Fashion School Graduates 101- First Jobs
Ok, you've made it to senior year, what is next? Truthfully, the answer to this is varied and will depend heavily on your personal goals and product design specialization. Below I offer some advice and tips based on my experience navigating the fashion industry. As always, do your own research and tailor your experience to what is right for you and your life goals.
SENIOR YEAR
Senior year, plan your classes around an internship. When I was FIT we had to do a senior year internship as part of our graduating requirements. If this isn't already part of yours, make it so! I would recommend doing an internship at the biggest company you can find, even if your dream is working for a small business and maybe especially if it is. Big companies often have the resources for supporting interns properly. It is also advantageous to see how the big companies are running their business: how are they organizing, what systems and programs are they using, and what do they think makes a great employee. All of this can inform you when you go work for a smaller business. Bigger companies will be more likely to pay an hourly wage and offer more fringe benefits like free samples or tea/coffee/snacks. However, the truth is that the bulk of fashion product design jobs will be with larger companies sketching on the computer and not in small ateliers doing bespoke work.
Simultaneously, have your resume ready to go and start sending it out to entry level design job openings/summer internships. Check out my previous post on the top 8 websites to look for fashion jobs for ideas on where to look. Make it clear to HR professionals and recruiters who might contact you that you are still a student and when you will be ready to start work after graduation. Interns often ask me about how to get in touch with recruiters and this is my answer. You cannot get found if you are not searchable on the job boards. Check out my previous post about the top 5 sites to find fashion job recruiters.
Another way to attract recruiters is to set up a portfolio website. Using a platform like WIX or Square Space, ANYONE can have a great looking and professional portfolio website. It is an essential tool to getting a job as a creative. When I work with recruiters, I send them the link to my portfolio website and even include it in my email signature. The reason for this is primarily to make it easy for them to quickly see what type of work I do and learn about my background at their leisure. In the past, you pretty much had to interview everyone for a job IRL.This could be a huge time waster if you don't screen candidates. Now screening can easily be done online and over the phone. Use your portfolio website as a way to show you are tech literate, professionally organized, and to decide how you want your online presence to look. It is a good idea to leverage social media channels to showcase your works and accomplishments. Make sure it's separate from your personal!
AFTER GRADUATION
It is not a bad idea to take some time off here. If you are burnt out from school or just haven't had any mental health time in a while, a vacation can be great. Once you start working, you will only have about 15 days off a year. Even a staycation can help get your house in order. Lots of people feel pressure to start working right away because of students loans. I say do what feels right to you and for your situation. If you can afford it, take a trip somewhere totally different that you have never been to; relax and see how other people live.
Whether you decide to take a break or start working right away, I can't stress enough how important it is to spend time setting up your online profiles on relevant job sites, EVEN if you decide a break is right for you. Posting your portfolio web link to your profiles is also very important to get the word out bout what you do and the kind of work you want.
NEED EXPERIENCE TO GET EXPERIENCE
When you do start working, don't be picky if your first job isn't at a prestigious brand or one you had your heart set on. Money is money. There is a lot to learn from working on discounter product and lower end products too. It is your job to cultivate your design eye to be able to design luxury product or affordable luxury product or outlet product. A good designer does not let their personal aesthetic get in the way of what is right for the brand and it's price point. As you travel your career journey, your ambitions and ideas about what you want in life will change anyway.
Now is the time to be reflecting and evolving them. Do you want to have a family? Live in a city? Buy a house? Get married? Are you ok with a long commute? Relocation? Constant travel? Maybe a progressive company culture is more important than how high end the product you design is? The sooner you can determine what you want out of life, the sooner you can start designing the kind of life you want to have. Often that starts with the type of job you have and the company culture where you work. Why? Because if they are super traditional and want you at your desk at 9am sharp everyday that will dictate your life. If they don't care what time you come in as long as you get your work done, that would set a different tone to your days. Can you get to the gym during the work week or is it impossible because your job has you working late everyday? Is working late there chronic because people are over worked and can't get their jobs done during business hours or is there a work-o-holic culture where people feel bad leaving on time? Once you get into the work place many issues like this will arise to challenge what you thought you wanted out of your career.
HELP! I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE!
If you have been applying like crazy and haven't heard back from anyone, relax. This takes time.
First take a second to read my checklist, have you done everything on it?
ONLINE
-Setup a Linkedin profile. Do you have messages from recruiters you haven't responded too?
-Setup a searchable profile on at least 3 job sites. Don't forget your Alma Mater's career services site!
-Setup a personal portfolio website.
-Choose 3 brands you would like to work for and go to the career sections on their websites. Setup a profile if they have a job bank. If they don't send your resume to their HR contact.
PORTFOLIO
-Reflect on your portfolio- is there anything in there you think you could now do better? Recreate any work samples that are outdated and don't represent your current skill level.
-Reflect on your portfolio- Is there a work samples you wish you had? Maybe more Illustrator work or a technical specs? Assign yourself a mock project to add to it.
-Reflect on other's portfolios- What are other people in your field showing? Look online or ask a friend/mentor to share what their portfolio looks like and update yours.
IRL
-If you want a full-time job, but it hasn't happened yet, consider taking a freelance or contract position. Network with the people you meet at every assignment. Le them know your looking for full time work and ask them for recommendations to be posted on Linkedin after a successful assignment.
-Are there Meet Ups or Fashion Job Fairs in your area? Plan to go and network. Bring some resumes and business cards!
- Maintain a journal or vision board about your goals and career journey. Reflect on your journey and develop your goals for what you want your working life to be.
-Make a schedule for yourself that structures when you spend time looking for a job and when you don't. I would set a frequency of once a week. There just are not enough new jobs coming on the market quickly enough to look more often than that, in my opinion.
-If your really in a bind for cash, take a part-time job somewhere while you work on landing your first job. It cn help take your mind off the search and relieve some financial pressures.
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I would love to hear back from you guys on how your journey is going after graduation. Did you follow the checklist? How did it work out? What do I need to add/change?
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