Tailor Resume Example

Tailors love to get creative, design, and alter any kind of garment. Luckily, for you, tailor, there are over 7,350 jobs available right now for you to put your design skills and tools to work. In addition, tailor positions are actually at a 13.02% growth rate.

Before you begin altering and sewing garments, it's important to alter and tailor your resume, and with this article and guide, we're going to help you do just that.

Here are the 7 steps to get your jewelry designer resume is in pristine condition:

1. Format your resume in a way that shows who you are and what you bring to the table
2. Write a 'precious' resume summary
3. List your key skills
4. Describe your work experience
5. Include any certifications you may have that are relevant to the job
6. List what styles you have experience working with
7. Add your education

1. Format your resume to be creative and professional

Even if you've got lots of experience as a tailor, the reality is that you need to fit everything you want recruiters and potential clients to know about you into a single page.

Tip: Selecting the right format for your resume is crucial if you want recruiters to actually go through your resume and consider you for the job. You can get creative in your resume, especially as a tailor since it helps you stand out, but there are still some important qualities your resume should have.

There are three types of formats your resume could follow:

1. Reverse-chronological, which emphasizes your work experience
2. Functional, which highlights your skill sets
3. Hybrid, which combines the previous formats in a concise way

If you have work experience as a tailor, even if you were just an apprentice or assistant, writing your resume following the reverse-chronological format may be the best option because it shows recruiters that you are qualified for the position through your experience.

If you have less work experience in the field, using the functional format to write your resume may be more beneficial to you as you can let recruiters and potential clients know you have the skills they are looking for in a tailor.

Ideally, if you have both the skills and work experience, your resume will follow a hybrid format as it displays to recruiters that, with you, they'll have an employee with both the skills and the experience needed to work the job.

Tip: Be sure to include your contact information at the top of your resume. This can even include your social media channels, like LinkedIn. Feel free to a link to your portfolio, too.

Still not quite sure which format you should be using? Check out our guide on how to choose the right format for your resume.

2. Write a 'tailored' resume summary

You're used to tailoring garments, but you should aim to have a 'tailor' 1-2 sentence resume summary at the top of your resume to highlight your skills and experience.

Some things to include in your resume summary are:

• Years of experience
• Overview of skills
• Description of your work and/or style

Don't feel like you need to include fancy vocabulary, either. You can make your resume summary sweet and to the point.

Here's a good example:

Creative and passionate alterations tailor with 4 years of experience altering garments and designing and creating fashionable pieces for a variety of boutiques and shows. Skilled in garment construction and recording accurate measurements while using advanced sewing techniques and technology.

You can see other examples of resume summaries and learn more by checking out our guide.

3. Highlight your key skills

To be viewed as an experienced tailor, you need to have the skills to show for it.

Tip: Adding key skills to your resume is essential, especially if recruiters are running their applications through a keyword detector.

The following tailor skills could help your resume get attention:

• Custom Tailoring
• Garment Fitting
• Garment Construction
• Fashion Illustrating & Design
• Hand Sewing

Be sure to also include interpersonal skills to make your resume shine:

• Customer Service
• Time Management
• Communication
• Organization

Tip: Review the description of the job you are applying for and highlight other skill sets you have the job may looking for.

Having trouble identifying your skills? We have a guide with 100+ key skills you can include in your resume.

4. Describe your work experience

Your work experience should show your growth in the fashion field as well as your growth as a professional. This is an essential part of your resume.

When adding your work experience, be sure to write it in reverse-chronological format. This way your latest experience sits at the top of your work history section and recruiters know what you've been up to prior to applying to this position.

Tip: All the space on your resume is valuable. Therefore, focus on what you really want recruiters to know you have done and use strong verbs to do so.

Here are some examples of job descriptions you can include in your resume as a tailor:

• Fitted and sewed gowns in the alterations department
• Provided courteous service and performed tasks in accordance with Kleinfeld Bridal fitting standards
• Performed the work assigned by managers and supervisors
• Completed fittings and gowns in a productive manner
• Sewed and beaded bridal gowns with exact accuracy according to pins
• Designed gowns for particular clients
• Sewed hem of pants with industrial sewing machines
• Trimmed excess threads using scissors
• Measured, cut and sewed hems following seams, edges, or markings on pants
• Altered pants hemlines to fit individual customers
• Worked with lock stitch, blind stitch, and serge machines
• Measured clients to ensure that clothing will fit properly
• Cut and measured fabric according to a pattern or design
• Marked garments to note where alterations are necessary
• Opened seams to hem garments and to make other alterations
• Sewed clothing by hand, using a needle and thread or with sewing machines
• Fitted clothing on customers to determine if additional alterations are necessary

If you want to learn more, take a look at our guide on how to describe work experience on a resume in 2021.  

5. Include certifications that are relevant to the job

Certifications as a tailor are oftentimes not required, but adding them to your resume if you have one places you one step ahead of the competition. Not to mention it shows hiring managers and recruiters your dedication and passion.

Here are some certifications you can add to your tailor resume:

• Master Alteration Specialist (MAS)
• Master Sewing and Design Professional (MSDP)
• Seamstress Certification

Tip: Many technical fashion schools have tailoring programs offer specific certifications for their students interested in being certified tailors or alteration specialists.

For tips and tricks on how to correctly list certifications on your resume, check out our guide.

6. List the styles you're experienced with

While this is not a necessary part of your resume, listing the styles you're experienced with can help it stand out and shine.

Here are some examples of styles you can list:

• Bridal Couture
• Street Style
• Bohemian Style
• Business
• Feminine
• Black Tie
• Grunge
• Punk
• Ethnic

Need more help writing the perfect resume? We have a guide that can help you do just that.

7. Add your education to your resume

To become a tailor, you only really need to have a high school diploma or equivalent.

However, if you've attended college or a technical or vocational school that specialized in fashion, you may want to add it to your resume.

Tip: Adding your education can show recruiters where the foundation for your craft is.

Here's how your education section on your resume can look like:

Lincoln Technical College

New York, NY

2012 — 2016

Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design

Sacred Heart High School

New York, NY

2008 — 2012

High School Diploma

Take a look at our guide on listing your education for more help.

Key Takeaways

We know what you may be thinking: there's more to writing a tailor resume than you originally thought, but with our guide, your resume is going to be in polished condition.

To recap, here's a summary of the 7 steps we covered:

1. Format your resume and be sure to include contact information and a portfolio link if you have one
2. Write a 'tailored' resume summary
3. List your key skills
4. Describe your work experience
5. Include any certifications you may have that are relevant to the job
6. List the styles you have experience working with
7. Add your education