Home Tattoo Artist Resume template
Tattoo Artist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what tattoo artists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most tattoo artists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Tattoo artist with hands-on experience turning client briefs into custom linework, colour and cover-up designs. Comfortable running the full client journey from consultation and stencil design through to sterile application and aftercare, with a solid grounding in infection control and studio compliance.
Key skills
- Custom design consultation and sketching
- Visual design and colour theory
- Infection control and hygiene (skin penetration standards)
- Coil and rotary tattoo machines
- Autoclave sterilisation
- Adobe Illustrator and Procreate
- Stencil preparation and thermal printing
- Client aftercare advisory
- Attention to detail under time pressure
Experience: example bullet points
- Consulted with clients to develop custom designs from rough sketch to finished stencil, building a steady base of repeat bookings and referrals
- Set up and maintained sterile workstations in line with state skin penetration licensing requirements, keeping a clean compliance record through routine health inspections
- Applied linework, shading and colour saturation using coil and rotary machines across varied skin types and placements, adjusting technique to manage client comfort and pain tolerance
- Delivered clear, written aftercare instructions and follow-up support, cutting down avoidable touch-up requests caused by poor healing
- Managed appointment scheduling and deposit collection, reducing no-shows and keeping the chair consistently booked
Education
No mandatory degree: most artists complete an informal or paid apprenticeship (typically one to three years) under an established tattooist, often alongside a Certificate III/IV in Visual Arts, and must hold current skin penetration or body art registration with the relevant state or territory health department.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Skin penetration licence
- Infection control
- Autoclave sterilisation
- AS/NZS 4187
- Body art registration
- Coil and rotary machines
- Adobe Illustrator
- Procreate
- Custom flash design
- Portfolio
- Client consultation
- Aftercare advisory
- Studio health inspection
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.