5 Ways to Enhance your Online Portfolio

5 Ways to Enhance your Online Portfolio

Hays Academy of Hair Design students are able to build and maintain an online portfolio that showcases their work and credentials in a public format. This incredibly valuable tool is provided free of charge to all of our students while equipping them with the means to market themselves to new clients and employers. Although the online portfolio allows for great creativity, there are some very important things to keep in mind.

1. Build a cover letter and resume and save it as a jpg. Then, upload these documents to your portfolio. By doing so, you are overcoming any restrictions of a pre-loaded resume section. Within your cover letter and resume, you are able to really expand upon your experiences, classes, and awards which are sure to impress both clients and salon owners/managers.

2. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling are essential when you are trying to self-promote to people. They will be able to see how incredibly gifted you are via your photos featuring your before and after’s, but they need to know that you are a professional who knows how to write.

3. Have as many client testimonials as possible. The more people talk about you in a positive light, the more business you will draw. Truth is, you can spend thousands of dollars advertising, but word of mouth is the most effective avenue of marketing. Remember: word of mouth works one of two ways—by gathering client testimonials, you control the way you are perceived.

4. Ensure that your photos of your clients are of great quality! It is important to consider the background of your photos. Great lighting is highly suggested and remember that a dark hair color is most noticeable against a light background and a light hair color against a dark background. Using an iPhone or camera phone is often a suitable option so that you can edit the photo, put your tag on the photo, then upload it to your portfolio and social media.

5. A professional profile picture is a must. Ideally, this photo focuses on you doing something that a cosmetologist does. For example, you could be giving a haircut and show yourself actually cutting hair. Perhaps you are giving a manicure…in any event, make sure you look great and that the image focuses on you.

Would you like to learn more about online portfolios through the Nuts and Bolts Training Program? Would you like to market yourself in such a way that allows clients and employers to have instant access to your work? Of coarse you do! To learn more about the online portfolio (provided by our Business Training Program-Nuts & Bolts) please contact Tyler at [email protected].