Building a Beauty Career in Oregon: Tips for Success After Graduation

All your homework is turned in, and your tests are taken. Your cap and gown hang in the closet after your graduation ceremony. You’ve completed your initial education in beauty, and it’s behind you. What do you do now? 

It’s time to build the beauty career you want in Oregon. Whether you want to cut hair or provide skincare treatments, you have a lot of options for becoming successful. Here are a few tips for success after graduation to get you started on the right path. 

Take the Licensing Exams and Get Your License

Your first step after graduation is to take the licensing exams and get your license. The exams are administered by the Oregon Board of Cosmetology. You need to take and pass two exams before you’re able to apply for your license. 

The first exam is a written exam and covers book knowledge, such as mixing chemicals and safety standards that you need to meet. The second exam is a practical exam where you show the skills you learned at school, such as cutting hair or applying a facial. 

Once you pass both exams, you need to purchase your license. The cost of your license is $35, and you’ll need to renew it every year. 

Explore Your Career Options

So how do you want to spend your days? Do you want to cut hair or provide a rainbow of colors to it? Are you interested in working as a nail tech? This is the time to explore your career options. You can talk to people who are already working the jobs that you’re considering. 

You might be interested in:

• Hairstyling
• Colorist
• Special events hairstyling
• Manicurist
• Pedicurst
• Esthetician

If you can’t make up your mind, you might consider finding a job in one field, working for a few months, and trying another for a few months. It’s important you find an option you love. 

Find Your First Job

With more of an idea of the type of career you want, it’s time to find your first job. You should make a list of businesses in your area that offer the services you want to provide. You can create a resume with beauty school education playing a key role and send it out to the various companies in your area. 

It can be challenging to find your first job, so take advantage of any leads you might get. You can call a salon if you hear that they have an opening or contact your school to see if they can help you find job leads. 

Start Networking

You know more people than you think, and it’s time to take advantage of your network. You can start by telling friends, family, and neighbors about your new job and encourage them to take advantage of your services. 

The friends you made during your time at school can also be part of your network, especially if they’re focused on a different niche of the beauty industry. You always want to carry business cards with you and hand them out to whoever you meet. A network can help you build a loyal clientele more quickly. 

Build a Social Media Presence

Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and more can help you build a following and establish you as a professional in the industry. There are many things that you can do on social media. For instance, if you cut hair, you might post before and after photos of dramatic cuts. You should always ask your client for permission before posting their photos. Establish a schedule of when you’re going to post content and make sure that you link your channels to each other. You can use social media to find new clients, but it can also be a source of income. 

Find Your Niche

You might love providing manicures with clever nail art or coloring hair to transform someone’s look. After your first year or so, you should have a good idea of the niche you want to stay in. 

You want to strive to become the “go-to” person for whatever service you specialize in. You can build a client list that only calls you for the specific service you want to offer. Focus your social media presence and networking on the niche work you’re doing. 

Invest in Continuing Education

The beauty industry seems to change almost daily. When you look at the beehive hairdos of the 1960s and the Princess Diana cuts of the early 1980s, you know that there is always a new look waiting around the corner. 

To stay relevant and maintain your client list, you need to invest in continuing education. It might be classes on how to perform the latest haircut or how to achieve the ombre effect with hair coloring. As long as you continue to learn, you’ll continue to build a client base that helps you reach your goals. 

Create Long-Term Goals

Do you want to own your own salon or spa? Do you want to move out of service and into management? When you’re first starting out, it is a great time to set some long-term goals. You can find jobs and the type of clients you need to move toward your long-term goals. 

You can set a one-year goal, a five-year goal, and a 10-year goal. All of your short-term goals should put you in a better position to reach your long-term goals. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there. 

Partner With Phagans School of Hair Design for the Education You Deserve

If you haven’t graduated or found a beauty school yet, it’s time to find the right partner. At Phagans School of Hair Design, we believe in providing our students with the skills they need to build a career they’ll love. Our staff members invest their knowledge, time, and dedication into helping each student prepare for a lifetime in the beauty industry. Take the next step and arrange a tour to learn more about our school now.