Hairdresser CV Example

Why a hairdresser CV is read differently

Salon hiring has its own priorities, and they explain every choice below. A salon owner reads fast for evidence you're skilled, qualified, and commercially able to build a column, not a list of the styles you like doing:

• Qualifications and skill come first: your NVQ level and the technical services you offer decide whether a salon can put you on the floor, so they belong near the top
• A column is the commercial test: a stylist who brings or builds a loyal clientele is worth far more than one who only cuts walk-ins, so evidence you retain and rebook clients carries real weight
• Retail and treatments matter: salons make margin on products and add-on treatments, so proof you sell retail and upsell colour or treatments is exactly the signal an owner screens for
• Colour is where the money and the skill show: balayage, colour correction, and foils are high-value services, so the colour work you can do tells an owner your commercial ceiling
• You're part of the salon's brand: evidence of a strong Instagram, good reviews, or a following signals you'll help fill the chair, because clients choose stylists they can see before they book

Read your CV the way a salon owner will: not 'can this person cut hair?' but 'are they qualified and skilled, will they build and keep a column, and will they sell retail?' Every section below answers that with evidence.

The structure that works for a hairdresser CV

Keep it to a clean one to two pages and put your qualifications and services where they can't be missed. For most hairdresser applications this order works best:

Salon hiring rewards a clean, polished CV — it reflects the presentation a client expects behind the chair. Keep the layout tidy and parser-safe for the chains that screen by software, lead with your skills and column if you're experienced, and if you're newly qualified, move your NVQ, training, and any model or competition work up the page.

The summary: specialism, experience, and one number

Three or four lines under your name — the most-read part of the CV. For a hairdresser it should answer: your specialism, your experience, and one commercial or client number worth leading with:

• Open with your specialism and level: 'Senior stylist and colourist with 6 years' experience, specialising in balayage and colour correction'
• Name what you're known for: precision cutting, creative colour, barbering, or bridal — pick what you can back up, not a vague 'all-round stylist'
• Lead with one hard number: 'built a column of 40 regular clients with an 80% rebooking rate' says more than any adjective and frames you as commercially able
• Signal your commercial side: mention retail sales, treatment upselling, or column growth so an owner sees a stylist who makes the chair pay, not just one who cuts
• Cut the empty filler: 'passionate, friendly stylist who loves hair' says nothing on its own — replace it with a specialism, an experience level, and a number that proves it

A strong stylist summary reads like someone an owner could put behind a chair next week and trust to fill it. If yours could describe any hairdresser, add the specific detail — a specialism, a column size, a rebooking or retail number — that makes it unmistakably yours.

The skills section: cutting, colour, and the commercial extras

Group your skills so a salon owner scans them in seconds, and only list what you can genuinely do to a professional standard. For a hairdresser they fall into clear buckets:

Be honest about your level — a trade test will show exactly what you can do behind the chair. A clear list of technical services plus the consultation and retail skills that surround them beats a vague 'all aspects of hairdressing', because an owner can immediately picture the clients and the services you'd bring in.

Qualifications and your portfolio

Hairdressing is a qualified, visual trade, so a salon wants to see both your credentials and your work. List your qualifications precisely and let your portfolio prove the skill:

• List your NVQ level clearly: NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 in Hairdressing (or the equivalent) are the standard salon benchmark — state the level and the awarding body
• Include brand and colour certifications: L'Oréal, Wella, Olaplex, or other brand training shows a salon you're current and trained on the products they stock
• Link a strong Instagram or portfolio: a professional feed of your colour and cutting work is the visual proof a salon owner wants — but only link it if it's polished
• Show competition or editorial work: any competitions, photoshoots, or session work lift you above a stylist with only day-to-day salon experience
• Keep training current: recent colour or technique courses signal you keep your skills sharp, which matters in a trade where trends move fast

Treat your CV and your portfolio as one: the CV says what you're qualified and skilled to do, and the portfolio proves it. A stylist whose qualifications and visible work say the same thing is far more convincing than one who claims creative colour but shows nothing to back it.

Experience bullets: prove you build a column and sell

The strongest hairdresser bullets tie your work to a commercial or client outcome. Compare a vague line with one that gives a salon owner real evidence:

• Weak: 'Cut and coloured hair, provided a range of services, and looked after clients' — no numbers, no column, no retail, and nothing that separates you from any other stylist
• Strong: 'Built a personal column of 45 regular clients with an 80% rebooking rate, generating around £1,100 a week in column takings'
• Strong: 'Grew retail sales to 18% of my column's takings by recommending home-care and bond treatments at every colour appointment'
• Strong: 'Specialised the salon's balayage and colour-correction offer, lifting the average colour bill and attracting new clients through referrals and Instagram'
• Pattern to apply: service or skill + the method + the outcome (column size, rebooking rate, retail percentage, average bill, takings, retention)

The numbers don't need to be huge — they need to be real and yours. 'Rebooked 8 in 10 clients through consultation and follow-up' is a strong bullet, because it proves exactly what a salon owner wants: a stylist who not only does good work but keeps the clients coming back and spending.

Building a column and going self-employed

For most stylists the real job is building and holding a column, and a growing number rent a chair or go self-employed. A salon, or your own chair, needs you to attract and keep clients, not just deliver a service someone else booked:

• Show you can attract clients: referrals, social media, and walk-ins you converted into regulars prove you can fill a chair, not just work one
• Evidence rebooking, not just services: a client who rebooks every six weeks is worth far more than a one-off, so lead with the retention that keeps a chair full
• Present chair rental as a business: if you rent a chair or go mobile, show your column size, your weekly takings, and how you manage bookings and retail
• Grow the average bill: treatments, colour add-ons, and retail all lift what each client is worth, and show commercial thinking beyond the cut
• Treat every client as a referral source: a happy client who sends you friends is your cheapest marketing, so evidence the word-of-mouth and repeat business you built

Whether you're employed or self-employed, position yourself as a stylist who builds and holds a column, not just one who cuts hair. The hairdresser who can prove they attract and keep their own clients is the one a salon fights to keep — and the one who thrives renting a chair.

Your personal brand and social proof

Hairdressing is one of the few trades where your public brand is part of the CV. A salon owner will often check your Instagram, and clients choose stylists whose work they can see before they book, so treat your online presence as evidence:

• Link a professional feed if it's strong: an Instagram of your colour and cutting work backs up every claim on the CV — but only link it if it's polished and current
• Use before-and-afters as proof: with permission, transformation photos are more persuasive than any description of your skill
• Keep the brand consistent with the role: the specialism you claim on the CV should match what your feed shows, or the mismatch undermines both
• Show reach only if it converts: a following matters less than proof it turns into bookings, so frame social media around the clients it brought in
• Keep it professional: a salon is trusting you with its clients and reputation, so make sure your public presence reflects the stylist you're claiming to be

Treat your CV, your qualifications, and your public brand as one consistent story. A stylist whose credentials, work, and online presence all say the same thing is far more convincing than one whose CV and Instagram tell different stories — consistency is what turns a curious salon owner into a trade test.

Common mistakes on a hairdresser CV

Most hairdresser CVs are rejected for fixable reasons rather than a lack of talent. Avoid these and you immediately stand out:

• Burying or omitting the NVQ level: if a salon can't instantly see your qualifications, the CV is done — put them near the top and keep them precise
• No commercial numbers: a stylist CV with no column, rebooking, or retail figures reads as someone who just cuts, so attach a real number to your strongest bullets
• Listing services with no results: 'cutting, colouring, blow-drying' is a duty list — show the column you built and the retail you sold, not just the services you performed
• A brand that contradicts the CV: claiming a colour specialism while your Instagram is all blow-drys undermines your credibility — align them
• One generic CV for every salon: a high-end colour salon, a barbershop, and a busy high-street chain want different things — tailor the summary, skills, and lead bullets to each

Run the salon-owner test: in 30 seconds, can they see you're qualified, the services you offer, a column you built, and the retail you sell? If yes, you're ahead of most of the stack. The fixes are nearly always the same — lead with qualifications, prove your column, show the commercial side, and align your brand with your CV.