INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Cosmetologist positions are at a 19% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 622,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 119,800 to 742,500 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Cosmetologist jobs was $27,630 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $9.06 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $25.68 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Cosmetologist job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Cosmetologist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Cosmetologist resume experience section
Cosmetologist Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Cosmetologist resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Devoted employee, top performer, along with constant learning in the beauty/cosmetic industry for the past 9 years.
- Excellent communicator with guests, sales and problem solving.
- Experience in creating, and implementing effective social media skills to improve business.
- Proven ability to simultaneously manage multiple levels of responsibilities and duties in a fast paced environment.
- Diligent and accurate in performing the latest hair styles, cuts and techniques, with a desire to always improve my skill as a cosmetologist and creator.
- Evaluated client needs and recommended treatments and strategy to achieve desired result, while maintaining hair health.
- Supported reception efficiency by taking phone calls, inputting appointments and collecting payments.
- Maintained clients' treatment records and designed long-term care programs for return customers.
- Responsible for meeting or exceeding individual sales and productivity goals.
- Performed aesthetic face and body procedures using high technology medical equipment.
- Analyzed clients individual needs to determine and recommend the best treatment for them in order to achieve excellent results and meet their deadlines.
- Colaborated with team members to achieve the beauty center goals and together managed to increase our clients with more than 30% for 3 years.
- Comply with health and safety standards set by OSHA and The Georgia State Board of Cosmetology.
- Maintaining excellent communication, customer service, and time management skills to ensure client satisfaction.
- Keep Georgia State License in good standing by attending continued education classes.
- Educated clients about products and self-maintenance for healthy hair based on needs and preferences
- Kept work areas, tools and equipment clean and properly sanitized to minimize risk and cross-contamination
- Offered highly skilled and diverse salon services to over 20 daily customers, including cuts, color services and extensions.
- Processed payments by entering sales in register
- Built strong and lasting rapport with clients through consistent delivery of requested services and exceptional results
- Supported reception efficiency by taking phone calls, inputting appointments and collecting payments
- Performed daily cosmetology duties including cuts, colors and waxing services
- Increased clientele volume by more than 50% throughout career
- Handled all cash transactions, debit and credit card transactions
- Meet weekly product sales goal
- Exceed Cosmetology State Board sanitation requirements, and maintain optimal sanitation
- Take regular inventory of, organize, and recieve shipments of products
- Assess and meet individual client needs to the best of our ability
- Work to understand clients vision and expectations, make recommendations as to what flatters them
- Keep constant and clear communication with the client throughout service
PRO TIP
Check the Cosmetologist job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action Verbs for your Cosmetologist Resume
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Cosmetologist Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Cosmetologist resume
Medical terminology
MS Office
Hair Styling
Pedicures
Makeup
Manicures
Customer Service
Listening
Creative thinking
Networking
Time Management
Organisation
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
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Cosmetologist Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Cosmetologist Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Cosmetologist resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Cosmetologist Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Cosmetologist resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
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Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Cosmetologist resume
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Become a Makeup Artist and How to Get a Job of Makeup Artist
Become a Professional makeup Artist and How to Get a Job of Makeup Artist
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Cosmetologist Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Cosmetologist Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Cosmetologist resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Cosmetologist resume:
Cosmetologist Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Cosmetologist resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Cosmetologist Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
