Coronavirus is a reality that has hit the whole world in just a few days, forcing almost all the states to activate restrictive measures: closing borders, schools, restaurants, and recommending (in some countries like Italy, locking down) everyone to stay home to contain the virus. You can no longer travel and many fashion companies are closing their offices and stores and adopting smart working measures where possible. This virus is having an impact not only on the health of many but on the world economy and the lives of each of us.
You are probably now going through a moment of uncertainty and your plans have been messed up, but this is completely normal.
The first thing I want to tell you is to not take this as a personal problem. This is something that has affected everyone, so if you had to move to a new city to start your fashion internship, the restrictive measures that do not allow you to travel will not make you miss this opportunity, but most likely it will only be postponed.
Big fashion events such as The Met Gala and many fashion shows have been paused, so consider your plans postponed as well. 💪🏻
The coronavirus is having huge implications not only for the workforce but for the recruitment process as well.
Whatever is your current situation: if you were about to graduate, if you were in the middle of job interviews, if you were about to start your spring internship, if you were applying for many jobs to finally get one, this is not the time to stop. Or at least not to stop completely. It is true that you have to stay at home, and it is absolutely important to do it so that we all get out of it asap, but you cannot stop completely working on your career.
Your dreams have not been canceled, do not stop working toward your goals.
Time is a precious resource that does not go back, so try to get as much as possible even during this difficult period.
Stopping now means postponing your entry into the fashion industry when everything will be solved soon. If you want to work in fashion as soon as possible, coronavirus and restrictive measures should not impact your career 100%.
Most people will probably stop waiting for everything to get solved before starting again looking for jobs and internships, but not you. Don’t stop now if you want to get into the fashion industry as soon as possible.
The only thing you don’t have to do during coronavirus is to stop doing anything just waiting for the end of this chaos (and of course going out for non-necessary things).
If it is true that you cannot control the coronavirus and how long this will really last, you can still work on yourself to make sure that you will be totally ready at the end of this.
Here is what you should do during the coronavirus in order not to slow down your fashion career:
1.Prepare a list of your favorite brands/people you want to work with and your applications
Many of you are asking me if you should continue applying or it is better to wait when the virus has gone. If fashion companies continue to post jobs, it is because they have decided to manage the recruitment remotely – therefore by conducting phone or Skype interviews – or posting internships that will start in a few months from now so that are not directly impacted for the moment.
If there are internships or jobs open, don’t wait for the virus to end to apply, because the position might close soon, but apply regularly and get ready for phone interviews.
During this time at home, create an excel sheet with your favorite brands, check if they have opened positions and keep track of when you apply, if now or later. Many companies have stopped hiring so it is normal that in this period there will be fewer jobs online, therefore at the end of this virus the spontaneous/self-application will be so much worth. Work on your CV, your cover letter, find the email address, write your cold email and save it in your drafts so the morning when everything will finally be solved, you’ll just hit the send button (and you’ll probably be the first email in the recruiters’ inbox 😉 )
If you want to know where to find the emails of anyone working in fashion and what to write in the cold or self-application emails, check the online course Break into the fashion industry.
2. Work on your portfolio
If you want to get a job as a stylist, journalist, photographer, designer, you can spend this time at home working on your fashion portfolio. Start a blog to publish your fashion articles, improve the layout of your portfolio, create an Instagram profile to show your styling work, expand your portfolio, update it.
3. Take Online Courses
What a better time to attend online courses and acquire new skills? You can finally decide to learn Photoshop, Excel or WordPress. Invest the monthly budget that you usually reserve on dinners, lunches, cinema nights and travels, to grow your skills.
4. Learn more about the fashion industry
The more you know about the fashion industry, the better. You don’t need necessarily to go to a fashion school to learn about fashion. You can do it by reading books, listening to podcasts, reading articles, watching fashion documentaries.
These are some great resources to check during your quarantine:
How to Set your Fashion Career Goals [and achieve them]
What makes the perfect CV for a Fashion Company?
5. Grow your fashion network
If you’ve been following Glam Observer for a while, you’ve surely heard me say that word of mouth is the main tool for getting a job in fashion. The more people you know, the more career opportunities you have, so it is essential to network in this industry. Thanks to LinkedIn and Instagram, building online connections has never been easier. And in this period in which physical contacts are not allowed, it is the right time to establish online relationships. As I have often said, at the basis of an effective connection there is a genuine relationship. You can’t follow a person on Instagram and expect them to suggest a new job vacancy at their company. So take advantage of this time to start cultivating relationships with editors, stylists, designers … interact with them on Instagram for a couple of weeks and start spontaneous conversations. If you prefer, create an excel sheet in which you keep track of the people with whom you establish relationships with on Instagram.
6. Create your LinkedIn profile
Don’t you have a LinkedIn profile yet? LinkedIn is critical for your career in fashion. So if you haven’t yet, it’s time to create your account and start familiarizing with this career tool. Do you know that many fashion recruiters use LinkedIn to hire? If you don’t have an account yet, you’re missing out on opportunities. In my online program Break into the fashion industry, I also teach how to use LinkedIn for your personal branding, find a job, get discovered by recruiters and contact recruiters or anyone who works in fashion.
7. Reflect and plan
Take this time to reflect and set your goals. Maybe you have not yet figured out which career in fashion is right for you, or you are considering whether to move abroad to work in fashion, or you applied but with no results. This is an excellent time to reflect, research, understand, plan.
8. Take care of yourself
In difficult times like these where stress is around the corner, is difficult to keep focused if you don’t take care of yourself. So eat healthy (but also allow yourself some homemade cookies) drink lots of water, move your body for 30 minutes every day with what you have (on Youtube there are many workouts you can do at home without any tools) watch Netflix, sleep, let your skin breathe without makeup, call your loved ones.
9. Organize your days
Organize your days in order to have a fair balance between the productive activities I mentioned above and those hours in which you allow yourself to relax. Plan all the hours so you don’t feel guilty or useless at the end of the day for having spent the entire day on the couch staring at the ceiling and thus increasing stress. Having a plan will also make your days go by faster.
Do you want an example?
8 AM Wake up call
8:30 AM Yoga / Pilates
9:00 AM Shower and beauty routine
9:20 AM Breakfast while catching up on the latest fashion industry news/listening to a podcast
10:30 AM Online course
12:00 PM Work on CV, Cover Letter, Portfolio
1 PM Lunch
2 PM Power Nap
3 PM Write draft emails for your applications
4:30 PM Interact on Instagram with editors, stylists…
5 PM Watch a fashion documentary
6PM Read a fashion/career book
Spend the rest of the evening relaxing, eating a delicious meal, watching movies, reading…
Now I want to hear from you, has coronavirus already impacted your career in fashion? Have you had to change your plans? How do you spend your time at home? Leave your comments below 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Hi Giada,
Thank you for this useful article, will keep on working on my portfolio 💪🏼
So you recommend to wait until the end to cold email people ? Why not doing so if it’s for an internship to start later on ?
Thank you
Coraline
Covid19 hurt the jobs and economy so badly. I hope this time shall pass too. We need great healthcare support in these days. This is a big dark time for the whole world.