happens to your online form, or in case you lose Internet access. Some of our entrants also find this easier than typing into their browser. Once you’re happy that you’ve composed the perfect entry, you can paste each answer directly into the relevant text box.
Check your file format and sizes. The types and sizes of files we can accept as Supporting Documents are: JPEG, non-animated GIF, TIFF, PDF, DOC and XLS files only. If you need advice on how to convert to one of these file formats or reduce the size of your files, get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise. Individual files should NOT be larger than 2MB. Larger files will result in the upload failing and in some circumstances cause your entry information to be lost. If you are unsure of how large the files are please save your progress before attempting to upload files.
Save your progress regularly. It can take a while to perfect your entry, so we’ve included a ‘save my progress’ feature on the form. Make sure you save regularly while writing your answers, or in the event of a computer error you could lose all your hard work! We also recommend saving before and after uploading each picture or supporting document since some computers have trouble processing upload requests. To be absolutely safe - after choosing each file that you are uploading, SAVE your progress and resume the form - this uploads each file individually rather than attempting to upload them all at once.
Finally: Make sure you’ve submitted your entry. Once you hit ‘Submit’, you will be shown your entry to give you a chance to check it for errors or any last-minute changes you might want to make. If you’re happy with everything, click ‘Confirm’ to confirm that you would like to submit your form to the Awards team. You will then see a confirmation message, and an email will be sent to the address you provided. If you’re not sure whether you have submitted your form, get in touch and we can check this for you.
After The Awards
Receiving feedback. Due to the volume of entries we receive, it is not possible for us to provide feedback to entrants who are not shortlisted as finalists, however, those who are shortlisted will be able to request feedback after the Awards results have been announced.
