Getting a job in fashion is hard, yes it’s true… but are you really doing anything you can to get that job or internship?
And don’t tell me that applying for every job you find means you’re doing everything you can. This is not doing everything possible.
If you’re reading this and you still don’t have a job in fashion, is probably because there is still something else that you can do. Yes, this is for sure a challenging time but that’s why is more important than ever to use the correct strategies.
Today I’m not here to talk about strategies, if you want to hear them you can register for my free masterclass where I share 3 unconventional ways to get a job in fashion. I’m here to talk about something else that will make the difference in your job search and career in general: a growth mindset.
If you prefer you can listen this episode or keep reading
Let me read you a definition of growth mindset from an article of the Harvard Business Review by Carol Dweck:
Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts).
Read it again.
Now let me apply this to fashion jobs. You know that the fashion industry is competitive because there are so many talented people out there. This means you will always have to deal with people who have multiple skills. What about you?
I’m not saying or asking you this because I want you to feel bad or to compare yourself to others. As I said in my book Your Fashion Dream Plan, the only person you should compare yourself to is the one you were yesterday. Which is aligned with the definition of growth mindset we’ve just read from that Harvard article according to which every skill can be acquired through hard work, good strategies, and the support of other people. therefore knowing that there are so many talented people in fashion should not discourage you, much less allow you to be convinced of the fact that you cannot have the same or more skills. Having a growth mindset means that you are constantly learning something new.
And not because it just happens, but because YOU DECIDE to make it happen. You decide to learn, you decide to grow.
Your growth shouldn’t be a random thing like an event you decide to attend because an advertisement suddenly appeared on Instagram. You must be intentional, which means that you will attend that event because it was part of your growth strategy and you have specifically look for that event because participating in 3 events a year is essential for your growth. Also and especially once you graduate, you will have to continue practicing your personal growth. The same applies if you are currently still in college, your university could be defined as casual learning, not so much intentional, you have to take that exam so you have to take that class, so what else do you need to learn outside of your course?
You should add a daily dose of growth to your agenda. It is essential to include it in your calendar or, as anticipated, you will end up in the trap of those who grow only randomly and this is not a strategy nor the right way to do it. Just because until now your growth has happened spontaneously, it doesn’t mean that everything else will come by itself. Indeed, if you are one of those people who are waiting to grow, learn and improve and let it happen naturally, you are probably not yet and you will not be, where you want to be. And if you’re not where you want to be, and in this case, if you haven’t found your internship or fashion job yet, it’s time to change that.
The only way to change something in your life is to change something you do every day, so this dose of growth has to become part of you and your daily routine.
An old proverb says that experience is a very strict teacher because you first take the exam and then you learn the lesson.
Now I want to bring you the lesson with the hope of preparing you to pass the exam. What do you need to work in fashion? Let’s say for example that you need to learn excel (often underestimated but as already mentioned several times, it’s required in every fashion job and used by everyone in fashion companies not only the most analytical roles such as the buyer but also those who work in PR, stylists, etc. …)
What are you doing every day to improve this skill that is required by fashion companies? You’re not waiting to join the company and have someone teach you how it works, right? For sure and especially as an intern, you will learn a lot on the job, but why wait if you can already learn things?
Do you know that at my internship interview I had to take an excel test? For an internship position I didn’t expect to have to take that test … I was surprised and almost thought they were requiring too much from an intern and that my job would be to prove that I could learn everything from my boss and as a good intern learn it quickly and then do my job. Today I understand the reason for that test, and I want to tell you so so you’ll not only not be surprised as I was but be prepared as well. Luckily I knew how to use the program and its most popular features, and that’s how I passed the test and got the job. Obviously, once I got the internship they taught me many other things about Excel, but if I had arrived at the interview totally unprepared and without any knowledge of the program, surely I would not have obtained that position and they would have chosen the next candidate more prepared than me. I also did a job interview step in English (for a job in Italy and I’m Italian) to test my language level. Knowing different languages such as Italian, English and French are very important in fashion. If you want to move to France, what are you doing every day to learn the language (besides excel)? Have you included accelerated French lessons in your agenda to learn it as quickly as possible? What online courses are you taking, what books have you bought?
In an interview with a fashion company, they may ask you what you think about how things are evolving after the pandemic .. how much do you know about the fashion industry? What are you doing on a daily basis to learn more about the fashion industry? Are you listening to podcasts, reading articles, taking any online courses?
It is easier and more convenient to believe that you have no responsibility for the things you know or don’t know at the beginning of your career because you will learn everything on the job. It is true that 80% of the things, you will learn with practical experience, but you are making a big mistake if you are applying for jobs or internships in fashion with the belief that companies should not expect anything from you just because you are at the beginning of your career and that your only skill to demonstrate is that you can learn quickly once you get the job. In fact, this is obvious and absolutely necessary, but I want you to be ready and know that unfortunately in a competitive sector such as fashion it doesn’t work like that. Remember the proverb I mentioned to you earlier that says that experience is a very strict teacher because first, you take the exam and then you learn the lesson.
Here, I repeat that I am telling you all this because I want to anticipate the lesson with the hope of preparing you to pass the exam. I often read comments on LinkedIn from people who are discouraged because they did not get the job because the company has hired someone with experience for an internship position. it is frustrating I know, but are you really doing everything you can to get that job or did you go to the interview waiting for the company to teach you things? Of course, you and companies as well know it, that you want to learn once you get your first job, but put yourself in the shoes of the company, they are not a school, their job is not to train you to grow your knowledge, they hire you because you have to help them. Of course, they will train you to learn what you need, but not just to train you but to do your job well within the company. it is also important to consider this perspective when applying. Do not say that you want to join the company because you want to learn but that your desire to learn will make you the best resource they have ever had. Can you see how the same concept expressed in a different way? If you say I want to get the job because I want to learn, this is centered on you, if you say I’m driven and I want to learn so that I can be your best resource is centered around the company. This little change will make a difference in your job applications and job interviews.
So I hope that the importance of growth is now clear.
It’s easy to get distracted and let things happen randomly or hope to learn, to grow. But this is not the correct way to grow and grow is essential in a sector like fashion where companies expect a lot since they have such a high demand that they have a wide choice and do not have to settle for the only 30 who apply. They can choose from hundreds of candidates. I want you to be the one who stands out not only for the application strategies used, but for the growth mindset.
This mindset will also be appreciated once you got the job because the company always wants its employees to be encouraged to learn more and bring value. and you want to be the one that brings value to the company because you want to turn your internship into a full-time job and then into a promotion until you get the managerial/senior role you want, right? Now you may be joining as an intern, but you will grow in the company and you don’t have to let this growth happen randomly or leave it just to time. The only way to control your growth and make sure that every day you learn something new that helps you with your career is to put it on your agenda. Do it now. Open your calendar on your iPhone or diary and start filling out every day from Monday to Friday from today until December 31st, adding a daily appointment with yourself dedicated to your growth, your learning.
How to choose what to invest/grow in?
Look where you are now and where you want to go. What do you need?
Excel and a new language we mentioned earlier could be the perfect start. What else? Do you need to learn more about fashion? Do you need to learn more about networking? Do you need to improve your application strategies? Do you have to learn to sew? Need to learn how to create reports using PowerPoint? Do you have to learn how to use WordPress for the fashion intern position at a fashion magazine? Or to use photoshop that graphic designer job?
Put down a list of things you should learn more about and every time you read a new job description that requires a new skill or if you find something is wrong with your strategies and you need to change and learn new things, expand your list.
How to afford your growth?
There are many free resources, online you can read articles, watch video tutorials, listen to podcasts and learn a lot, but these must be accompanied by other resources that require a minimum of investment. You don’t have to spend a fortune to grow and you don’t need to invest in a master’s degree worth thousands of dollars. A couple of books a month and a few online courses are enough. I want to tell you how I managed them when I was at the beginning of my career and I invested in books and online courses.
I started by doing an analysis of my daily, monthly and weekly expenses.
I highlighted what were the essential things such as paying for the rent, food, bills, transport … and those that were not absolutely necessary at least for some months such as reduce dinners/lunches out by reserving them only for the weekend. With an average spending of 30€ for a dinner, from 3 times to once a week I saved on average 60 € / week just by reducing my outside dinners from 3 times to once. No coffee out every day (I save another 15 € a week), I worked out at home rather than pay for a gym membership and saving other 70€/month (now with the pandemic you have no choice 😀 but remember this for when the situation will return to normal). Just by cutting down some dinners, coffeed, and a gym membership I was able to save € 75 / week, which is € 370 / month. Then I cut down some clothing shopping by 150€/month and saved up 520€. To make a comparison, I could have bought both the Break into the fashion industry and Inside the fashion industry courses. I saved what I needed to invest in myself, in my growth that month and maybe the following month go to a restaurant twice and just buy some books instead of taking a new course and then do the same the following month by reducing dinners to take a new course.
For years now growth has been on my agenda every day, be it a book, a podcast, a course (often all three), and don’t tell me you don’t have time. If you don’t have a job yet, you definitely have time, if you have it, do as I do (I work on average 10-12 hours a day so definitely more than a 9-5 job so if I can do it, anyone can do it): I listen to podcasts while I cook, I clean, I take Barry for a walk, at the supermarket. I wake up an hour earlier to read and take an online course. If you don’t find space to grow, you will have to prepare yourself to give up your dreams and your desire of achieving what you want. And giving up on my dreams just to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep doesn’t seem like a good option to me and it shouldn’t seem like it to you either.
Therefore for recap:
- growing or learning something new is essential for your career in fashion, from the beginning when you are looking for a new job to the rest of your career to transform the internship into a full-time job, to get a promotion and then the next one
- you need to be intentional with the growth and not let it happen randomly. Put books to read, courses to attend, events to attend in your agenda and search for them intentionally. Make sure there is something on your agenda every day, plan from today until December 31st. 30 minutes / 1 hour a day is enough.
- Look at what you could give up this month to invest that sum in your growth: a dinner, a new shirt that would be added to all the ones you already have … and do it consistently. Ideally, you should start today and never stop because growing will serve you every moment and for everything in your life.
