Managing a beauty or wellness salon merges the rewards of running a successful business with those of helping people look and feel their best. Whether you’re vying for a staff promotion or bringing management experience from somewhere else, an exceptional salon manager resume is a must.
Resume.io is here with tips for illuminating your most impressive attributes in a nuanced light. With more 300+ occupation-specific writing guides and resume examples. Here is what we’ll cover in this guide for salon managers, along with the corresponding resume example:
Salon managers carry the full weight of responsibility for their hair, cosmetology or spa salon business to operate successfully. They lead and direct salon staff in providing high-quality services in the interest of customer satisfaction and profit, in compliance with health and safety regulations. In addition to managing the salon’s day-to-day activities and financial aspects, salon managers are charged with hiring, training and supervising salon staff.
Many salon managers ascend to this role from salon staff positions, so they may have expertise in other areas of the beauty and wellness industry. If that’s you, you may consider checking out our:
Your salon manager resume should fit on a single page and include these sections:
We’ll be taking a closer look at each resume component one at a time. But first, here is some general advice.
For most salon managers, the most commonly used chronological resume format should work well. This format focuses on your employment history section where you can list related roles starting with the most recent and working backwards through the past 10 years.
Alternative resume formats sometimes work better for workforce newcomers, career change scenarios or very diverse occupational backgrounds. A functional resume format can be used to emphasize specialized skills or niche market expertise rather than a straightforward work history. Other functional resumes are geared to those who have been self-employed in freelance or contract positions. Some job seekers find a hybrid (combination) document best reflects their background and goals.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects overall employment of barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists to grow by 19% from 2020 to 2030 — much faster than the overall occupational average. With some 85,300 positions opening up each year, the demand for these workers is largely driven by the turnover rate of departures within or from the beauty industry, or from the labor force altogether.
By implication, this paints a bright picture of job prospects for salon managers, who have no separate BLS data category of their own.
The summary of your salon manager resume (sometimes called “profile” or “personal statement”) shines a spotlight on your worthiest achievements, regardless of how much experience you have as a manager or employee in the same industry.
Either way, carefully select a handful of examples that seem most relevant to the salon owner or other hiring decision-maker and create a compelling synopsis. On one hand, express how attentive you would be to the needs and wants of salon customers in providing high-quality services. On the other hand, show regard for the salon’s overall operation and success, including bottom line profits. On both counts, your brief descriptions of past achievements should resonate for the future of this salon if you are hired. Quantify with facts and figures if possible, while also revealing glimpses of your personality.
Below is a salon manager resume example summary you can customize.
Experienced Salon Manager and Stylist bringing forth superior management skills and a love for beauty, hair, and cosmetology. Highly skilled and motivated, and ready to help bring your salon to the next level.
The employment history section of your salon manager resume holds a larger mirror to your qualifying background.
Use descriptive language and include duties and skills mentioned in the job description whenever you can. Take these action statements a step further by showing measurable benefits to the employer — dollar amounts, percentages or hard numbers. If you’re not in a position to pinpoint this data precisely, describe your contributions in terms of client services provided daily or hours worked weekly.
Below is a salon manager employment history resume sample you can use while writing your own.
Salon Manager at Deja Vu Salon, New York
September 2019 - August 2021
Salon Assistant Manager and Lead Stylist at Ellen Eileen Hair, New York
July 2013 - August 2019
This section of your salon manager resume should begin with a list of the most relevant and recent college degrees in reverse chronological order, from highest to lowest levels. Mention scholastic awards or other special achievements and honors.
Include diplomas, certifications, internships and on-the-job training you’ve completed, along with professional association memberships. Anything that demonstrates your regard for continuous learning is noteworthy — from team building and organizational skills to beauty or wellness industry trends.
Be sure to indicate licenses in cosmetology or other applicable specialty services, whether mandatory or not.
Below you’ll find the education section from our salon manager resume example.
Cosmetology and Business Development, Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute, New York
June 2012 - May 2013
High School Diploma, Woodbury High School, Woodbury
September 2008 - May 2012
Salon managers might find it more challenging to narrow down their CV skills list than deciding what to include. Strive for a mix of hard skills and soft skills that could set you apart from other qualified applicants.
Hard skills — practical, hands-on abilities — that are vital to salon management range from computer applications to bookkeeping, reporting and scheduling.
Soft skills are the personal qualities that influence your on-the-job effectiveness. They are most apparent in your interactions with others, from being a good listener to remaining calm in a conflict situation.
What makes a great salon manager?
According to Rosy Salon Software, salon management is a tough job. Great salon managers tend to be:
In addition:
Check out a salon manager sample for the skills section below.
For a salon manager resume, the bar could not be set much higher for stellar first impressions. Appearance really does matter; there’s no visual aspect you can afford to get wrong when making layout, design and formatting decisions.
Strive for a look that’s immaculate and professionally polished — automatically reader-friendly at a glance. And fortunately, those are not mutually exclusive goals for a stylish document befitting the beauty business.
Your resume design should ultimately harmonize with the image and vibe of the salon you will manage if hired. Undeniably, this shapes perceptions about how well you would fit in. Check out everything — from the architecture and interior decor to the branded elements and color on signage, web pages and printed materials.
Make sure to keep a balance of white space to text to avoid visual fatigue for the reader. Do this by varying the length of your bullet points in the employment history section and keeping your margins at 1 inch. A touch of color, when used thoughtfully, can go a long way to make your resume stand out.
The importance of an eye-catching, well-proportioned resume header cannot be overstated. Besides its esthetic contribution to the reader’s first impression, it clearly identifies who your resume belongs to and how interested recruiters can instantly reach you. If you’d like a head start in building a professional header, consider using an expertly-designed resume template.