Breaking into the fashion industry can be a daunting experience, especially when simply completing a fashion course isn’t enough to open the doors you want. So to get ahead of the pack to land your dream fashion role you need to do what’s necessary to get you out there in front.

Having a plan is the best way to get moving and leaving the pack behind. With these ten points you’ll be able to set out your plan for being the first choice for the fashion career job you’re seeking:

1. Volunteer your time at selected businesses to build skills and experience.  Volunteering means working for free and working with a smile often doing basic tasks. It is being within the business environment that gives you the opportunity to learn from doing and observing. If your tertiary course requires 2 days work experience a month do 5 days a month – do more than twice as much as what is required as you’ll certainly be ahead of the pack.
2. Get retail experience so you can learn what shoppers look for in fitting, style and quality. Being able to sell is a really important skill to develop as that is the source of income to grow a business – whether it be your’s or one you’re working with so they can pay you. Look to a variety of retail avenues from stores within shopping centres to market stalls for budding designers to online merchants as you’ll be able to learn special selling skills from each.
3. Be ready to work within a team with a variety of personalities. Over 90% of fashion businesses have less than 20 employees so being able to get on easily with co-workers is vital in a small industry where everyone knows everyone else. Those who get a reputation for being easy to get on with will find they are a long way ahead of those who are difficult to work with.
4. Work diligently and with a pleasant attitude. If you do good, consistent work and are easy to be around you’ll be the first one recommended when it comes to others in a competitive industry. Being good at what you do is one thing, being easy to work with is just as important.
5. Look to building your technical skills for the area you want to make your own. Learning and developing great basic pattern making, sewing and cutting skills for clothing, writing skills for fashion journalism, drawing skills for fashion illustrators as many of the fashion courses tend to focus on academic rather than practical skills. The industry still requires excellent practical technical skills so if you develop them, you put yourself ahead of your competition.
6. Be strong with practical office skills with computers, machines and other mechanical skills. Being able to complete administration and business tasks quickly and easily will enhance your presentation as the complete package to a small and growing fashion business.
7. Be ready to get your hands dirty with getting into the jobs that need doing and do them with a positive attitude. Get in there and clean the work room, make the coffees, distribute the mail directly to people’s desks so they easily have it – simply make the best of your opportunity and do it happily. With the right get in there happy attitude you can really put yourself first in the preference list as well as making it easier for good references to be given about you in a small industry.
8. Get a broad range of experiences, including international experience as the local industry is small and international experience does still matter in Australia. The UK and European industries are far more competitive than the local scene so to make it happen you need to be determined, diligent and consistent in getting yourself known and knocking on doors. It is all possible so believe in yourself, do your research and start making contact even before you get there.
9. Know your industry – read magazines, blogs and ezines about design, fashion designers, trends, issues and opportunities. There are a broad range of publications, from ones found in every newsagency to industry specific magazines. Print magazines can be expensive so get subscriptions and let friends and family know which subscriptions would make for ideal presents.
10. Network – get out there and meet people so you get to know who’s who and they get to know you’re serious about this industry. Most jobs don’t even get advertised, with the best jobs being word of mouth or even structured around the ideal candidate people want in their business. So get yourself known by attending events, meeting people, getting work experience and generally building a broad and deep industry network.

Take the initiative to make what you want to happen rather than going with the flow.

Having a plan to build the skills, network and experience to get your ideal fashion industry job will put you miles ahead of the pack. You can make what you want happen within the industry by working smart, diligently, getting on well with colleagues and having a broad industry network.