When you complete your cosmetology or esthetics training, you’ll be able to impress future employers with your beauty skills and knowledge. The quickest way to do that is through an effective resume and an eye-catching cover letter. Let’s look at several best practices you can integrate into your resume and cover letter so you can get a job in the beauty industry that fits your interests and skill set.
Resume Best Practices
To write a resume successfully, there are a few rules of thumb you should follow:
- Put your name, address, phone number, and email address at the top of your resume.
- Put a 2-3 sentence professional summary of who you are and what you’re looking for in a position below your contact information.
- List all relevant licenses and certifications before you list your experience.
- Always list your previous positions in reverse chronological order, with the current or most recent position listed first.
- State how long you stayed in each position with the month and year of your start and end dates. Put this next to your job title separated by a comma or on the line below your job title.
- For each position, list your duties briefly in bullet points beneath each job title.
These rules of thumb are a great place to start, but the beauty industry is highly specialized, so here are some industry-specific tips. When you put a resume together just after you earn your cosmetologist or esthetician’s license, you should list any positions you’ve held in the beauty industry, whether you were working as a salon assistant or a sales associate in your local Sephora. Additionally, you should emphasize the skills you developed during your cosmetology or esthetician training, such as hair coloring and cutting or performing facials, chemical peels, and light therapy. You can list these in a “special skills” or “professional skills” section placed near the top of your resume. Additionally, if your beauty school has a student-run SalonSpa like Brillare, you can list the hours you logged there as additional work experience.
Discover how enrolling at Brillare can help you start your career in the beauty industry.
Cover Letter Best Practices
When you submit your resume or fill out a job application for a position in the beauty industry, you should send a cover letter along with it. Here are several cover letter best practices you should follow:
- Address your letter to the position’s hiring manager.
- Make sure your cover letter has three body paragraphs and keep each one five sentences long or shorter.
- Use action verbs to create a strong cover letter. Here are some action verbs you can use for beauty industry jobs: styled, created, maintained, consulted, grew, and improved.
When you apply these best practices to your cover letter, you can make yourself stand out to the hiring manager. You’ll be much closer to ending your job search and finding the right position for your skill set and interests.
Job Application Best Practices
You should follow certain job application best practices when you fill out an existing application for a position you want:
- Answer every question truthfully to give the hiring manager a full picture of your work experience.
- List your previous positions in reverse chronological order, as you would on a resume.
- If the application gives you a place to upload your resume and cover letter, upload both of them. This will reflect well on you when the hiring manager reviews your application.
These best practices give you the chance to make your application stand out and bring you closer to the position you want.
When you put a resume together just after you earn your cosmetologist or esthetician’s license, you should list any positions you’ve held in the beauty industry, whether you were working as a salon assistant or a sales associate in your local Sephora. Additionally, you should emphasize the skills you developed during your cosmetology or esthetician training, such as hair coloring and cutting or performing facials, chemical peels, and light therapy.
Prepare for the Job You Want With Brillare
Reach out to Brillare Beauty Institute today if you’re ready to train for the beauty industry job of your dreams! We have the resources to help you prepare for the licensing exam, build your customer service and retail selling skills, and find a job right after you graduate.