Key Takeaways:
Thirty minutes. That’s how long it took for a BeautyMatter job advertisement shared on LinkedIn to fill with 50 applications—a snapshot of a new reality. Across the beauty career landscape, a paradox reigns: From entry-level to C-suite, there are fewer jobs, more applicants, and an industry reshifting its professional requirements.
In the past year, layoffs at four of the largest beauty and personal care conglomerates—most recently staff cuts at Shiseido—have thinned teams globally, as a wave of restructures and leadership changes reshape how, and who, brands hire. For executives, stability is being replaced by fractional contracts and project-based work. On the other end of the spectrum, recent graduates hoping to enter the beauty industry often break in through internships (unpaid in some instances), freelance gigs, and working tirelessly on personal platforms.
In this climate, while it may seem unattainable at times, opportunity still exists—but it takes clarity, agility, and skills to rise above the noise of a busy market.
Layoffs Reshaping Landscape
In Q1 of 2025, Unilever cut 6,000 jobs, with plans to eliminate 7,500 positions in total by the end of the year—a restructuring plan predicted to result in $550 million of cost savings. Following suit, Coty announced the elimination of 700 jobs as part of its “All-in to Win” program, intending to streamline operations and reduce complexity across functions and markets, with a predicted annual fixed cost savings of $130 million before taxes.
Similarly, Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) implemented a restructuring plan that will see 7,000 job losses by FY2026, which also involves creating new brand clusters and enhancing supply chain operations.
“The shift has been seismic,” April Uchitel, CEO and co-founder of The Board, told BeautyMatter. “The pandemic triggered the first wave of seasoned leadership exits; when margins shrink, high-salaried talent is often the first line item cut.” Additionally, post-pandemic self-care boom, there is no longer a need for a large in-office headcount; again, too many people, not enough jobs.
This also ties into the digital age. In previous offline business models, huge teams were needed; now, most things can be completed by a computer. According to Uchitel, the average C-suite executive lacks the skill set needed to tackle a company’s modern demands like social commerce, influencer marketing, live shopping, and AI.“It’s nearly impossible to upskill your C-suite at the current rate of change,” she added. “For senior fractional talent, this means moving away from being broad generalists and instead going deeper into the areas where they can deliver the most value and excitement.”
Like Uchitel, Annabel Norman, CEO of Norman Consultants, reframed C-suite instability as leadership realignment for a new operating reality.“If you reflect on nearly every period of financial strain or crisis, whether globally or here in the US, it’s often been accompanied by a major advancement in technology. These moments of pressure tend to accelerate innovation, and we’re living through one of those shifts now.”
The ongoing realignment of many C-suite executives left those in top-level roles with few options: fractional/interim contracts, project-based work, or leaving a company altogether. Uchitel explained that, after speaking to hundreds of senior beauty leaders since the pandemic, many are just beginning their fractional journeys; some by choice, others by necessity.
“Many have shared heartbreaking stories about when and why they finally walked away,” she said. “Brands want agility and targeted expertise. By plugging in proven specialists exactly when they’re needed, they gain a competitive edge without carrying costly overhead.”
As these cuts are made and teams change, the reality can often be a pile of work left on the desks of the remaining staff, leading to company-wide burnout, which, of course, benefits nobody. “The impact on brand culture is massive as there’s a clear shift when a leader goes from feeling valued and empowered to feeling squeezed and disposable,” said Uchitel.
Evolving Mind and Skillsets
As the C-suite undergoes a rapid transformation, leaders and candidates alike have to rethink their approach to career growth and skill development. “If you’ve been used to leading from the front, you have to stay open to paths that might not look like the next ‘logical’ step. Embrace the unknown,” said Uchitel, emphasizing that staying relevant now means thinking five years ahead and evolving alongside the industry.
Mindset-wise, today’s candidates need clarity, confidence, and cultural relevance, and as Uchitel said, “a willingness to leave the ego at the door.” Skills-wise, candidates need to upskill and reskill to avoid falling behind continuously. However, the current climate requires employees to avoid taking on too much expertise at a time and focus on a niche, reflecting a shift away from the jack-of-all-trades era, where small teams required broad generalists.
As Norman outlined, embracing emerging technologies is no longer optional. “Executives who know how to leverage AI to increase efficiency, personalize experiences, or inform decision-making are becoming increasingly valuable,” she told BeautyMatter. From AI fluency across marketing, product development, supply chain, and finance, to leveraging social commerce and content-driven growth, leaders must be tech-forward and commercially savvy.
Candidates with a strong POV on brand, the ability to build vitality, and an understanding of platform algorithms are incredibly sought after. “Roles that sit at the intersection of social, community, and commerce, often called Integrated marketing or community marketing, are becoming more strategic, especially as platforms like TikTok continue to drive real revenue for brands,” Norman added.
At the executive level, demand spans across functions. “We’re actively conducting searches across the C-suite, ranging from CFOs, COOs, and Presidents, as well as for VPs and Heads of Sales, Performance Marketing, and HR,” Norman noted. She added that large strategic players are still hiring leads with classical consumer packaged goods backgrounds as a GM or marketing foundation.
Elsewhere, in the venture and private equity-backed sector, there is an appetite for executives who can scale a brand, bring operational discipline, and prepare a business for exit, without compromising brand equity or internal culture. “There’s often a preference for leaders who’ve operated in entrepreneurial or high-growth environments, but we’re also seeing openness to candidates from more established companies—as long as they’ve demonstrated agility, global commercial fluency, and digital leadership within those settings,” said Norman.
In short, the future of the C-suite belongs to leaders who can pair agility with specialization, technical fluency with commercial vision, and the humility to collaborate across cultures and disciplines.
The New Junior Reality
For the newest entrants into beauty, the career path is steep. “Recent grads face a tougher landscape than ever—junior roles are shrinking, mid-level teams are wearing many hats, and more entry-level work is outsourced or consolidated—and then there is AI,” said Uchitel. Internship opportunities are also declining. According to a recent report by Handshake, such positions declined by 15% between January 2023 and January 2025, while applications grew, making top programs increasingly more competitive.
Instead of joining the corporate world in traditional ways, many young hopefuls are finding freelance gigs or posting their own content on platforms such as TikTok and Substack to craft an admirable resume while growing their network. This self-starter mentality is essential in today’s landscape. “Clarity about the roles you’re after, confidence in the skills you have (or how fast you can master the ones you don’t), and a true collaborative spirit are what set candidates apart,” Uchitel continued.
Across the country, schools are stepping in to help bridge the gap between graduates and their first gig. At Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), students are landing competitive placements with brands including L’Oréal, Summer Fridays, Rare Beauty, Tatcha, and Supergoop!. Much of this success stems from SCAD’s deep focus on creative careers and a strong mentorship model. Through programs such as SCADpro—the school’s in-house design studio that connects students with global brands—Meloney Moore, Associate Dean of The De Sole School of Business Innovation at SCAD, and her team help students build alternative options to resumes.
“We’re seeing a growing trend of convergence across industries—beauty companies now seek multidisciplinary talent,” said Moore. She points to students such as Charlene Chen (MFA, motion media design), who thrived in Estée Lauder's R&D 12-week summer internship, and Sean McKenna (BFA in film and television), who was accepted into Estée Lauder’s Presidential Associate Program and is now working on branded content for Clinique.
Even so, Moore acknowledges the struggle to secure an entry-level job, advising seekers to be intentional and patient with their applications. “Rather than sending out the same resume to every opening, tailor your application to each role, engage on LinkedIn to raise your visibility, and build relationships with companies before you apply,” she said, noting that retail experience remains a surprisingly powerful differentiator thanks to the transferable skills it provides.
For those trying to break into the field without a traditional resume or prior experience, Norman agreed with Uchitel that social platforms are proving a viable gateway. “With the rise of TikTok and Instagram, we are seeing more digitally native talent enter the space, not just MBA graduates following the classic internship path, but content creators and marketers who bring fresh, platform-first thinking,” said Norman. Her advice for graduates: skip the board and go straight to the source. “Identify the brands that truly inspire you, follow their leaders, and find creative ways to get in front of them. Sometimes a thoughtful message in the right channel can get you further than a polished email ever could.”
Norman added that one overlooked skill for junior candidates is an executive presence: the ability to connect, communicate clearly, and inspire confidence in conversation. “Enthusiasm and curiosity are everything,” she said. “They’ll carry you far—all the way to your dream job in beauty.”
Uchitel urged hiring managers to see the benefit of employing beauty’s next generation of talented leaders. “When I was the CBO of a tech start-up, I was 20 years older than the founder, and the 22-year-old’s opinion at the table was often just as valuable, sometimes more. It was humbling, but it changed how we think about talent and teams forever.”
The Path Forward
It is clear that the industry is amid a talent reset. For senior leaders, the traditional corporate ladder has split into a web of fractional roles, project assignments, and entrepreneurial pivots. For early career entrants, first jobs may be less about clocking in at headquarters and more about building a body of work that proves creativity and commercial impact.
At every level, those who will succeed in this new landscape will need strategic clarity about where they add the most value; the agility to evolve alongside technological change; and the ability to collaborate across generations, geographies, and functions. In turn, brands are required to embrace new models for talent acquisition and retention that recognize potential and encourage fresh perspectives on influential company decisions.
In the current market, waiting for the perfect role is no longer a winning strategy. Successful candidates are those who seek opportunities, tailor them to strengths, and deliver results.
