When I was about to finish college, I started thinking about what I wanted to do in the next phase of my life. So I started thinking about the things I liked and getting a fashion job seemed the right choice for me.
I Googled “How to understand what Fashion Job is made for you at the beginning of your Career” but it showed no results. So I started analyzing the different career paths in fashion that I knew: a career as model, designer, photographer, stylist was not for me and since I’m an introvert, a career in Fashion PR was definitely not a good fit. So I started thinking about what were the other things that I liked: the numbers, the digital world and also e-commerce. I couldn’t find any information online on how to enter the fashion industry and what are the different career paths in fashion. So I felt lost. I didn’t know where to start from. That’s why in the end, I created Glam Observer because there is no other site that guides those who want to start a career in this field. With Glam Observer I’m answering all the questions I had and you have to get into the fashion industry.
So in this post, you’ll find everything that I would have recommended myself, a few years ago, just out of university, to understand what fashion job is made for you at the beginning of your career.
- Make a list of your favorite companies: Zara, Vogue, Gucci, L’Oreal … but do not underestimate the new startups. They are not very well known therefore is easier to find get a job at them and working for a startup has different advantages compared to working for a large established company. Instagram is a good place to look for new cool brands to work for.
- Once you have the list of your favorite companies, find them on LinkedIn and take a look at employees. Through LinkedIn you will find the list of the people working at your favorite fashion companies, and you’ll find out that there are many more careers in fashion than you expected and knew. Start writing down the jobs that interest you and whose job titles fascinate you more: Trade Marketing Specialist, Junior Controller, Account Manager, Product Manager ….
- Doing this kind of research will not only make you aware of the diversity of the fashion jobs but by visiting the LinkedIn profile of people, you will understand what they do and how they got there. In case you want to know more about a role you can message people on LinkedIn and ask some career-related questions by saying you’re interested in pursuing a career in fashion and that you would like to know more about their job. Be aware that every company has different roles and its own structure and the people who has the same Job Title but in two different brands could do different things: the Project Manager at Dior could manage different tasks from the Project Manager at Gucci.
4. Another good way to understand what fashion job is made for you is by reading the interviews we do with fashion professionals. We talk to many professionals in the fashion industry to bring you their experience and to help you understand what are the different roles in the fashion and how they started their career so you can do the same.
5. One more tip to understand what fashion job is made for you at the beginning of your career is visiting all the websites that post jobs and internships in fashion and read the job description of each offer. In the job description, you’ll find the list of all the activities you’ll be doing if you get that job. Don’t just stop when you see a fascinating job title. Read carefully the job description to see what that role is really about. Even if you think you want to work in PR, it’s better to read the job description of other jobs as well. You might discover a new career you didn’t know about.
6. Once you have identified your ideal career, you need to consider your education to see what jobs it fits better (especially when you’re at the beginning of your career when your education is the only thing you have on your resume). Analyze your ideal jobs and check the requirements to see what degree they prefer. It is easier for someone who has a degree in journalism to write for a magazine than someone with an economics degree, while is easier that you’ll get a job/internship as a buyer or in marketing if you have an economics degree. Anyway don’t let this requirement stop you.
7. When you have your ideal career in mind you need to start from the bottom. It means that if your dream career is becoming the editor in chief of Vogue, you will not for sure get it at the beginning of your career. You need to look for internships and assistant roles that are relevant to that job: fashion editor assistant, fashion intern at a magazine and so on until you’ll progress your career to the top. LinkedIn helps one more time: search for the people who have your ideal job now and see how they started their career. You can see what were their first jobs in fashion and that will be your starting point.
Don’t stress too much when finding out what fashon job is made for you. You don’t have to think about what you’re going to be in 20 years. Think about the things you like now and are passionate about and start from there. Many people start their first internship in fashion and then realize they want to do something else: they start in PR and they realize they want to be in design, or start in marketing and then want to focus on e-commerce or styling. You can start over as many times as you want. Until you’re passionate about your job, so it’s the right choice for you, but if you lose passion, then it’s time for your next career opportunity. In fashion people usually change jobs every 2-3 years on average. So don’t worry if your first job won’t be the job of your life. Consider what you like now and start from there, you’ll understand what is really made for you only by entering the industry and through internships and the experience.
