The 3 [new] rules to get a job in fashion in 2021

It’s been almost a year now that the entire world is in a sanitary emergency. When COVID-19 hit at the beginning of 2020, we all hoped that it would have not affected the entire year, yet we are still here in the middle of a pandemic. Luckily with vaccinations started, we feel positive that this is going to last just a couple of months more before we return to normal again.

Even though there are still many restrictions and sorts of lockdown in Europe, UK and the US, the good news is that companies are still hiring (see this Fashion internship posted by MyTheresa. )

I know that probably this 2021 has not started as you have imagined (yes, I have to confess that even I dreamed about waking up on January 1st with a new beautiful year in front of me and yet the pandemic is still present) but this is not really the time to be discouraged. You have an ENTIRE year in front of you. You can’t waste it just living day by day hoping that something will happen sooner or later or worse, giving up your dreams just because now everything is harder. As I said fashion companies are still hiring, fashion offices are open so let’s do this! Since you can’t travel for pleasure or have a lot of social life, you can fully focus on your career! There is nothing to distract you now, so what better time for a total focus on your future?

The pandemic affected the recruiting process as well, and fashion has become even more competitive so if you want to find a job or internship in fashion, I have 3 new rules ready for you.

Emails are your best friends

If so far you have just applied for fashion jobs/internships online when an offer popped up, it’s time to start sending some emails directly to recruiters, managers, stylists… You can send an email both when you have already applied online to reinforce your interest in the position but also when your favorite companies don’t have any job you can apply for (we don’t want to wait for a job to get posted 😉 let’s be proactive and introduce yourself asking for that internship or job. ). Sending emails work also with startups, new brands/companies, and people such as stylists…

Fashion companies like to receive a personalized application that proves that you are not randomly applying for 1000 companies just to get a job, but that you want to get that job. Sending emails directly is already a fantastic strategy to stand out among all those who just apply online, but to make it even stronger, in addition to customizing your CV and cover letter, why not also attaching to these emails a 1-3 pages PDF dedicated to that brand showing you did your research and proving you can do the job?

Networking goes totally online

Many jobs are assigned through word of mouth, it’s true that having a connection inside a fashion company can help you land a job easier and quicker,  but don’t worry if your network is currently inexistent or made up of just a bunch of people. Even I started with zero connections, so I know what it feels to be aware of their importance of having a strong network but also to recognize the fact of knowing absolutely no one and starting from scratch. The good news is that first, now I’m here to guide you, so you’re not alone 🙂 and secondly building your connections in fashion from scratch has never been easier thanks to the internet.

Fortunately, if there is one thing that the pandemic has not stopped or slowed down but the opposite, that is the internet, and indeed has strengthened its importance and demonstrated how many things can actually be done from home simply using a laptop and a connection, including therefore networking. You can establish relationships with those who work in fashion from anywhere in the world.

So even if in-person events are not happening, you can still build your fashion network and you can still do it even if you don’t know anyone today.

There are three main ways to network online: via Instagram, LinkedIn and via email.

These three tools can be used in a different way, the first one is more informal, the second one has a more formal and cold approach, while the email is yet professional but can be formal or informal.

Regarding which of the three to use depends on the person you want to contact and so you should think if it is appropriate to establish a more colloquial or more formal relationship and conversation.

For every person you want to reach out to, you have to understand if it’s better to have a more informal approach or if it’s better to send an email. You can’t use the same approach for everyone. For example, if you contact someone senior or those who do not use Instagram frequently, it is better to go to LinkedIn or via email. If you want to contact fellow interns or assistants or those you see are active using Instagram and are more friendly, you can approach them from Instagram.

Whatever platform you choose to reach out to people in fashion, never start a conversation by asking if their company is hiring or if there are job opportunities or send your CV straight. You are networking not applying at this moment, right? Establish a genuine relationship first and then leverage the connection to ask for a job.

Create a new excel sheet to keep track of the people you network with.  Typically you’d network with people who work at your favorite fashion companies and in particular those who have the role or who work in the department where you would like to work. So for example, if you want to get a job in buying, connect with buyers, assistant buyers, buying interns. If you want to write for a magazine, add to your networking excel sheet editors, assistant editors and interns.If you want to work as a fashion designer, connect with the team of designers (not directly the creative director in this case, especially if it is a large company. So if you wanted to work as a fashion designer at Gucci, do not approach Alessandro Michele directly but connect with other designers, assistant designers, and again even interns. 😉

Establishing connections with peers is less intimidating than approaching someone more senior, so don’t think that just because they are assistants or interns they cannot help you. They can however provide you with valuable information on how the company works and it will also be easier for you to create true relationships and talk about common topics outside the workplace.

The easiest way to break the ice and start a conversation with someone that you don’t know is through an informational interview. An informational interview is a conversation with a fashion professional where you can ask questions related to their job and career. They can happen on a very quick Zoom call or get your answers via email directly. The power of informational interviews is that you learn more about a role in the industry from a direct experience and you network at the same time! You can leverage this relationship later when you look for a job!

PS: I’m sure you have attended at least one Zoom webinar related to the fashion industry, well don’t just watch and learn from them, but saying you have just attended a webinar or Zoom event with them is a great reason to request a connection on LinkedIn 😉

Fill the gaps on your CV

Despite many things have changed, your CV and Cover Letter are still very important in the job application process. If you want to land a job or internship in fashion these two documents must be absolutely perfect and with no mistakes. It’s the ugly truth that a recruiter will judge you from these documents, so you could be the smartest and most talented person on the planet and absolutely perfect for the job but if these documents don’t have a clear structure, they don’t have the right keywords inside (companies can use ATS systems that scan your CV to check it contains the right keywords) then your chances to get the job/internship are very low.

Furthermore, you might have some gaps on your CV due to the pandemic, so how do you fill these gaps and show recruiters and managers that you have been proactive during these past months despite you couldn’t intern or work in fashion? 

It’s important to show to companies, managers, and recruiters that you didn’t spend your pandemic weeks just Netflix binging, but working on your skillset. 

They will appreciate your proactivity and productivity and you can prove to them further how serious and passionate you are about the fashion industry. Update your CV with new skills that you can demonstrate you acquired through new online courses you took: Photoshop, fashion courses, excel, CAD, digital marketing, a new language…

Having multiple skills in fashion and speaking at least 2 languages is fundamental, so refresh your CV. You still have time to start some courses today if you were not enough motivated in the past weeks. Usually, online courses are quite quick so you could finish one in a weekend or a day!  Explain in the cover letter how productively you spent your time. As I say in my book Your Fashion Dream Plan : “In the cover letter the list of skills you added on your CV comes to life with concrete examples and explains why they should hire you. “

Together with online courses, you can also fill your resume with a personal project like a fashion website or new sketches or fashion illustrations to add to your portfolio. You can start one today and add a past starting date🤫🤫🤫