Hiring Mermaids for 2016

[SheroesEntertainment]

Be a mermaid for your part time job!

Sheroes Entertainment, LLC, one of the world's leading mermaid and aquatic companies, is scouting for new sea stars to become part of our world. If you are an athletic, outgoing, cheerful woman who is great in the water and fintastic with kids then this could be your lucky day!

Being a mermaid is a swimming-based job that requires core strength, stamina, and the ability to multitask while working with groups of up to 20 children at a time. Ex competitive swimmers, divers, synchro team members, water polo players, triathletes, or other fitness / coach enthusiasts are encouraged to apply.

We're one of the industry leaders in water safety for party work and require that any potential hires be certified lifeguards. That means that if you are selected for training you must either already be a lifeguard or be willing to take (and able to pass) the course on your own cost before being eligible for any paid work or being offered a seal of approval for party work with us. The good news is that we also staff lifeguards so there's quite a bit of additional work with that certification too!

Free land party & mermaid training is provided to prospects selected to audition. Training consists of one month of once a week swim and party skills practices lasting 2-3 hours to help you to determine if this is the right job for you and, if so, to prepare for a live audition in front of veteran company members showing off your skills. If selected you will be asked to shadow company members on the job to two events and continue to develop your skills and party routine to prepare for our summer season (typically running May-October).

Once summer season is in full swing your job may take you across Southern California or even destinations like Canada, France, or Mexico! While most of our performers make $40/performance hour (more with own silicone tail) some have made over $15,000 on film and TV commercials projects staffed with us. Party performances typically last 1-3 hours on Saturdays and/or Sundays and offer gas reimbursements plus tips - yay!

While our jobs can be extremely gla-merous, including work with shellebrities and international press, if you want to just sit around on your tail and pose for photos then this is NOT the company for you. We high tail it all over Southern California with 90% of our work on weekends in everything from upscale resort pools to aquariums, water slides, swim centers, and beaches where we're normally wet, possibly cold, and have to be able to quickly problem solve, entertain, and charm all at once. It's a challenge but definitely one that comes with the stories of a lifetime!

So, are you ready to dive in? If this dolphinitely sounds like the adventure for you then please submit your water & children's experience resumes to us with a current photo and letter of why you think that being a mermaid is the right job for you.

NO CALLS PLEASE. AGES 18+. We are a drug free company.
Applicants must already live in Southern California.
sheroesjobs@gmail.com

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Oh how I wish I wasn't located on the other side of the country.

[MerMaisy]

Gives me another reason why I wish I lived in SoCal

[SeaGlass Siren]

how i wish i was across the border right now

[AniaR]

how i wish i was across the border right now
Work for me I pay better lol ;p

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[RomanLaveau]

Booooooo I wish I was a woman now!! :( Struggle of the Mermen

[Calizaire]

I live in So CA, and anyone paying you $40/an hour to mermaid is grossly taking advantage of your beauty, spirit and skills. Even freelancing anyone can start at at least $75/hr.
Don't be envious guys and gals, ya'll are worth more.

[Kishiko]

I live in So CA, and anyone paying you $40/an hour to mermaid is grossly taking advantage of your beauty, spirit and skills. Even freelancing anyone can start at at least $75/hr.
Don't be envious guys and gals, ya'll are worth more.

THIS


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[Echidna]

I live in So CA, and anyone paying you $40/an hour to mermaid is grossly taking advantage of your beauty, spirit and skills. Even freelancing anyone can start at at least $75/hr.
Don't be envious guys and gals, ya'll are worth more.

indeed.

The phrase "While most of our performers make $40/performance hour, some have made over $15,000 on film and TV commercials projects staffed with us" in particular sounds like it's aimed at gullible young girls, and exactly the kind of offer you are advised to ignore or report on modelling sites because you are likely going to be taken advantage of.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Work for me I pay better lol ;p

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Done LOL!

[Merman Arion]

Booooooo I wish I was a woman now!! :( Struggle of the Mermen

The struggle is real. Lol

[PearlieMae]

"While our jobs can be extremely gla-merous, including work with shellebrities ... We high tail it all over Southern California...So, are you ready to dive in? If this dolphinitely sounds like the adventure for you...

Ugh. I work with a punny guy. I want to stab him every day.

[AniaR]

I pay more per hour for my mers ( and we live in a poor area) and enforce a 1:10 ratio so one Mer isn't trying to manage 20 kids. And more practical based training. This was an enlightening post and made me feel better about how I run my business lol.

I gotta ask why the overkill with lifeguard training? Must drive the insurance way up

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[Calizaire]

"While our jobs can be extremely gla-merous, including work with shellebrities ... We high tail it all over Southern California...So, are you ready to dive in? If this dolphinitely sounds like the adventure for you...

Ugh. I work with a punny guy. I want to stab him every day.
34056

[Calizaire]

indeed.

The phrase "While most of our performers make $40/performance hour, some have made over $15,000 on film and TV commercials projects staffed with us" in particular sounds like it's aimed at gullible young girls, and exactly the kind of offer you are advised to ignore or report on modelling sites because you are likely going to be taken advantage of.
Totally. Reminds me of the vultures who come to you in the mall, "Oh hey, you could be a model!" Translation: "I could make money off you."

[RomanLaveau]

The struggle is real. Lol
Equal Rights campaign for "Mermen in the Workplace" lmao :D

[AniaR]

Equal Rights campaign for "Mermen in the Workplace" lmao :D
Hey I'm desperate for mermen up here!!

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[RomanLaveau]

Hey I'm desperate for mermen up here!!

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Rethinking where I'm living after graduation!!! That's awesome

[SeaGlass Siren]

I agree that the amount is way too little.

[Merman Arion]

Hey I'm desperate for mermen up here!!

Maybe something good will happen this coming summer ;)

[AniaR]

Maybe something good will happen this coming summer ;)
You're always welcome here :)

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[Keiris]

Arion, maybe we should do our photo shoot up there with Raina!

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Its the Keirion Brotherhood.

[AniaR]

I'm headed your way soon actually and planning a meetup. do I have you on fb? you're more than welcome to come. Shoot me a message. https://www.facebook.com/raina.mer.5

[Keiris]

Thanks for the invite, Raina! It would be great to see you!

[Mermaid Mystery]

Its the Keirion Brotherhood.

oh dear yes

[KayNS]

Arion, maybe we should do our photo shoot up there with Raina!

Um, yes please! I want to assist on that shoot!

[SeaGlass Siren]

#keirion2k15

[Mermaid Lyra]

I was applying to work with them but they kept misspelling my name.. And it's literally in my email address. And they did it several times. And then I read this thread and I was like yeahhhhhh... Not worth it. Thank you guys for posting about how bs this pay is. For a newer mer who has just moved and wasn't sure it would be worth it to sign up with them... It is just really nice to have an awesome community and I love you guys for it [emoji171][emoji171][emoji171][emoji171] so thank you [emoji228]


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[lulubelle]

Um, yes please! I want to assist on that shoot!

I WANNA HELP TOOO!!

Um...I mean...uhhh...could be fun, I guess. I could help out, maybe. I'll check my schedule

[Merman Storm]

My guess is that does not include overweight, 60 year old balding mermen.

[RomanLaveau]

My guess is that does not include overweight, 60 year old balding mermen.

To be honest, it doesn't include fit, 23 yr old head full of hair mermen either so don't feel bad

[AniaR]

YA'LL JUST COME WORK FOR ME. lol

[Hollydell]

OMG Raina if your serious I'm there ;)

[Mermaid Mystery]

if Halifax has amazing poutine and beaver tails I'm in

[Merman Arion]

YA'LL JUST COME WORK FOR ME. lol

DONT. TEMPT. ME ;)

[KayNS]

if Halifax has amazing poutine and beaver tails I'm in

Yes, and yes. We have both of those things.

[KayNS]

DONT. TEMPT. ME ;)

*tempt tempt tempt*

[Mermaid Mystery]

alright I'm coming back to Canada

[AniaR]

jokes on you all, I actually do get Arion! Bahaha

[Mermaid Tory]

YA'LL JUST COME WORK FOR ME. lol
I wish I had a boss like you!.....or really any boss to take the pressure of finding (or not finding) mermaid work.

[KayNS]

Wow... did we ever de-rail this topic!

[RomanLaveau]

YA'LL JUST COME WORK FOR ME. lol
I'm honestly considering it lol need a change in my life!

[AniaR]

35555

Hey Virginia... Mermaid of Sheroes.

What's good?


Kinda overkill for me asking, "I gotta ask why the overkill with lifeguard training? Must drive the insurance way up" and I see you've blocked me so I can't comment on your passive aggressive post.

Since I've I've been advocating for safety since before you company existed and I TRAIN Lifegaurds, (I even give workshops to the life saving society on the use of mermaid tails lol) I think maybe you have no clue who I am or what I do, or what I've done for "safety" in the mer world.

I think it's a fair question just to ask why you want every single staff to be a lifeguard. We have found that causes conflicts with insurance and liability. And that it's preferred that there be dedicated lifeguards and the responsibility not fall on the mermaids while in costume. So that's what we do. It was a legit question out of curiosity as someone who looked at doing the same thing, but hey way to try and twist it like I don't care about safety because someone dare ask you a question. good on you. Thumbs up.

And hey, at least I posted my questions on a thread YOU started where you can come in and answer said question. Instead of passive aggressively making a FB post you can't see and can't reply to. lol. You even pre-blocked me. lol Are you afraid I might actually have a response to your passive aggressive callout?

I really got no issue with whatever you choose to do for safety. It was a question.

I mean how sheroes apparently pay your staff, that I kinda disagree with. But I think I'm not alone in that. I think it's interesting you zeroed in on my banal comment with everything else being written about here.

[Venessa Louisiana Mermaid]

I gotta agree, $40/hour is total crap. I am a mermaid but own a princess company and my girls start at $60. I provide all costuming AND the work is a lot less strenuous than mermaiding. What's more is that they want you to be a lifeguard to? Certifications equal higher dollar amount. This is a sham.

[AniaR]

I think a water safety training course might be more cost effective and realistic. No one wants their mermaid company liable if the worst should happen, and as I understand it from talking to my insurance agent you are if you assume lifeguarding responsibilities as a mermaid. Whereas with a formal lifeguard it's under the life saving society, red cross, etc. I mean it would be horrible if a kid ever drowned at a party, and you don't want that associated with the mermaid lifeguard who messed up. "if the mermaid's a lifeguard how could this happen?" type deal.

I was literally asking from a logistical standpoint. Not a matter of safe vs not safe

[Merman Storm]

When I went to the Sheroes mermaid class, I was told they were also doing their lifeguard test at the same time, in a different part of the pool. They were taking advantage of their rental time to do both the mermaid class and the lifeguard test. We had to make sure we did not intrude into their area. I did not learn all the test included, I was sort of busy. I did hear they did 6 laps of the pool (300 meters total) and something about a brick and the deep end of the pool. But that's all I heard. It took less time than the mermaid class.

To me, it does seem to be a conflict for the performer to also be the lifeguard. I expect you would end up doing both jobs badly.

[AniaR]

I dont think it hurts safety wise to have people trained, I am just thinking of these sorts of logistics.

[Merman Storm]

Aye, maybe that's all that's going on. If you look at what Sheroes includes in a mermaid party, its one performer and one lifeguard. So maybe the performer does not have responsibility for being the lifeguard, they just want to make sure the performer has safety training. How can Sheroes have high confidence they have that training? Require they be a certified lifeguard.

[Merman Chatfish]

YA'LL JUST COME WORK FOR ME. lol

I'll work for you!

[Merman Chatfish]

Aye, maybe that's all that's going on. If you look at what Sheroes includes in a mermaid party, its one performer and one lifeguard. So maybe the performer does not have responsibility for being the lifeguard, they just want to make sure the performer has safety training. How can Sheroes have high confidence they have that training? Require they be a certified lifeguard.

Have you seen some of the lifeguards out there?
http://www.11alive.com/story/news/2015/06/25/lifeguard-boy-dekalb-pool-911/29257313/,
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2015/06/24/29249215/

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Have you seen some of the lifeguards out there?
http://www.11alive.com/story/news/2015/06/25/lifeguard-boy-dekalb-pool-911/29257313/,
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2015/06/24/29249215/

I'm so glad my boys know what to do. They're well trained.

[PhaylennMurúch]

So in order to get a job with Sheros I need to pay $90-$215 right off the bat. Hell, even local summer camps will pay for training their lifeguards (and camps tend to pay below minimum wage)

[AniaR]

Life guard training is way more expensive here >.> lol $300!

[SheroesEntertainment]

Wow, animated discussion on here.

Our mermaids do start at $40 per hour (base wage only) + gas if they don't own their own silicone mermaid tails and instead use the $2,800+ Finfolk silicone tails that we purchase, provide, and maintain for them each year.

What that starting base wage doesn’t reflect is the fact that we also pay them to do their hair/makeup before an event, get changed/prepped, and take care of/clean their things too. As our clients tend to tip well that means that on average they’re earning around $75-95 + gas pre-tax for one hour of performance work. If the client is far away they get more money for travel. Mermaids with their own silicone tails are closer to $140-$160 pre-tax for one hour of performance work as they receive additional wardrobe compensation.

But that’s just the basic pay. All of our people also get other perks like getting edited photo /video coverage paid for by the company, regular social media promotion, work showcases to high profile industry people, advertising, incredibly good insurance for both performer liability and mermaid worker’s comp (we’re one of the few party companies that does), image management, and invitations to some particularly awesome employee-only adventures and parties… stuff that they’d have to pay at least $2k+ per year for if they attempted to do themselves but get for free by being on our staff.

It is also true that two people from our company in the last two years have earned between $10k and $16k USD pre-tax by appearing in mermaid commercial work that our company was called on by Hollywood productions to staff.

Do we require lifeguard certification on potential mermaids? You bet. That was one of our key changes this past winter and it has really been a great one. In fact, we’re surprised that more places don’t do it. It doesn’t harm our insurance at all; in fact, it’s one of the reasons why we can actually get insurance coverage and help protect our people from liability.

If you think about it, a lifeguard pre-req for a water-based job is no different than if an EMT needs to have gone to EMT school before working on an ambulance or a teacher needs a credential before they can apply to work with kids. It shows that a person took the time to genuinely study their line of work, is physically capable of the work, and understands the challenges of the work environment. The upside is that once hired, employees can choose to take our free internal annual renewal cert class to keep their skills up to date.

Overall, starting to require lifeguard certifications on all of our water staff this winter helped ensure:


That all mermaids are now trained via national standards in identifying and reacting to in-water risks.
That in the case of a rescue both party staff members present (lifeguard + mermaid) would be able to respond effectively together.
That we had sufficient lifeguard staffing for the upcoming season.
To increase opportunities to existing mermaids to more paid work (lifeguards at our company make about 1.5-2x more per hour than local industry average).
That we established a new common core threshold on education at the company to be able to have meaningful dialogue about additional things we can do to keep our clients and teammates safe.


We send at least one designated lifeguard to every swimming pool party where guests are swimming. The goal of our staffing is to have one person (lifeguard) on deck dedicated to safety and one person (mermaid) in water dedicated to entertainment in each team. Merman Storm's idea that "To me, it does seem to be a conflict for the performer to also be the lifeguard. I expect you would end up doing both jobs badly" is spot-on. That's exactly why mermaid and lifeguard are two separate roles.

Merman Storm is also right in that saw was the swim test portion (only) of this month’s employee group training. The swim test portion only of the full lifeguard certification was done in a public pool for the laps and weight retrieval distance; everything else was done through blended learning, in person classroom, and at another pool. The team worked for a month memorizing standards and getting ready for the class and did an amazing job. We’re really proud of them and hope that others will follow in their example to #mermaidlevelup to improve the skills in this industry.

Hope this helps to clear up some of the mystery around our company. If you have additional questions about the company, want suggestions on increasing your own company's water safety in the USA, are interested in finding a Red Cross class near you, or just want to have a good conversation you're always welcome to write in through our website at www.sheroesentertainment.com so that we can give you more personal attention. :rainbow:

[SheroesEntertainment]

Hi Storm! We're so glad that you came out and swam with us! Your tail was awesome!!!!

As this type of activity is new to the facility they were adamant about keeping the mermaid school attendees in the shallow end lanes only for supervision and only letting us use the lane space we'd paid for a couple of months ago (they rented us lanes like a bowling alley). Hopefully as the facility gets more comfortable with our students we'll be able to go deeper in the pool but right now we're thrilled that they are even allowing mermaids to have a place to train when so many US facilities have banned them all together. We'll be sure to explain the lane restrictions better to our class attendees so that they know the reasoning for the lane boundaries it in the future.

[AniaR]

Next time please just answer questions like you just did, instead of giant passive aggressive FB posts. Cuz really I was just interested in all the stuff you said, I found it informative. I also think business and safety (occupational health and safety) is different here than your country. Thanks Virginia.

(to clarify, I train lifeguards, all of my staff have CPR AED, Water Safety training/ drowning prevention, and we have trained lifeguards at every gig. I just dont require my mermaids to be trained lifeguards, I get the other training and prefer to hire from a roster of local lifeguards)

[SheroesEntertainment]

AniaR, we're so sorry that you took a private, unnamed, Facebook post by an individual that you are not connected on Facebook to be directed at you. The thing with Facebook is that non-public personal Facebook posts are, well, non-public by their nature and are not public chat boards. If you are not able to view the post it could be because hey, you simply aren't connected on that social media platform. You might consider reaching out and adding her - it sounds like she actually has a very similar opinion on safety to your own and you two might really be able to have some great things to talk about; who knows, you might meet a new friend!

By the way - we're absolutely flattered that you are interested in our work and how different it is here from the icy wonderland of Canada! How amazing! <3

[Merman Storm]

Hi Sheroes! Thank you.
I don't know if you know, but, other than for your rental, tail swimming is also banned in that pool. It's a shame, as its only a mile from where I live. I have my own pool, but its only 32 feet long. That's not really long enough to properly practice tail swimming. At least I have the option of using the pool at 24 hour fitness, but many mers don't. But at the moment, the only mers that will ever swim in that pool are those that pay you $50, and they only get half an hour of actual tail swimming. I hope your efforts will help with that situation. Maybe at some time you could have part of the pool for classes, and part for just tail swimming for experienced mers who just want to show up, or something like that.

[SheroesEntertainment]

Hi Storm! We definitely hope that mermaid classes will help to bring awareness to the community on water safety and that mermaiding can be a fun experience. As our current classes are structured to require "no prior mermaiding experience" we have to start with tailless techniques before introducing tails to ensure that people can learn in a systematic progression and not be overwhelmed. The bulk of our fees go in to the rental of pool, staffing, and provision of gear to all class participants (that they'd otherwise need to spend up to $150 on). You obviously have experience and your own tail but most people in those classes don't. Hopefully as the program grows we can then focus on more advanced work and explore additional swim time opportunities in our community. Thanks so much for your great suggestion! As always, you can write in through www.sheroesentertainment.com as we do not frequent this board should you desire to reach us for faster communication.

[Echidna]

We definitely hope that mermaid classes will help to bring awareness to the community on water safety and that mermaiding can be a fun experience.

whatever would we do without you.

[AniaR]

Why are you pretending to be a different person? ( you know admins can confirm your ip right?) Lol. You made a public fb post and named" That Canadian Mermaid" in replies in the comments - loads of people contacted me about it so it appears I'm not alone in believing it is directed at me. If you're gonna slander me especially in a manner where I can't reply, in response to a question I asked in a manner you could reply to, expect me to stand up for myself. You leave me little option by blocking my ways of addressing you personally.

Maybe you should get a little more familiar with how things work before posting here again, or calling people out on FB.

Good luck in your search for new mers!

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[Mermaid Reiko]

I'm usually quiet on here but when looking at posts like this, my blood boils. I can see clearly that this company is passive aggressive and that is the sort of person who shouldn't be in customer service/ children or a performing industry working with other people. I even ran across a local mermaid who was the same way. I have come up with my own opinion even though some of the ideas make sense, not to recommend it to anyone in California. SheroesEntertainment don't know how to treat people on a forum, so I'm sure they can't work well with others.

Also btw, I would love to at least swim with you one day AniaR. I'm just getting my fins wet and have your book. Just looking to get out there. :)