Image consultant jobs

Type of Job

Both individuals and companies consult image consultants on different aspects of personal impact and appearance.

What is the job about?

As an image consultant you will work with people from a variety of sectors. This can include both public and private companies, politicians, the media, and the retail sector.

Your work will involve interacting with the media, contributing to television and radio programmes, or developing articles for the local, national or specialist press.

Those who work with private clients can advise on various areas of personal appearance such as:

• Analysis of colour and style
• Help in choosing and applying make-up
• Help in choosing an appropriate wardrobe, including personal shopping
• Talks and presentations.
  
  

Corporate work is different and can include:

• Providing training workshops
• Talks and presentations
• Advice on branding
• Performing audits
• Offering executive coaching
• Advising on body language or etiquette
• The effective use of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming).

Key Skills & Knowledge needed

Image consultants must have an interest in working with people and helping to make a difference to their lives, whether at an individual or corporate level.

You will need good people skills and the ability to put clients at ease, and you will need to be persuasive, in order to get clients to follow your advice.

It goes without saying that you will need tact and good listening skills, and if you are working with individual clients, a natural flair for style and colour will be useful.

Qualifications and experience needed

There are no set entry requirements for image consultants, but a background in the following areas will be helpful:

• Sales and marketing
• Consultancy
• Public relations
• Retail
• Fashion, hair and beauty therapy
• Recruitment and human resources
• Management
• Training and coaching
  
  

Formal qualifications are no guarantee of success, but degrees, BTEC HNCs/HNDs and foundation degree courses in related areas such as beauty therapy, design, marketing and media communications might be helpful.

What other training and development could I do?

Experienced image consultants can gain accreditation at Associate or Master level from the IFIC (International Federation of Image Consultants). The IFIC website has details of recognised training providers (all private companies).

You can also develop your skills and knowledge by attending IFIC seminars, workshops and other events.

Salary and benefit expectations

Experienced image consultants can earn up to ?30,000 a year, while those in the corporate sector can earn in excess of ?40,000. This will depend on your success at building up a client base.

Where else can I go for more information?

You can find more about this field at:

International Federation of Image Consultants (IFIC)
www.tfic.org.uk

Hairdressing and Beauty Industry Authority (HABIA)
www.habia.org