Fashion Jobs and Coronavirus: Are companies still hiring? Should I apply now or wait?

Some weeks ago I published an article on things to do for your fashion career to not slow it down completely during this period that we are forced to stay home. Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s career postponing and in the worst case, canceling, some internships, job interviews, full-time jobs that had to start during this past month. 

To not postpone further you enter into the fashion industry when this global crisis will be over, I listed some things you can do while staying home to still be productive. 

In that post, I already talked a bit about whether or not you have to apply for new jobs.

I’m receiving hundreds of emails on this if you should keep applying or wait, if companies are still hiring and what it’s going to happen to the industry, so I’ve decided to write a new post focused on what to do with your fashion job applications. 

Let’s begin by saying that the fashion industry is divided: some companies have stopped hiring and are not posting new job opportunities, while others are still publishing new jobs and are managing the recruitment process remotely via skype and phone interviews. 

The fashion capitals Milan, New York, London and Paris where there are most of the fashion jobs and internships opportunities, are also the most affected by this virus. Which means that of course, the jobs and internships published these days are way less than the number posted in a normal situation, but this should not be an excuse to stop applying for jobs and wait for the end of this pandemic to start working again on your career, because as I said, there are fashion companies that are still hiring. 

Even though not all the companies specify a starting date for jobs and internships, it is more likely that the new jobs opening these days are going to start from July. 

So the advice here is to not focus on these current days, because fashion companies are already looking ahead, and you should do too. Yes it’s true that now almost the entire world is locked down and that we won’t go to the office in the next days, but think long term. Companies are not hiring overnight for a job that starts tomorrow, so this is the time to apply for jobs that will start this summer.

Don’t assume that all the summer internships have been canceled. 

I have listed below some links to job opportunities, one for each fashion capital, to prove to you that some companies are still hiring: 

• Pricing & Publication In-Season YOOX Intern – Milan Posted 2 days ago
• Design Intern, WRTW 3.1 Phillip Lim New York Posted 5 days ago
• Fashion PR Internship Task PR London Published 2 days ago
• Burberry Stockroom Assistant CDD – Rue Saint Honore Paris published today

So whether the internship you had secured has been canceled, if you were in the middle of interviews for another internship or job, if you were about to apply for fashion internships and jobs to start after your graduation, this is not the time to stop or wait.

So my answer is yes, you should keep applying for fashion jobs and internships if you want to enter the fashion industry as soon as possible. And I’ve already said many times that you can’t have your time back, so there is no time to waste. 

Work on your CV, cover letter and apply for those jobs. 

In my online course Break into the fashion industry, one of the unconventional strategies that I teach is to cold-email companies and people. I won’t give the details in this article on how to do it, if you need more details check out the course page, but what I can say is that for that brands that are not posting any new jobs and internships, is better to not cold email now, probably the recruiters are not working so your email will end up at the bottom of the inbox. But prepare your drafts these days and send the emails the first day possible. Same if you want to pitch a stylist to work with, it’s better to wait when we will be able to meet up again in person because now your email might not be considered as it should. 

This doesn’t mean you don’t have to work on these cold applications now. Prepare an excel sheet with a list of companies and people you want to apply for a keep track of those you are applying now and the ones you have to save as drafts and apply later.

If you were in the middle of job interviews and you haven’t heard back from the recruiter, write an email and say that you understand that you haven’t heard back due to this global crisis, that you are still interested in starting the job later and that you’ll reach out again in the next weeks. The day we will be celebrating because the virus has gone, you’ll be also following up with all the recruiters and companies you were having job interviews with to see if the job you had to start a month ago is still available today. If not, you have meanwhile applied to other jobs so you have not wasted your time! That’s why it’s important to keep applying now even if you had some interviews for other positions.

It might be that your favorite brand has stopped hiring and has not opened a new position recently  BUT don’t just stick to a brand and open yourself for other opportunities. The fashion industry has many shades of incredible brands and companies to work with so, now more than ever, don’t just look at some brands but open yourself for different opportunities. 

You might even consider some remote jobs now such as writing fashion articles for example. When doing your research look for “ remote fashion jobs” to see if you find some. 

So to wrap it up, you should keep applying for fashion jobs and internships if you don’t want to postpone further your entry into the fashion industry.

Questions? Leave a comment below