5 Hair Stylist Resume Examples That Worked In 2021

Why this resume works

• In this resume, we’ve included a resume objective. Resume objectives are not always necessary. In fact, if you don’t need to fill up space on your resume or you aren’t willing to personalize them for every application you submit, you should not use them. However, when used appropriately, they can be a great tool to communicate interest and key takeaways to hiring managers.
  • Make sure to include the job title, and the company need you’re interested in in your objective.
  • Make sure that you mention specific skills you have and value you will add. A career objective that states, “Hair stylist seeking role at XYZ hair salon” will not communicate anything helpful. Instead, be as specific as possible and emphasize your relevant skills. For example, this resume objective highlights years of experience earning high rebooking rates.
• If you have certifications or extra training in specific areas, such as hair chemical treatment, trichology, hair smoothing, coloring, etc. be sure to include it on your resume. This will attract more salon owners seeking ways to draw in more clients and provide more specialized services.

Why this resume works

• One of the most important skills you need to learn when writing your senior hair stylist resume is the difference between showing and telling prospective bosses about your accomplishments. It’s tempting to say, “attended workshops and courses”, but it’ll be far more impactful to say, “attended 10+ workshops and courses per year.”
  • When you don’t have an exact number, you can give a range of numbers (ex: saw 6-10 clients per day) or use a plus sign (ex: oversaw care for 150+ clients per month). Alternatively, you can say “up to” (ex: oversaw care for up to 200 clients per month).
• We’ve asked hundreds of hiring managers, and found that 90% will not go to the trouble of reviewing resumes without any metrics.
  • Quantifiable metrics draw the eye of hiring managers. Considering that 70% of hiring managers will spend less than 120 seconds on your resume, it’s important that you demonstrate measurable achievements efficiently. Additionally, hiring managers spend twice as long reviewing resumes with metrics, so it’s even more vital that you start quantifying your work now.
• Having trouble figuring out how to include metrics?
  • Make sure to include your rebooking rate, the number of clients you have, deals you’ve received on hair products, the number of courses you’ve taken, the percent of positive reviews you have, the number of clients you see per hour, and your sales-to-service ratio.

Why this resume works

• Take a look at the resume skills section on this junior hair stylist resume. It’s one of the most under-appreciated sections on most resumes. But once you realize it’s importance, we doubt you’ll neglect it.
  • The skills section is actually the first hurdle you must clear in the application process, because your resume will be checked by an applicant tracking system (ATS) before it ever reaches a hiring manager.
    • An ATS is a robot that is programmed by the hiring managers to remove resumes that are not a good fit. To get past the system, you’ll need to ensure your resume includes keywords and skills.
    • Fun fact: 96% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS to filter applicants.
• List any skills you have that are specific and relevant to your field. Look at the job description, and include similar skills, but make sure you avoid reposting the exact wording on your resume.
  • Important skills for hair stylists include creativity, flexibility, cleanliness, organization, physical stamina, style recommendations, technical ability, customer service, communication, patience, and sales.
  • We recommend including 4-10 skills on your resume. You want to include relevant skills without creating a laundry list for hiring managers to sort through.

Why this resume works

• Having a period of self-employment on your resume can be more helpful than you might think. Use your work experiences to demonstrate (with quantifiable metrics) the ways you’ve streamlined booking systems or reduced expenses for your own business. This will be very appealing to a prospective salon.
  • Since you won’t have a recommendation from a superior, make sure to include specific metrics that you can back up on the number of clients you’ve maintained, and discounts you’ve received on supplies.
• In order to catch the attention of hiring managers, you need to use powerful, impactful language. Use action verbs and active voice, quantify your achievements, avoid personal pronouns (ex: my, I, we), and be concise.
  • Here are some examples of great action verbs to use at the beginning of each bullet point: achieved, drove, exceeded, outperformed, spearheaded, guided, built, organized, briefed, smoke, authored, and cultivated.
  • Remember that each bullet point you include should be under 200 characters. If it’s difficult for you to cut down on length, make sure you’re including metrics, and consider breaking your bullet point up into two distinct bullets.

Why this resume works

• Listing your work experiences in reverse chronological order (where your most recent experience is at the top of the page) is common practice for resumes. And we recommend you stick with it.
  • Reverse chronological order will highlight job growth and development throughout your career. Furthermore, since hiring managers tend to read the top of your resume more thoroughly than the bottom, it’s important to include your most recent (and most relevant) job experience at the top.
  • Reverse chronological order is also the most friendly format for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). That’s because it’s the industry standard, and therefor more predicable for a machine to sort through. There’s no need to re-imagine resume structure. It’s more important for you to focus on the content.
• If you’re just starting out in you’re career it’s okay to include work experiences that are not related to your current job title. In fact, service and retail experience can do a great job showcasing essential customer service and sales skills that transfer well into the salon industry.
  • We recommend including 2-4 work experiences on your resume, which can also include internships, volunteer work or class projects when you’re just starting out.
• Learning to write your resume can sometimes feel like learning a second language. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process, or just want to see if your resume stacks up, take a look at this resume checker.