Instagram is not just your favorite hobby, but a powerful career tool. So if you haven’t yet, it’s time to start using it not just robotically scrolling your feed whenever you have 20 seconds ( that end up being 20 minutes) but to actually get from it more than some outfit or travel inspirations.
Instagram can be used in different ways to benefit your career: for personal branding, to network, as a portfolio and even for getting a fashion job or internship. It is no coincidence in fact, that I dedicated several lessons to the use of Instagram in the online course Break into the fashion industry to understand practically how to use the platform and get the most out of it for your career.
In this article, we will see why you should follow fashion industry insiders (stylists, editors, buyers, photographers…) on Instagram, whatever fashion career you want to pursue: freelance, work in a fashion company, at a PR agency or launch your own brand/business.
Obviously, depending on the fashion job you want to get, you should follow more people who have already taken your chosen path: if you want to become a buyer, you should follow more buyers than editors, just as if you want to become a stylist you should follow more stylists, but it’s important to follow even people who have a different fashion career path from yours as well.
When I was at the beginning of my career in fashion I didn’t know all the people making the industry. Of course, I knew about the most popular figures such as Anna Wintour or Donatella Versace, but I didn’t know all the stylists, or buyers or PRs. It took me years to build a good following of fashion industry professionals, that’s why to save time and because it’s fundamental to follow fashion industry insiders on Instagram, I’ve included in my online course Break into the fashion Industry a list of more than 100 fashion professionals with links to their Instagram profiles divided by stylists, editors, managers, designers, CEOs…
Let’s see the 4 Reasons why you should follow fashion industry insiders on Instagram.
1.You understand more about their job and the behind-the-scenes of fashion
Everyone shares at least a couple of IG stories every week. And fashion professionals are no exceptions. If you’re a stylist, buyer, pr, editor… and you spend your days working, your stories cannot but show the behind the scenes of your working days and the fashion industry in general. That’s why following fashion professionals will get you a glimpse of the fashion offices and what being a stylist, editor, pr, merchandiser, designer… looks like. Fashion professionals attend industry events as well which most of those are just for fashion insiders, so you can somehow take part in these events and breathe the behind-the-scenes of the fashion industry by just watching their stories and posts wherever you are. Sometimes they do also some Q&A on Instagram so you can ask your career-related questions and get advice.
2. You get updates about the latest job opportunities
Whether they work in a fashion company, agency or magazine or they work for themselves (stylists, photographers, freelancers, designers) , fashion professionals use Instagram to promote a new job when it’s open. I do often take screenshots of the jobs posted by industry professionals and share them in the private Facebook group for members and students. Most of the times when they post a new job or internship they add their personal email as well, so you can do an email application rather than just applying online which is way more effective when it comes to standing out in this competitive industry as I explained in my free masterclass on 3 secrets to get a job in fashion. If you want to work for an editor or a stylist, you can’t but follow them on Instagram to know when they are hiring but also for the 3rd reason I’m about to tell you now.
3. The more you know about them, the more successful you are in getting the job or internship
I’ve already said that the more personalized your application is (CV, Cover Letter, emails), the more chances you have to get the job. Same for a job interview, the more you know about the person you’re interviewing with, the more you’ll succeed. Fashion professionals share on Instagram not only their professional life but also their private one and also their opinions on a specific society or fashion theme such as sustainability, diversity, etc… It’s super important to know what they think about something and their preferences in order to know what to say or it’s better not to say in an email or during a job interview. The more you know about them, the more successful you are in getting the job or internship.
4. You expand and leverage [easily] your network
The most obvious reason is that the more people you follow on Instagram, the more chance you have of bonding with some of them and establishing a solid and genuine relationship that will help you with your career in fashion both at the beginning and later, when you want to find a new job. Word-of-mouth is the best to get a job in fashion and Instagram makes it the easiest when it comes to building relationships with anyone from anywhere in the world. Plus it’s perfect for introverts!
