KEY TAKEAWAYS: In this article, we’re sharing how beauty pros like you can elevate and upgrade your resume with our cosmetology resume tips. Not sure what should go on your resume? We’ll walk you through all the must-know elements in this post.
Resume Tips Every Beauty Pro Needs to Know
A great cosmetology resume is very important, even in the beauty industry. Start by listing your education, experience, and skills. Use platforms like CanvasMe to make your resume creative and engaging. Include all relevant training and certifications, and be honest about your experience. Highlight both industry-specific and general skills to stand out. A strong resume can help showcase your hard work and talent to potential employers.
[rank_math_toc]Top Resume Tips for the Ambitious Beauty Pro
Build it Up, Buttercup
Okay, for starters, you have to have some content for your cosmetology resume, and no, you can’t create this out of thin air.
Before you can write up a gorgeous, beautiful, self-boosting resume, you have to have the skills, experience, schooling, and accomplishments first.
Think about it – you can’t write it down if it doesn’t exist.
If you find yourself in the situation where you’re realizing you don’t have much to throw on your beauty industry resume, then you’re probably still in the building blocks phases.
You know what? That’s okay!
Everyone has to start somewhere. Take your time. Build it up. Do good work that you’d be proud to put on your cosmetology resume.
Take some classes. Get your licenses. Find your passions. Work with a mentor.
No matter what, make sure you’re investing the time and effort into getting your beauty career going.
The next step? Taking all of those awesome feats you’ve accomplished and put them down on paper.
Fancify Your Resume with CanvasMe
Just because the notion of having a resume is traditional certainly does not mean your resume or portfolio should be boring. We have the luxury of working in an innovative, exciting, and creative industry—who’s to say your resume can’t be all those things?
This is where CanvasMe comes in.
Simply put, CanvasMe is an e-portfolio platform that was created just for the beauty space. You can upload photos and videos, sync your Instagram account, highlight certifications and awards, and showcase so much more than a traditional resume.
With CanvasMe, you can put all of your information in one place, create an impactful connection through your personalized bio and videos, and even directly apply for mentorships, jobs, and more with the click of a button.
We highly recommend giving CanvasMe a peek before you start building your resume so you can witness the ultimate potential out there.
What Should Go on My Cosmetology Resume?
We’re so dang glad you asked this question—it’s the most important question after the whole, “wait—do I seriously need a cosmetology resume?” question.
What you put on your resume can make an impactful difference on your job prospects, the opportunities you’re up for, and your future, too. Sounds like a lot of pressure, right?
This is the fun part—the part where you get to brag about yourself and show your future employers or mentors exactly what kind of back-breaking work you’ve been putting into your career.
It doesn’t have to be. Here are a few must-hit points you have to include on your cosmetology resume to dazzle any prospective partner in the biz.
Let’s Talk about Schoolin’
This is going to be a huge thing to add to your cosmetology resume.
While we understand that a lot of greats have been self-taught, there’s something to be said about putting the time and effort into participating in a program that you want to specialize in.
We suggest placing your most recent education first, followed by the other schools, classes, or programs you may have attended. It’s important that you don’t leave anything out. If you completed a course a few years ago in one sector of the beauty industry but have just completed a course in your primary specialization, don’t hesitate to add in the older education.
All of your training is going to benefit you and show that you offer a myriad of skills! See our blog on tips for starting beauty school for more information.
Experience
Consider this like a fun, exciting, career snapshot.
That’s right, this is your chance to explain to all your prospective clients, employers, partners, etc. just how much cool, on-the-job experience you’ve had. Talk about where you’ve worked, who you’ve worked for or with, who inspired you, and what you liked best about each position. Maybe, if you have space, talk about what you learned from each position and how it benefits you!
This leads us to the ever-existent question: “What if I’m a recent grad who doesn’t have work experience?”
Fair point, but we’re here to counter this a little (consider us a really cute, well-kept devil’s advocate). Consider all of the education experience you’ve gained (working with mentors, putting in salon hours, etc.) and volunteer experience as work experience.
Obviously, preface it as what it is (never lie about your experience, ever!), but it’s okay to count these things as experience, because, well, that’s what it is!
Skills, Skills, Skills
This is the exceptionally fun part – this is where you really get to brag about your skills and tricks of the trade.
Make sure you’re being accurate here, but don’t try to be too concise. You want to make sure you’re writing down all the relevant, awesome skills you’ve acquired during your training and experience so that everyone reading your resume can get an accurate picture of everything you can do!
Don’t just talk about your industry-specific skills, either.
Are you great with customers? Excellent.
Awesome at organization? Write that down, too.
No matter what, if it’s a relevant skill, we want you to write it down! Make sure everyone knows how awesome you are.
“No matter what, if it’s a relevant skill, we want you to write it down. Make sure everyone knows how awesome you are.”
Don’t Forget Those Licenses and Certifications
We bet you have licenses and certifications (to work in most beauty industries, you sort of have to).
So, it’s incredibly important that you list these bad boys out. Give yourself all the credit when it comes to this section. Any license or certification you have, write that down.
Are you a licensed microblader? Write that down!
Do you have a cert in esthetician work? Let’s see it!
How about eyelash extension, manicurist specializations, or cosmetology? Write. Them. Down.
Brag a Little Now
You know you’ve got the goods, and now that you have a cosmetology resume, you have the platform to back that up.
This is the part where you get to humble-brag about yourself a little.
Show off those accomplishments. Have you won any awards? Awesome! Throw those down in a special section. Have you received special recognition? We bet you have. List those out, too!
Too often, people tend to shy away from their accomplishments, and that’s fine in everyday life if that’s how you are, but you need to show off when it’s resume time!
This is no time for keeping quiet about your accomplishments – include all the relevant ones that you can.
Loving our helpful business advice? We hope so.
Because sure, we’re here to protect you with our comprehensive insurance coverage, but more than that, we’re here to help your career thrive like never before!
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Don’t forget to download our free resume template to get you started!
