How To Get A Job At Chanel

Working at Chanel is the ultimate career dream for many fashion enthusiasts. And if you are reading this article, perhaps it is yours too. When I ask my students and audience on social media what their dream fashion company is, the iconic French House figures among the most popular answers. While there are lots of opportunities in the industry and multiple brands and magazines to work for, wanting to be part of the Chanel company is a totally normal choice, as it has such a rich history and prestige. We simply cannot imagine fashion without Chanel. 

Getting a job at a luxury fashion brand like Chanel sounds thrilling, but at the same time, because it is so notorious and competitive, I often hear your concerns that working at Chanel is an impossible dream especially when you are at the beginning of your career. But it’s not impossible, in fact, it is not as complicated as one may think if you know the right strategies to apply. We prepared this article today to share all the tools we know and guide you on how to get a job at Chanel.

How to get a job at Chanel

“I want to work at Chanel”. This is a good first answer. Congrats, because not everyone knows exactly which fashion company they want to work at, or they don’t have any preference, so if your goal is to work at Chanel – that’s a great start. But here is a question:

What do you really want to do there? 

If you have been reading one of my other articles, you know that I always recommend you be as specific as you can with your career dreams. Have you already decided which role you’d like to pursue at Chanel? Would you rather manage the creative or the business side of the brand? Do you want to be a stylist, a buyer, or a marketing specialist? Where do you see yourself? Take a moment to reflect on your passions and skills, and try finding a job that would be the perfect combination of what you like doing most with what you are good at.

But if you want to be a designer, say, but you don’t know how to sew and knit yet – you don’t have to give up on your dream, as you can learn anything 😉 Exploring your strengths and interests is just an exercise that can help you decide on the career to pursue. 

Of course, you are not choosing the job which you will do forever here, and you can work at different departments and switch roles throughout your career. But it is important to start somewhere, so you have to set the direction in which you want to go – even if it might change later. On the one hand, knowing what role you want to pursue will make your job search process easier. If you know what role you’d like to get, then you know what to look for when browsing jobs online. On the other hand, the more specific you are – the more chances you have to get the job because you’ll be able to tailor your resume, cover letter, emails, and the entire application process to that specific role.

Remember that the applications that work best are those tailored to a specific position. I talk more about tailoring your applications in this free webinar.

In case you are not sure about what job you’d like to pursue yet, let’s take a look at the different departments available if you dream of working at Chanel.

Chanel Careers

The departments inside Chanel are similar to the ones of any fashion brand:

• Design
• Visual Merchandising 
• Research & Product Development
• Manufacturing
• Craftsmanship
• Retail 
• Buying & Merchandising
• Sales
• Marketing 
• Administration 
• PR & Communication 
• Logistics & Supply Chain 
• Human Resources 
• Customer Services 
• Finance & Planning
• IT (Information Technology)

As you can see, the options to explore are many. In any fashion company, there are different people working on different things. So even if it’s fashion, there are also lawyers, finance managers, and many other roles that are not directly working on the fashion product.

How many years of experience are required to work at Chanel?

A big myth that I’ve noticed among fashion enthusiasts is the idea that you can’t land a job if you have no work experience or didn’t study a specific degree or attended a fashion school, especially when you want to work for the top luxury brands of the industry like Chanel Here is the big news: you don’t need a fashion degree to work at Chanel. Or to break into the fashion industry at all, for that matter. Many of my students got internships at Chanel, and other top fashion companies like Dior, Vogue, Burberry, Tiffany&Co., Tory Burch, CR Fashion Book, Marie Claire…with ZERO experience in fashion! So it’s absolutely possible for you too.

Just think about your favorite editors, designers, stylists… everyone started from scratch and so can you. Or go on Linkedin, click on “People” and filter by those who work at Chanel, and you will find many traditional degrees featured on their profiles. 

You neither need work experience to start your career at Chanel. It’s not because it’s such a prestigious brand that people who are part of it are the few lucky ones who worked for 10 years at other companies before joining Chanel. Yes, this may be true for senior positions, but definitely not for entry-level roles. 

So, how can I get my first job at  Chanel?

We always say at Glam Observer that internships are your entry ticket to breaking into the fashion industry because it’s the job you can get even if you have no experience. So if you are currently studying, a recent graduate, or someone with no or little experience and Chanel is your dream company, then you should look for internships at the luxury brand. They usually last from 3 to 6 months.

Interning at Chanel is not only how you’ll get into this brand if you have no experience, but it’s also a great way to learn in practice about your dream role. Or, if you are indecisive about the career you want to pursue, the internship can help you to understand that better. It’s okay to be undecided between two options. Some students of my online course Break into the fashion industry did 2 different internships in two different departments to understand which they prefer. Starting with 1-2 options is better than starting with nothing.

Finally, fashion internships make it easier to get a full-time job.

We said getting a job at Chanel is possible, but we didn’t say you can start as a junior buyer or stylist if you have never worked before in this role. It’s unlikely that as a beginner you will get a full-time job without one or more internships at your back. So if you do an internship at Chanel, it could potentially lead to a full-time job. Maybe not right away at the end of your 6-month internship, as it depends on the particular position and how successful your time as an intern will be, but you will already be part of the industry and make contacts inside the company, which could help you in the future. 

When I read job offers from Chanel, I often see that previous internship experience is beneficial to apply for an internship at Chanel. This may sound like a closed circle, where you feel like you always need experience to start your career but you cannot start it unless you have experience. I feel you. Here is an idea: why not intern at another, less competitive company before interning at Chanel – like an emerging luxury brand for example? This is something you can consider – especially if as a student you have the time and years ahead of you to do several internships, so you can prepare for your dream internship at Chanel. 

Use creative and unconventional application strategies

That being said, if you don’t have any previous experience, but you just found this cool internship at Chanel that perhaps requires previous experience. Don’t feel discouraged by this requirement and apply anyway. Make sure you make a memorable application. Remember: a creative and outstanding application can overcome any lack of experience and skills required. So make sure you are using the right application strategies and give it a try. Using unconventional application strategies will show companies that you are resourceful and with the potential they are looking for. 

Now that you know what career you want to pursue and that you don’t need experience for it, it’s time to start looking for jobs or internships in your chosen department. But first, you may want to get familiar with the job application process.

Chanel Job Application process

The hiring process at Chanel – as in many luxury fashion companies – begins way in advance. This is because Chanel a luxury brand and there are a lot of candidates; it takes time to go through all the applications and find the right candidate. Summer Internships usually pop up in January and fall ones are posted in the summer, but outside of these dates, the brand offers opportunities year-round. 

I highly suggest you plan in advance. Don’t get until the week before you’d like to start working there to start looking for job openings. Be organized and anticipate the hiring process if you don’t want to miss your chance – especially if you are currently studying and you need to do an internship to get school credit. 

Let’s go ahead and see what you can do to get the job of your dreams at the Parisian house. 

Where to find jobs at Chanel

Chanel is a private company and unlike many many fashion brands, it doesn’t belong to a Group, like Fendi belongs to LVMH or Bottega Veneta to Kering, for example. 

The first thing you want to do is to go to the Chanel Careers page. There you can filter the open positions by job category, geographical area, and contract type (permanent, intern, etc.). Read the job description carefully, prepare the required documents, and apply online. 

Another way is to apply directly through LinkedIn. Chanel posts many job vacancies there frequently. For example, today, as I am writing this article, there are 1774 jobs available worldwide that have been published in the past week, 820 of which are internships and entry-level jobs! 

Whenever we see some exciting opportunities at Chanel online, we post them in our 365 days of fashion newsletter which goes out every Friday.

As you can see, even luxury companies like Chanel are hiring for entry-level jobs or internships. So even if you are at the beginning of your career, there are a lot of opportunities waiting for you. Chanel offers internships at many different departments, so you have a lot to choose from. 

Since Chanel headquarters are in Paris, most opportunities are offered there – especially internships (around 90%). So if you’ve always dreamed about working at a fashion company in Paris, consider this fashion capital. Other locations with the most job openings are the USA and the U.K, followed by Hong Kong, China, Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates, among others. 

Skills to work at Chanel

This can be hard to believe, but most of the internships I saw at Chanel have minimum requirements for the candidates. Usually, you will need some basic knowledge related to the job area, as well as mastering the Office Package – especially Excel, which is widely used in fashion. Other popular skills are analytical skills, good interpersonal skills and team spirit, rigor, and respect for deadlines. You have to be very organized and – most of all – curious and passionate about fashion. Finally, as many jobs at Chanel are based in Paris, the company usually asks you to be fluent in French. But in general, whatever country the job is located in, you will need to learn the local language. 

Even though Chanel has some minimum requirements for their candidates, that doesn’t mean you have nothing to do and send a weak application. You have to do the opposite, in fact, and find ways to stand out from a giant pool of candidates. Let’s look at how to apply for jobs at Chanel in more detail. 

Build a strong resume

At Glam Observer, we always point out the fact that you need a strong resume in order to stand out among 500 applicants that apply on average for the same job. It is especially important if you apply at Chanel because they get so many applications that they spend just a couple of seconds analyzing a CV. And a tiny small issue with it can make the recruiters put the resume aside without bothering to read it. Therefore, you have to play your cards right and build an attractive and organized CV without any mistakes. 

If you fear that at the beginning of your career, your resume will look empty, this is not a problem, as there are many ways to build a solid CV if you don’t have much to say and don’t have a lot of experience. What you have to do is understand what career path interests you, then look for jobs in that field, analyze carefully the job descriptions and customize your CV by adding the keywords to the skills, education, and experience sections; trust me, you can always find something meaningful from your background that can relate to the job you are applying for. 

Have you heard of transferable skills?

The things you learn at university and previous experiences are a set of skills you can put on your resume if they are relevant to the position. For example, you may have developed soft skills like team spirit by playing sports or taking part in school projects, or maybe you used Excel a lot in university. What I mean by saying this is that although there are always skills needed for a specific role, there are also already many things you know that you acquired in the past, and they will be useful for your job at Chanel.

Write an impressive cover letter

If you open any internship offer on the Chanel Careers website, you will see that the main compulsory document they ask you to send is your resume. You can attach other documents like your cover letter or portfolio, but it is not a must. Same if you apply through LinkedIn. You may think: “this is not complicated, I just have to attach my CV”. Let me stop you right there. 

Even though sending a cover letter is optional, I strongly advise you to write one. Why? Because it is (one of) your entry-ticket to the fashion industry. It allows the company to get to know you better and notice your passion and motivation. Plus, it helps you to stand out among a giant pool of applicants. So be proactive, the more – the better, and explain in your cover letter to Chanel why you love their company so much; even if the company is praised by many people, they still want to be flattered and know that you want a job at Chanel not just because you want any job, but because you want to get one at their company. Tell them why YOU would be an ideal fit for Chanel, how your values coincide, and how your background can be a good fit for the company. 

Use unconventional strategies

At Glam Observer, our mission is to encourage our readers to be proactive and stand out among other applicants in order to augment your chances of getting an internship. If you really want to get a job at Chanel, please consider using other strategies to apply besides sending a CV and a cover letter, even though now you learned how to write very good ones 😉 

Create a portfolio

A great way to make your application even more complete and impressive is by creating a portfolio of works you created during your past experiences or even just for yourself – your sketches, styling outfits, photographs, or posts for social media. For example, if you are looking for an internship in design or styling, you can draw a few sketches of pieces inspired by the previous Chanel collections to showcase your skills. Or if you want to manage social media, take a look at Chanel’s profiles, and try creating some posts that stay true to the brand’s current aesthetics while proposing your vision.

Whatever career you want to pursue at the French Maison, there are many ways to demonstrate your passion, knowledge, and skills. A portfolio shows that in practice, so you are not just listing your skills on your resume (that is ok) but you are proving to the hiring managers that you can do it in fact, and that you are prepared to learn more. Be creative and take initiative – recruiters will appreciate it.

Reach out

Another good-working strategy is to find people who work at Chanel on Linkedin and reach out to them. Maybe you have some friends or acquaintances who work there and you didn’t know. But you can also contact professionals you don’t personally know and network with them, by asking for informational interviews or asking them to put you in contact with the hiring manager, for example. 

We hope you feel more confident about getting a job at Chanel by now. If you want to learn more about how to catch the attention of Chanel recruiters, register for my free webinar here.