Do you love working with people and impacting their lives positively? Then you can consider a career in Image Consulting.
Image Consultant is the hottest career option today. The ability to project an impressive image is the common requirement of the 21st century which makes Image Consulting a rapidly growing and most sought-after industry.
Who is an Image Consultant?
Image Consultants are career consultants and soft skills trainers providing comprehensive and tailored guidance suitable to their clients’ needs who want to create an impressive persona or an image that is in alignment with their personal and professional goals.
Their job is working with businesses or individual clients like professionals or homemakers to enhance their looks, communication skills and behaviour. Their work is not related to only upgrading the client’s physical appearance but also developing their interpersonal skills so that they become the best version of themselves and be confident.
They work closely with their clients, understand and help them to get an edge in this world of cut-throat competition both in professional, social and personal lives through grooming, styling and other image management services.
They help their clients convey the right emotions and messages through appropriate clothing and their demeanour for specific occasions, events and goals.
What does an Image Consultants do?
The following are some of the typical duties of an Image Consultant.
- Based on their specialization, you can provide targeted and specific consultations on grooming, hair, makeup, styling and wardrobe.
- Providing classes on body language, etiquette and communication.
- Based on clients’ requirements, they develop a systematic image strategy for their appearance and self-presentation.
- Developing and giving seminars on Image Consulting.
- Offers personal consultations for clients and group consultations for organizations based on their needs.
- Improve grooming, body language, etiquette and soft skills of individuals and companies by training and mentoring them.
- Providing personal styling and shopping services for clients to look and feel their best while communicating the right messages through their attire.
Services offered by Image Consultants
The following are the services offered by Image Consultants.
- Fashion Styling and Consulting.
- Behaviour and Communication training.
- One-on-One Image consulting.
- Etiquette Coaching.
- Corporate training.
- Soft Skills Training.
- Grooming Consultation.
Required Skills
The following are the qualities of successful Image Consultants:
- Effective Communication and Interpersonal skills.
- Good style sense and grooming skills.
- Confident Public Speaking and People skills.
- Interest in fashion and staying updated on the latest fashion trends.
- Be approachable, positive and encouraging to clients.
- Creativity skills for developing personalized plans for clients.
Career Options for Image Consultants
Some of the career options you can juggle while being an Image Consultant too.
- Wardrobe Consultant
- Corporate Stylist
- Personal Stylist
- Celebrity Stylist
- Grooming and Etiquette Coach
- Confidence Coach
- Personality Development Trainer.
How to become an Image Consultant?
There are no standard education requirements to become an Image Consultant.
- Interested candidates should complete their bachelors or have an academic background in fields like mass communication, public relations, beauty, fashion design, psychology, marketing or communications.
- Complete training programs and courses in public speaking, marketing and finance, interpersonal communication for effectively promoting their services to potential clients.
- The Association for Image Consultants International (AICI) provides three certification levels for professional image consultants for official recognition of their skill set:
- Certified image consultant
- Certified image professional
- Certified image master
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- Gaining job-related experience in image consulting roles like sales associate in clothing shops, a personal shopper or stylist at departmental stores, a beauty consultant at a makeup counter or as a hairstylist that provides hands-on experience in providing guidance and working with the clients.
- Choose a specialization for your image consulting services like fashion, beauty, etiquettes and communication services.
- Networking with established and popular clients in varied industries like event management, media and photography.
- Maintain a digital portfolio of your best work for attracting potential clients and organizations.
- Develop partnerships with trusted people to offer the best services to your clients.
Salary and Career Outlook
According to Payscale, the annual median salary for PR Consultants was around $ 60,000 as reported in 2018. In India, the average median salary for Image Consultants varies between INR 5-8 LPA. This is however dependent on your clients and the number of working hours.
In India, a large majority of the youth struggle to find a good job because of a lack of soft skills. Even in the Budget of 2019, the Indian government has focused on new-age skills that are of utmost need for youth. Also, the allocation for the Ministry of Skill Development has been released by the Government. The career prospects of Image Consultants look promising.
– Samiya Firdous
