Hair Stylist Resume Example

Hair Stylists cut, color, and style hair to make their clients feel beautiful. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hair Stylists are currently experiencing a 1% decline in job growth.

But don’t panic! The job outlook is likely to improve once the world returns to normal!

Nevertheless, the uncertain job market makes it all the more important to craft a stellar resume.

At the end of this article, you’ll be able to pick the right resume template, use strong action verbs, and describe your experiences in a way that demonstrates why you are perfect for the job. 

Let’s get started! 

Work Experience for a Hair Stylist

Senior Hair Stylist Work Experience

• Increased revenue by 15% by bringing existing clientele to spa
• Trained 6 new employees
• Ensured clients left feeling beautiful and confident
• Pioneered new treatment for relaxing hair that decreased time by 20%
• Ranked in the top 5% of salon employees based on product sales performance
• Recommended hair products to clients, boosting sales by 15%
• Offer 6+ technical hair services, including braiding, heat treatments, coloring, foiling, perms, balayage, and more
• Analyze hair and scalp condition and suggest treatment plans for optimal health and beauty
• Incorporated new beauty trends into salon offerings, including braiding styles and fantasy colors 

Junior Hair Stylist Work Experience

• Ensured proper sanitation procedures were completed after each appointment
• Improved salon's Instagram following by 15%
• Scheduled client appointments
• Ensured salon work stations were clean and well-stocked
• Washed, cut, and dyed hair under supervision of senior stylist
• Handled cash and credit card payments using POS systems
• Suggested styles to fit clients' desired looks
  

1. Choose the Right Format for a Hair Stylist Resume

The first step to writing a resume is choosing which format to use. 

You have 3 main options:

1. Reverse-Chronological: this format lists your most recent work experience first. This helps employers see the trajectory of your career and how you’ve grown over time.
2. Functional: this format highlights your skills, and is best for those with less traditional work experience; like if you took a break from the workforce to care for children or an elderly parent. 
3. Hybrid / Combination: this format is a mix of both functional and reverse-chronological resumes. List your skills and abilities first, then follow it up with your work experience.

When hiring managers glance at your resume and they want to get a sense of the following:

• Your customer service skills. Hair Stylists build a repertoire with their clients, so interpersonal skills is a must!
• Experience with coloring hair. This is a delicate science, mixing and applying chemicals, so managers need to know if you’re well-versed in this procedure. 
• That you’re up to date with trends. Not too long ago, “fantasy colors” -- silver, bright pinks, and metallic blues -- were in vogue, and before that, ombre hair. Do you have experience with these styles?

Any of these three resume formats will work for a Hair Stylist, so pick which one best fits your work experience and your array of skills.

2. Write a Strong Hair Stylist Resume Summary

Did you know that resumes are looked at for less than 10 seconds?

This means your resume needs to wow the hiring manager right off the bat. 

So what is a resume summary?

A resume summary is one or two sentences in the top section that summarizes your entire resume.

It’s the punch line that gets the resume reviewer to want to know more. 

For Hair Stylists, include the following points in your study

• Years of experience. If you’re new to the scene, then leave this part out. 
• Treatments in which you are well-versed, such as coloring or highlighting hair, adding extensions, or doing perms. 
• Your customer service skills. Use an adjective to spice up this section — are you “patient,” “fun,” “conversational?”

Note that the best strategy for the resume section is to only include info that is relevant to the job.

Here is an example of a good resume summary:

6 years of experience coloring and styling hair, including trendy treatments like fantasy colors. Specialist in styling ethnic hair, including braids and heat treatments. Superb interpersonal skills with a knack for conversations and helping clients feel at ease. 

This summary is detailed.

It explains exactly what the Hair Stylist can do, and what sets her apart from others.

The last sentence also adds some flavor and personality.

Here is an example of a bad resume summary:

6 years experience being a hair stylist: cutting, coloring and styling hair. Works with lots of people, and fun to be around!

This summary is vague, all Hair Stylists can cut, color, and style hair.

There is nothing unique or special about this.

And the “fun to be around” sounds thin and stretched. 

3. Describe Your Work Experience as a Hair Stylist

It’s important to write your resume experience in a way that anyone in your industry will understand.

Don't use company-specific language. 

In other words, you can use terms that other Hair Stylists would know, such as “fantasy colors” or “perm,” but steer clear of terms that only your previous salon used. 

Ex: Rainbow treatments for hair involving both fantasy and standard colors. 

What is a “rainbow treatment” and what counts as a “standard” color?

Ex: Experience coloring and treating hair to create an ombre look for both fantasy and natural hair colors. 

This is more specific, and any Hair Stylist will understand these terms. 

Relevant Skills

• Creativity
• Customer Service
• Listening Skills
• Physical Stamina
• Tidiness
• Time Management
• Patience
• Confidence 
• Ability to sell salon products

For more information on job skills, check out our guide on the proper way to include skills on your resume.

4. Include an Education Section 

When listing education on a resume, Hair Stylist should show at least a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

They must then undergo vocational training at a program in a state-licensed barber or cosmetology school.

The time for this varies, but hair styling school can be a couple of months to two years.

It all depends on the treatments you learn and if you acquire any specialities.

Lastly, Hair Stylists need to be licensed by the state in which they practice before they can begin. 

To become a Hair Stylist, you'll need:

• High school diploma or GED equivalent
• Completion of Cosmetology school or similar program
• Pass a state-licensing exam

5. Mention Certifications Relevant to the Job

Certificates are not necessary for Hair Stylist, but adding certificates to your resume shows employers that you have gone above and beyond your career’s required education.

Certifications on your resume also help your resume to stand out by demonstrating that you have additional skills.  

Some Hair Stylists attain additional certificates in order to offer more services or to move upwards in the salon hierarchy.

For example, some Hair Stylists attain a Salon Management certificate. 

6. Pick the Right Template

Hair Stylists should pick a resume template that is professional yet beautiful. Since this career is creative, your resume should reflect that! 

Our most popular resumes for Cosmetologists are Burnside, Pelham, and Woodlawn. 

Experiment with fancy fonts, pretty colors, and add your profile picture to really make your resume stand out from the crowd!

7. Takeaways

In this article we reviewed what a Hair Stylist does and what the career’s outlook looks like.

Then we discussed which resume format and template to use, and how to craft the perfect resume to wow any HR manager. 

Next Steps: 

• Research the job description you want to locate keywords. Try to include these words in your resume
• Select a professional or creative resume template
• Write your resume summary, including your skills and experience
• Include your education and relevant certifications
• Write your experience section in a way that any outsider could understand. Talk more about the how and why of your responsibilities. Quantify your results.

You can start from the resume example here to save time and get started right away. 

Good luck!