In the last 8 years I have interviewed thousands of people who wanted to work in fashion. I have met amazing and talented people who didn't get the job because they made some of the following mistakes during a recruitment process:
1. Not preparing for the interview
Believe me when I say, there’s nothing more frustrating than having a great candidate on paper who didn’t prepare for the interview. I had to reject so many great candidates just because they were not ready enough. Such a pity if that was the job they really wanted.
4 tips from my side:
Most important one: your presentation pitch - this is the first impression you will make -. The most common mistakes are: it’s too short, it’s too long (I swear I have heard people ramble about themselves for 25 minutes straight), it’s unstructured, it’s not prepared with the position in mind. There are tons of amazing youtube videos out there waiting for you. Also learning about storytelling will help you here.
Researching about the company you want to work for should be mandatory. It’s not ideal when a candidate asks the interviewer about company information they could have found on Google with 1 click.
If you are interviewing for a fashion related role (not talking about IT here), you will probably be asked about recent news in the industry. Even if that’s not the case, you should be updated because it’s all in the details. Believe me, you won’t get a Styling role if you get asked about the Creative Director of Gucci and don’t know the answer.
My last tip is about expectations. Are you willing to move? Are you willing to travel? What are your salary expectations for the role? All these answers need to be sorted out in your mind before you enter the interview.
2. To think that your outfit doesn't matter
I know this might be at the bottom of the list for many and we as recruiters are trained to ‘overlook’ this aspect not to be biased by appearances. But the truth is, if you want to work in fashion, how you look is important. Especially if you have a client-facing role or if your job is directly related to clothes. I mean, if you are a stylist or a personal shopper your outfit is your portfolio -like you would expect a great resume design from a graphic designer.
Even if your job is not related to ‘the clothes’, there’s no better way of showing your love for fashion than by a good outfit. What’s ‘a good’ outfit? Of course this is subjective. If you are not sure about how to style yourself for an interview I would recommend to keep it simple and neutral.
There are amazing professionals inspiring us out there on Instagram. My personal favorites? Just to name a few: @allisonbornstein @lucywilliams02 @theannaedit
3. Not paying attention to the background for your online interview
First of all I have to say that I have hired amazing professionals with terrible zoom backgrounds. Either an untidy pantry, an undone bed, a noisy Starbucks,… you get it right? It’s not professional and most hiring managers wouldn’t overlook this.
Good news is this is easy to fix: either a plain wall or a predetermined zoom background would solve it.
More to come on a second blog post I am already working on!
Any ideas to share? Comment below! 😊
Have a great day,
Sandra.
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