Modeling has been a lucrative career option for many individuals who have always been fascinated by the limelight. It gives an opportunity to an individual to become famous and get celebrity status. This profession gives you a chance to showcase your talent to the world by using your facial expressions, dressing sense or perform other activities to promote a sponsor's product. It is a rapidly expanding profession with new-age individuals largely being attracted to this domain. As the percentage of aspiring individuals entering this profession is rapidly increasing, the competition has reached new heights. New models are struggling to make it big in the industry despite having the essential traits. A major reason of this has been attributed to poorly formatted resumes.
Even if the modeling industry relies heavily on your looks and charm, writing a succinct resume that describes your qualities to the agency can get your career going. Just as a beautiful face is important for attracting the attention of the viewers in a fashion show, it is important to jot down your qualities in a document. While you might have created an excellent portfolio to embark on this career, a resume can help you get the head start as many agencies have begin focusing on it. Hence, whether you are an aspiring model, struggler or an experienced professional, keeping an updated resume is a necessity to shine in this profession. Include the following sections in your document.
Name and contact information
It is always better to mention your personal details right at the top so that the hiring manager can easily get in touch. Write your full name, professional email address, and correct contact number. You can also include a link to your online portfolio but this is optional. If you have good experience, it is imperative to mention contact details of the agency or manager who handles your assignments.
A professional summary
In the next part of your document, write a short description of your career and an overview of the projects you have been a part of. This shows your versatility and can also demonstrate the types of modeling you have handled. If you are a novice in this field, write down an objective statement that states you are looking for an opportunity in the field. To support this, you can include a few qualities that an employer wishes to see in a model in your objective statement.
Features
Any model resume is incomplete without you specifying the physical features. While you may not give out all details, the employers do expect the candidates to tell about the norms. This includes your height, weight, skin color, hair color, eyes, etc. You may also be required to give out other information as per the criteria followed by an employer.
Core qualities
This being an art profession, it would not be expected that you have a technical prowess. However, there are certain skills that an employer would like to see in your resume. To ensure that they get highlighted, it is always a good idea to mention them in a separate skills section. In this, you must write skills that are pertaining to this industry like communication, dressing sense, ability to maintain good looks, positive attitude and excellent physical stamina. Furthermore, you can also talk about your extensive knowledge of the industry including the different postures you have expertise in and familiarity with the standards expected.
Experience
As this is a vast industry, you are bound to get a chance to try out your hand at new things. So, while mentioning your work history, start with the most recent one and then go on in a reverse chronological order. Write about major events and the role you played and list them in bullet points. You can also specify the industry you have worked such as fashion, film, print, or TV, and include significant achievements from it. In this field, as many points are going to be similar with your peers, you need to be extremely careful about the bullets you will be writing as it is either going to make or break your career. While mentioning accomplishments, you can write down notable bullets like featuring in promotional campaigns, advertisement, featured spots, TV spots, and other milestones. It can also include awards, special recognition, and noteworthy projects.
Education
Whether you are thinking of taking up modeling as a part-time job, or concentrating on making a full-fledged career in this profile, employers would like to know about your educational qualifications. Mention your degree, the year you completed it and the university. Furthermore, if you are currently pursuing modeling and attending a training school for the same, mention it in your resume.
In addition to these sections, you can include professional affiliations or groups associated with, endorsements, and voluntary work. In a miscellaneous section, you can also write about special skills or other areas of interest. Even if you are an experienced professional and have worked for a wide range of projects, ensure that the length of your resume is not more than 2 pages. For an entry-level position, a one-page document is considered to be sufficient. Before sending out your resume, check the document for grammatical or spelling errors. Proofread it twice or three times, and you can also take help of the industry experts. They can point out mistakes that you might have overlooked. To get more help, just refer to the model resume samples given below, and draft your own customized resume as per the position.