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How to build a resume as sophomore who is interested in business and cosmetology?
How to build a resume as sophomore who is interested in business and cosmetology?
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4 answers
Updated
Puneet’s Answer
Hi Damini
Here are a few points to remember:
- Use a simple, professional format
- Organize your experience clearly
- Keep it to one page
- Write an engaging summary statement
- Highlight cosmetology skills
- Include business skills
- Mention volunteer work
- List education and certifications
Here are a few points to remember:
- Use a simple, professional format
- Organize your experience clearly
- Keep it to one page
- Write an engaging summary statement
- Highlight cosmetology skills
- Include business skills
- Mention volunteer work
- List education and certifications
Updated
Rick’s Answer
Hi Damani,
Great question, and you’re already ahead of most sophomores just by thinking about this now.
My wife is a long time career consultant so she helped me with this answer.
At your stage, building a resume isn’t about having a long job history, it’s about showing who you are becoming and where you’re headed. A strong resume for someone interested in both business and cosmetology should reflect both sides of your interests.
Start with a short objective at the top. This is especially important when you don’t have much work experience yet. It helps employers understand your goals and what you’re interested in pursuing.
Then build your resume around what you do have:
Your education (your school, classes you enjoy, maybe business or art-related courses)
Activities (clubs, sports, volunteering, anything that shows responsibility or teamwork)
Any small jobs or experiences (babysitting, helping a family business, assisting with hair, makeup, or styling for friends or events)
Even informal experience counts. Employers care about your work ethic and attitude just as much as experience at this stage.
Since you’re interested in cosmetology, start adding anything related to that world, doing hair for friends, experimenting with makeup, watching tutorials, or helping at a salon if you get the chance. These show passion and initiative. Over time, you’ll want to highlight skills like creativity, customer service, and attention to detail, which are key in cosmetology.
For the business side, think about leadership, organization, and communication. If you’ve ever organized something, helped manage money, or taken initiative in a group, that belongs on your resume.
Also, use strong action words when describing what you’ve done, words like “organized,” “created,” or “led.” That makes your resume sound more confident and professional.
My wife shared a helpful resource, here it is for you to use as a guide while building your resume:
https://share.google/cFwUwrhUSjQINqtl1
Take your time with it. Your resume will grow as you grow. The goal right now isn’t perfection, it’s getting started and showing direction.
You’re on a great path combining business and cosmetology. That’s a powerful mix.
—Rick
Great question, and you’re already ahead of most sophomores just by thinking about this now.
My wife is a long time career consultant so she helped me with this answer.
At your stage, building a resume isn’t about having a long job history, it’s about showing who you are becoming and where you’re headed. A strong resume for someone interested in both business and cosmetology should reflect both sides of your interests.
Start with a short objective at the top. This is especially important when you don’t have much work experience yet. It helps employers understand your goals and what you’re interested in pursuing.
Then build your resume around what you do have:
Your education (your school, classes you enjoy, maybe business or art-related courses)
Activities (clubs, sports, volunteering, anything that shows responsibility or teamwork)
Any small jobs or experiences (babysitting, helping a family business, assisting with hair, makeup, or styling for friends or events)
Even informal experience counts. Employers care about your work ethic and attitude just as much as experience at this stage.
Since you’re interested in cosmetology, start adding anything related to that world, doing hair for friends, experimenting with makeup, watching tutorials, or helping at a salon if you get the chance. These show passion and initiative. Over time, you’ll want to highlight skills like creativity, customer service, and attention to detail, which are key in cosmetology.
For the business side, think about leadership, organization, and communication. If you’ve ever organized something, helped manage money, or taken initiative in a group, that belongs on your resume.
Also, use strong action words when describing what you’ve done, words like “organized,” “created,” or “led.” That makes your resume sound more confident and professional.
My wife shared a helpful resource, here it is for you to use as a guide while building your resume:
https://share.google/cFwUwrhUSjQINqtl1
Take your time with it. Your resume will grow as you grow. The goal right now isn’t perfection, it’s getting started and showing direction.
You’re on a great path combining business and cosmetology. That’s a powerful mix.
—Rick
Updated
Colleen’s Answer
Hello Damani.
You're off to a great start by thinking about this before you graduate. You can be intentional about where you spend your time and energy to collect your resume experiences.
Right now this is less about having tons of experience and more about showing initiative, skills, and direction. Think of your resume as a story of potential, not just a list of jobs.
Rick provided a really solid structure for you to follow. I have a few additional suggestions:
1. Highlight your skills by separating them into Business (customer service, social media, communication, etc.) and Cosmetology (trend awareness, cleanliness practices, etc.).
2. Experience does not have to mean paid jobs. If you're helping family or friends, volunteering, or participating in school clubs, you could list that as: Independent Beauty Services.
3. Highlight activities that demonstrate leadership and discipline. Sports, school fundraisers, and social media for beauty are great examples for these skills.
4. Start working on your portfolio. Build your social media presence. Create a small menu of services.
5. Keep asking questions! Talk with salon owners about their career paths, formal and informal education, resources they used, things they wish they had known.
5. Keep learning! Take advantage of free online business classes - there are quite a few Ivy League schools that offer these - to learn the basics of pricing, profit, and budgeting.
You can work on a lot of these things over the next couple of years and it will be an excellent way to back up your interests and experience even without formal jobs.
Trust yourself and go for it!
Colleen
You're off to a great start by thinking about this before you graduate. You can be intentional about where you spend your time and energy to collect your resume experiences.
Right now this is less about having tons of experience and more about showing initiative, skills, and direction. Think of your resume as a story of potential, not just a list of jobs.
Rick provided a really solid structure for you to follow. I have a few additional suggestions:
1. Highlight your skills by separating them into Business (customer service, social media, communication, etc.) and Cosmetology (trend awareness, cleanliness practices, etc.).
2. Experience does not have to mean paid jobs. If you're helping family or friends, volunteering, or participating in school clubs, you could list that as: Independent Beauty Services.
3. Highlight activities that demonstrate leadership and discipline. Sports, school fundraisers, and social media for beauty are great examples for these skills.
4. Start working on your portfolio. Build your social media presence. Create a small menu of services.
5. Keep asking questions! Talk with salon owners about their career paths, formal and informal education, resources they used, things they wish they had known.
5. Keep learning! Take advantage of free online business classes - there are quite a few Ivy League schools that offer these - to learn the basics of pricing, profit, and budgeting.
You can work on a lot of these things over the next couple of years and it will be an excellent way to back up your interests and experience even without formal jobs.
Trust yourself and go for it!
Colleen
Updated
Daina’s Answer
Hi! Okay so these two jobs can totally overlap. Since you need to complete hours to obtain your cosmetology license, you will be balancing that with also obtaining a college degree. This makes you so marketable in the cosmetology world, because you can open your own spa or salon. If the business side intrigues you just as much as the creativity the cosmetology portion does, look into medical cosmetology too. I would lead with the business when creating a resume, then go into the licensing. When you are starting out, start with the degree, then go into licenses, awards, etc.