Graduate Advice

Starting your job search can be overwhelming; as a Fashion graduate there are a lot of areas you can move into but this does make the task at hand more daunting.

We have put together a guide to getting started in the hope to steer you on the right path.

• Start with the end in mind. Fashion businesses have a lot of departments which work closely together however they are very compartmentalised and so transferring across from one area to another is rare. You would need to go back in at an entry level role to do so. See our list of roles and what they entail HERE.
• Buying and Merchandising may always be said in the same breath but they complement each other and are very different roles. Buying is product focused and Merchandising is for those blessed with Excel and great numeracy skills. Please never say you are interested in both at interview, as it shows unawareness of the roles. Getting into buying does require an internship too. 
• Focus on the sector which is best suited for you. Sectors include RTW Designers, Haute Couture, Luxury Brands, High Street Brands, Retailers, Suppliers and Manufacturers. If you are a more commercial design graduate, then look at suppliers, retailers and brands.  Suppliers are more in number than their retailer and brand counterparts so naturally have more roles. With higher end design businesses, design teams are small and exclusive so you may move towards Production, Technical and Product Development instead.
• Where do you want to be based? We recruit Nationwide and Internationally. Competition is tough in London, but London is not for everyone! America, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Europe will mainly target the UK market so you can return to the UK Design industry in the future seamlessly. We mainly get roles in the Far East and these are truly once in a lifetime opportunities.
• Keep a tracker. I would recommend an Excel spreadsheet documenting client and role, date of application and outcome. This saves “spamming” companies as I wouldn’t recommend applying to the same company twice in a year.  In house recruiters may recruit across all head office areas and it’s not a good impression to apply to every role they are hiring as shows no dedication to one career path.
• When sending a portfolio via email, make sure it is under 5MB in one PDF and the resolution is still clear. WeTransfer is also a good option but keep it in the same format as mentioned above.
• CV guides and Portfolio Guides can be found HERE & HERE.
• And importantly, when making applications remember quality over quantity.  There’s nothing more demoralising than not getting interviewed for a role you were not even interested in. Keep it specific and keep your head up.

Find our live roles HERE.