You have a steady hand, a great way of relating to customers, and the artistic talent to go with it. Now you’re looking for the perfect spot to get tattooing.
You know how to express yourself in images, and Resume.io with our online resume builder and layout templates are here to help you craft the perfect resume by expressing yourself in words. Put those two together, and you will be well on your way to your next tattoo artist job!
Read on to learn the tips and tricks that will teach you how to:
As a tattoo artist, you need to give prospective employers a sense of your style, both artistically and as a team member. Your Profile is the place to do it. We like “Profile” instead of “Summary” because this section is a lot more than a mere summing up of your career. This paragraph is where you detail your love of all kinds of art—from fine art to graphic design. It is also where you describe how you relate to your client base to create body art your customers love.
If your online portfolio does not contain an Artist Statement, consider either adding one there or changing your Profile Section to an Artist Statement. This will tell others more about your identity, and should include details about your artistic mission and style. You may also add this type of information to your cover letter.
Tattoo Artist with superior artistic ability, manual dexterity, and great attention to details. Several years of experience in the design and application of tattoos. Adept at working with clients to design thoughtful and original tattoo plans. Committed to creating a comfortable, sanitary, and calming atmosphere for clients.
Unless you are looking for your first job, your employment history section will take up the bulk of your tattoo artist resume. Here, you will detail each job you have had that relates to tattooing, especially any work experience as an artist, such as graphic designer, or those that highlight your interpersonal skills.
Check out our guide for a relatively similar artistic profession (visual artist) here. While there are obvious differences, there are many tricks and tactics you can borrow from that area to make your resume even better.
This section should reveal the story of your professional growth, the skills you’ve developed, and the ways in which you ensure the safety and comfort of your clients during the tattooing process. Each bullet point in each job description should add more information about your value as an employee. Don’t neglect practical skills such as explaining aftercare, keeping your work environment clean, and avoiding cross-contamination by using an autoclave to sterilize equipment.
You should also highlight your talent for advising clients on tattoo options, color, design, and placement. Consider telling a short “case story” about a particular tattoo you are proud of or a difficult situation with a client you were able to resolve satisfactorily. Describe your process. Have you had a client you had trouble coping with the pain of the needles or who was particularly frightened? How did you help them through? How do you conduct tattoo consultations with clients? How do you create stencils? Do you have a wide selection available for clients who want a pre-designed tattoo?
Tattoo Artist at Cobra Designs, Las Vegas
November 2014 - September 2019
Tattoo Artist at Silver City Tattoos, Las Vegas
July 2010 - October 2014
Your education section gives you the chance to call attention to your formal training, in tattooing and art. Tattoo artists must nurture their creative skills to continue to design appealing body art and any of the classes you have taken or continue to take add to your skillset. Most tattoo artists have some type of formal training in drawing, graphic design, or illustration. You have probably worked with a mentor, completed an apprenticeship, or attended a tattoo school.
List all your degrees and certifications here. You may also list any advanced art or design classes you have taken. If you have earned any honors or awards for your artwork, note them here as well.
Apprenticeship, Clark North Tattoos, Las Vegas
June 2009 - May 2010
High School Diploma, Durango High School, Las Vegas
September 2006 - May 2010
Your Skills Section is an important part of your tattoo artist’s resume. It gives hiring personnel or business owners/managers a quick way to see your talents as they scan through many resumes. It also affords you an opportunity to easily add keywords and phrases that appear in the job listing. This is important because employers use Applicant Tracking Systems to rank resumes and eliminate those that don’t contain the information they seek. When you begin your job search in earnest, make sure you analyze each listing and vary your resume to match the skills your prospective employer seeks.
Compile a “Master List” of all your skills and attributes and choose the ones most suitable for the job. Try to create a blend of between five and ten people skills, art skills, and health and safety knowledge. If you specialize in one type of tattoo or a specific style, this is a good place to add that in.
If you use any technology, such as Adobe Illustrator, in your work, consider adding that as well.
Most likely, you have a portfolio and/or a social media presence that shows off your work, but your resume design may be the first impression recruiters get of you. While you are a design expert, and you should, by all means, show off that talent in your resume layout, you should keep in mind that the main idea behind the resume is to convey information. Because of that, it must be legible. Make sure contact information, your previous employer and job title are all easy to find.
You can link directly to your portfolio from Resume.io. Make sure your links are prominently displayed when you design your resume.
Consider starting out with a template from our Creative category to give you a starting point. You can customize the layout, changing colors and adding other elements as you choose. Then use a dedicated resume builder tool such as Resume.io’s to avoid any potential formatting errors that can occur between word processing programs.
Finally, make sure you ask a friend or colleague to proofread your resume before you apply for jobs. And even more importantly - make sure your resume builder of choice has an effective spell-checker that has your back (like ours does). While it is your art that will make the biggest difference, tattoo artists must pay attention to detail, so get it right from the beginning.
With Resume.io’s help, you’ll soon be ready to go out there and ink a deal for your new job!