Your CV is your business card: it represents who you are, your skills and your career history.
When I review the CVs of my students and members I often notice that the main problem with the CV is that it doesn’t speak for you. Maybe you worked with social media, you apply for a job in digital and the word “social media” doesn’t appear anywhere on your CV. But why? You are self-killing yourself. You don’t want that job then. And as a company, I don’t consider your application not only because if you don’t have social media on your cv is because you don’t have the right skills, but because as a brand I see your application like you are applying randomly to many different jobs so you’re not really interested in working there, you are just looking for a job. And this in fashion doesn’t work. In fashion there are thousands of people passionate for a brand and, to mention The Devil Wears Prada, who would kill to work at a specific company, so of course why they should hire someone who seems is applying randomly to many jobs when they could hire the one who is so passionate about the brand that would for sure make an outstanding job?
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I think the main problem with the CV is related to the fact that we are unable to make an objective assessment of ourselves and we are unable to really present ourselves. And also, taken by the enthusiasm, many write down their CV quickly without considering if what is in there, is relevant for the job they are applying for. It’s great that you worked as a waitress or babysitted during your studies, it shows a great sense of responsibility, but do you think it is really necessary to describe these jobs in detail on your CV if you are applying for a job in fashion? In case it isn’t obvious, the answer is no.
So what makes a perfect CV for fashion companies?
There are two things behind a perfect CV: the graphic and how compatible your CV is with that job.
Considering that 500 people on average apply for the same job in fashion, as you can imagine, the design and structure of your CV are fundamental. The visual impact is the thing that pushes a recruiter to notice your CV among the hundreds and want to read it.
The CV that has the perfect visual impact is a creative but yet professional one and most of with a clear structure. In 3 seconds, the recruiter should be able to identify the main parts: where are your experiences, where are your skills and what you studied.
If you want to have an idea of ​​how a creative but professional CV should be, look at the CV templates I created .
The second key component of a successful CV is how customized it is for a position. If you are applying for a job or internship in PR, you have to highlight on your CV your experiences, skills and studies that are relevant for the PR job.
It is important to read the job offer carefully. I recommend that you have your desktop split in half. In one half there is the job offer and in the other half, there is your CV. Read the job offer, the activities the company has listed in the job description and the skills required and make sure that the and keywords of the experiences are on your CV.
For example, if you are applying for a job in PR that includes packing and unpacking samples, supporting the organization of events and managing the press office contact database, look at your CV and see if you can add these activities to your previous experiences. If in the requirements they mention Fashion GPS and strong written and verbal communication skills, make sure these are on your CV. This is what I mean by customizing your cv.
Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes, look at the job offer and then look at your CV.
There are 500 other people who are applying and who all have great CVs with relevant experiences and keywords inside, how can you make yours even more extraordinary? Personalize it to the maximum so that when the recruiter has it in their hand, they think: “This seems to be the right person for this role, she has the right experiences and also all the necessary skills. We should call her for an interview.”
Even if you are excited and can’t wait to apply for a job offer, stop for a moment before doing so, open your CV and make sure it is suitable for that position. How can you write it better or change the order of the descriptions of your experiences and skills so that those related to that job stand out?
Whenever you apply for a new job you should edit your CV. Create one folder on your desktop for each brand you apply for and in each folder, there should be your CV, your cover letter and if necessary even your portfolio. You can use the same template, but you should have different versions of your CV and Cover Letter.
Even if you apply for the same type of job you should first make sure your CV is going well. Let’s say you want to apply for 5 jobs, all jobs are as PR assistant but they are in 5 different brands. In each company, even if they use the same job title, the tasks can be totally different. For example, for a company a PR assistant manages the sample using Fashion GPS, in another it means organizing events and in another one, it means checking the press coverage. Although these 3 jobs have the same job title and are all in PR, in each company there are different activities and therefore each company will evaluate your CV differently. For the company where you will manage the samples, they will check if there is Fashion GPS or Launchmetrics now, on your CV, the second will check if you have ever organized events and the third will see if you have a broad knowledge of the fashion publications out there.
So don’t assume that your CV is fine. Once you’ve created it, be ready to edit it every time you apply for a new job. Your CV must be work in progress all the time.
These two are the main components but it is obvious that there must be no grammatical or typing errors and that it is always saved as a PDF before sending it.
So come on girl, don’t waste an application because you were in a hurry to apply or because you think your CV is fine as it is. Work on it, you are the right person for that job! So prove it with your CV.
You cannot submit your CV as it’s and hoping that you’ll get a job. Hope is not a strategy, work on your CV and make it the one they are looking for!
Want more tips, details, strategies and CV templates as well? Check the online course Break into the Fashion Industry and join hundreds of students who got their dream job in fashion quickly and with no more struggle!
