The fashion industry is expected to grow by 4.5% in 2019. 

This growth means that new job openings are being created, as companies try to cater to the increase in demand.  Thus, if you’re looking to change careers, and you like fashion, now is an excellent time to earn a living from your passion for fashion. 

Below you’ll find five tips that’ll show you how to get into the fashion industry. If you’re sick of your current job, this post will show you how to change your life, by changing your career. 

Let’s begin!  

1. What Kind of Role Do You Want?

The fashion industry is enormous, and there are plenty of roles on offer. But not all these roles will be a good match for you, and you need to figure out which one you’d like best.

Ideally, it helps to find a role that aligns with your skills or passions.

For example, if you like photography,  it makes sense that you’d want to become a fashion photographer. But, if you like the business side of things, you might want to look into working in a management role.

It’s also worth noting there are many different subcategories in the fashion industry.

To improve your odds of finding a job you like, it helps to identify which subcategory is best suited to your needs. So, if you’re a big fan of leather briefcases for men, you should look for roles within this sector of the fashion industry. 

2. Improve Your Skills

Once you’ve identified a role that looks like a good fit, you should think about how you can get some skills that’ll make it easier for you to land a job.

So, if you want to become a photographer, you might want to take some classes on photography.

It’s important to note that you can take online classes, or you can attend a college of some sort. If you’re short on cash, you might even want to learn with the help of YouTube.

As you build your skills, it’s also a good idea to create a portfolio, especially if your desired role is creative. Using the photography example from earlier, this might mean you take photos for free, in exchange for the ability to show the work in a portfolio.

You may also want to build a website so you have a place to showcase this work.

Ideally, you want to make sure this website is easy to find in Google so people will come across it. But this will only happen if you know how to build backlinks to your site. If you’d like to find out how you can do this, visit here for more info.

3. Get an Internship 

Internships can often be a gateway to future opportunities if used the right way.

For instance, if you land an internship at a company and you do a good job, they may be willing to hire you for another related role within the company.

Of course, the fashion industry is competitive and landing these internships can be difficult. That said, if you’ve taken the steps mentioned earlier, you should be able to separate yourself from the pack.

You might want to set up some alerts on job websites so you’re sent an email whenever a relevant internship opportunity is posted.

You may even want to write out a list of companies you’d like to work at, and then make it a point to check their careers page every day.

If you don’t see any advertised opportunities, there’s the option of reaching out to the relevant HR team and asking them if there are any openings.  

4. Find a Mentor

If you want to avoid making some beginner mistakes, it can be a good idea to find a mentor that can guide you through your career.

At the very least, you might want to find someone that’s working in the kind of role you want to secure, of whom will have a ‘one-off’ conversation with you.

If you have a particular job title in mind, you can find relevant people by using the LinkedIn search feature.

If you find someone that looks as though they’d be able to help you, it’s essential you approach them in the most respectful manner possible.

Reach out them and explain who you are, what you want to achieve, and whether they’d be willing to talk to you for a small amount of time.

If you can clearly communicate what you’d like help with, it’ll increase your odds of success. This is because the other person will know what they’re getting into and will, therefore, have a better sense of how long everything is going to take.

If you want to make things easier for the potential mentor, you may want to ask them to have a conversation with you over Skype, rather than in person.

5. Is It Time to Go International?

In some cases, you may struggle to find opportunities in your local area. If this happens, you may need to broaden your search, and this might mean you look for opportunities in other countries.

Now, this is a scary thought, but it’s something you should consider if you’re desperate to work in the fashion industry. If you don’t take this step, you may find yourself waiting for months, or even years, as you try to land a role.

Do You Know How to Get into the Fashion Industry?

If you’ve always wanted to know how to get into the fashion industry, the tips in here should help bring you up to speed. 

There are a lot of other people that want to work in the fashion industry, and this can make it difficult to land a job. This is something you’ll have to contend with and it might result in you missing out on some opportunities. 

It’s important you don’t let the losses get you down. If you’re upset about missing out on a certain position, remember that the fashion industry is growing. This means that sooner or later, an equal or better role will some come around. 

You’ll improve your odds of landing a job if you know about the future of the fashion industry. Read this blog post to learn about ‘smart fashion’ and how it will shape future fashion trends.