So you’ve finished your makeup course and are looking for jobs – you have professional training, so you should hear back right away…right?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but finding a makeup artist job requires more than just a certification! You’ll want to show your clients what you can do with those brushes. Your makeup portfolio and resume are vital to landing each job you apply for!
Read on to find out how to create a killer makeup portfolio and resume. You’ll be landing high-paying gigs in no time!
No one wants to hire a makeup artist that thinks past high-profile jobs are enough to land a contract. Employers want to see that you’re hard working, creative, and have a drive to better yourself!
Pro Tip: If you’ve collaborated on work shown on other websites, including a link to the photos gives your employer a sense that you work well with other people in the industry!
Nurture your makeup portfolio like you do your career – it’s the key to landing jobs, after all! You’ll need to constantly update and check your resume as you apply for makeup artistry jobs. Your work will improve, and you’ll want to include new photos as you go!
Professional quality
Even though we don’t really think we need to explain this one, we’re going to anyway. No matter how much experience and talent you have, you won’t be able to land enough contracts if your portfolio and resume look like they’ve been thrown together on a whim! Professionalism is incredibly important for makeup artists – you’re working with different people in close quarters every day. Your employers don’t want to worry about your behavior on the job, so show them your professionalism with a quality resume. And yes, this means no slang, exclamation marks, or spelling mistakes!
Organize, organize, organize!
The worst thing for an employer to see: a cluttered resume before them. We know it’s difficult to narrow down your experience into a few short sentences, but keeping it simple is super important to show both professionalism and your ability to get to the point. Start your sentences with verbs, like practiced, created, trained, and developed. Keep your descriptions to two lines or less – you want to give a clear view of your skills in as little words as possible! Check out the example below:DON’T:
“I assisted another professional makeup artist on a styled photoshoot for a wedding dress designer. I learned how to work with people in the fashion industry as well as how to apply a makeup look that the designer asked for.”DO:
“Assisted a professional makeup artist in a styled fashion shoot for wedding attire. Developed and applied a bridal makeup look which catered to the creative vision of the designer.” The big difference is there’s no beating around the bush in the DO description. It’s very “this is what I did, this is how I did it” – which makes you appear quick and concise! For your portfolio, use tabs and categories to organize photos, templates, and reviews. It will make it so much easier for you to get from point A to point B during an interview!
Use testimonials
If you’re don’t already have a testimonials section in your portfolio, add one in! Whether you’ve only worked on friends and family, or have shadowed another makeup artist, their words can help promote your skills. Also, if you received some awesome feedback during your online makeup class then use it in your portfolio! Include the photos of your work with the praise from your tutor to show just how talented you really are. Up for a challenge? Use feedback from your tutor instructing you to improve on a technique, then show how you developed your skills from their advice! It’s intimidating to include feedback that doesn’t glorify your skills, but it will show your employer that you’re capable of giving them what they want.Include templates
In your makeup portfolio, you’ll want to add in a section for business and work templates. This shows you are knowledgeable about how the industry works, and your work is always streamlined and organized. Consider including face charts to show you understand how to work on different clients. You could also use call sheets, release forms, and other documents to show that you are prepared for every position you take on.
Use before/after shots
An oldie, but a goodie! Using before and after shots of your work shows exactly what you’ve worked with. It tells your employer that you created something out of nothing, and that you worked with your client’s face to develop a gorgeous look. Never underestimate the power of before and after shots!Show off your experience
Yes, a resume is meant to show your experience, but you also need to amplify what you’ve learned. Telling an employer that you worked on a film set does exactly that – it just shows where you’ve worked. What your resume needs to do is show what you did while you were there, what you learned, and how you improved.Make it digital
A great invention of the 21st century is online portfolios. If you don’t have a digital portfolio on your website, you need to take advantage of this ASAP! By putting your makeup portfolio online, you’ll have a lot more reach and ease of contact with clients and employers. It’s also an extremely user-friendly process! Now, don’t go overboard with the transitions and digital effects – remember to keep it professional. Grab a template from your website host to create a gorgeous portfolio that can be organized into categories, like photos, experience, and training. This allows people to peruse your work and see how you’ve grown as a makeup artist!
Pro Tip: If you’ve collaborated on work shown on other websites, including a link to the photos gives your employer a sense that you work well with other people in the industry!
Nurture your makeup portfolio like you do your career – it’s the key to landing jobs, after all! You’ll need to constantly update and check your resume as you apply for makeup artistry jobs. Your work will improve, and you’ll want to include new photos as you go!
fabulous article ! very informative