I still remember the day when, after I ended all my courses, I wondered how I would have made into the fashion industry. Both my parents are entrepreneurs so none of them has ever told me the story of their first interview. And my friends were still not graduates or were in my same situation. So I did not know what the process would be like. Or at least, I knew how it was only generally.
Knowing means being a step forward, this is why I decided to share with you how the recruitment process works, going beyond simply saying that there is an interview, but explaining what is asked and what are the next steps.
You have written your CV and sent it to the company for which you are applying and you are finally called for the interview.
First of all, congratulations, and secondly, remember that you have to be the best version of yourself during that occasion in order to get the job. In most of the cases, you will not be the only one to be called for the interview.
Which means that there are other people at your same level who could potentially get the job.
In general, when you apply for a fashion company, you won’t have only one interview, but there are more steps(yes, unfortunately). The first interview is more cognitive and some companies could even make this first one on Skype. The recruiter will have your CV in his hand and will almost begin to read it and then let you continue further deepening your experiences. You will give more details about what you wrote on your resume and he could ask you why you chose a university course rather than another, why did you chose that job experience, why you changed your job, what you liked more and what less of that job, if in particular you have managed or followed a project personally, why would you like to work for that company and what are your ambitions for the future.
It’s rare that once this first interview is over, your place is secured. You’ll almost for sure have a second interview, that will be a sort of a test. You will find a laptop and have to solve a business case, do an exercise in excel or maybe prepare a presentation.
So, if you have been called for an interview, you should prepare not only by studying how to answer the personal questions but also by reviewing the most used Excel formulas (the VLookUp is one of those). Some may ask you to do a PowerPoint presentation so practice with it at home to train and speed up.
To understand the kind of test you may be subjected to, just study the Job Description of the job for which you are applying. If you know that it is an analytical role with numbers then the test will focus on excel, while if you are applying for a press office maybe you could write a press release or a presentation of a brand, if you apply for a graphic role they could ask you to do something with Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator. It all depends on the role for which you are applying.
There are some companies whose hiring phases could be even more than two.
Do not be intimidated by this. During the interviews, always be spontaneous, rational and try to answer thinking about what they would like you to say. Sincerity always rewards you, you do not want to be hired by a company that thinks you’re another person. For the test phase try to prepare yourself as suggested above, get there quiet and talk aloud when you solve the proposed exercise because even if you do not get to the final resolution, knowing your reasoning method is what interests most to the recruiter. If during the test, you don’t know how to do something, you can answer by saying that this is not something of your competence because you’ve never had to do it, but you’re willing to learn quickly and even to study (Google will be your best friend).
