This title made even me laugh when I came up with it. This month marks my 10th month in London and it has been fun, hard, cold, hot and eye opening. Academics was my primary reason for coming here but I’ve discovered many other attractions by the way which have made my stay even more interesting. Life here is also very pricey, so if you’re waiting for Mummy or Daddy to give you monthly or weekly allowance, especially with the new very disadvantageous exchange rate(Naira to Pounds),  you’ll be sorry!

I’m not a professional job expert or recruiter, I just want to share useful tips I’ve learnt in recent times that have helped me secure a decent job in fashion retail. Let’s get to it shall we:

Make A Really Good CV and Complementary Cover Letter
This is the first thing an employer will see about you and how good your first impression is based on how good your CV is. Take your time and write a ‘smashing’ CV, upgrade your current CV & cover letter and tailor them to the job you’re applying for.  Another important fact is to make them as short as possible, not more than a page. You should provide only the relevant information in a clear and creative manner. Thousands of CVs are sent every week to these companies and you want to grasp the attention of your employer once they lay eyes on yours. The fashion job scene is highly competitive, you have to make your CV and cover letter stand out as much as possible. It could be the layout of your information or the way you describe yourself, Google fashion retail templates and you’ll see what I mean.

Send Out Job Apllications
Job search sites such as Fashion jobs.uk ,Indeed jobs, Retail Choice, Drapers jobs, Fashion workie and many others. Once you register with these sites, you can upload your CV on your account and they send you job alerts every day. This allows you send out as many applications as possible. Another very effective way is to hand out the CV yourself at the store, this way your potential employer has a quick chat with you before they go through the CV which might raise the chance of being called back for an interview.

Keep Busy
While you send out your applications, don’t stew around in idleness. Look around where you live and there’ll be small stores looking for sales assistants or cashiers. You can also volunteer at charity shops. Partake in short courses, watch tutorials, read books and attend meetups, this way you are gathering work experience while making some money and increasing your knowledge. Let go of all the ego and get busy, no experience is a waste.

Prepare For The Interview
So they finally called and invited you for an interview, congrats!!!
It probably is the first interview you’ve been invited to, calm down sweetie. Do your homework and I assure you the nervousness-bees will go away. Firstly, research the company thoroughly. Find out their brand qualities and inspiration. Familiarize yourself with the job position you are to be interviewed for, go through your CV and identify relevant skills that’ll be worthy of mention during the interview. This way, you give your interviewer more reasons to hire you.

Interview Day
Plan your trip that morning or the day before. Give extra time to avoid traffic so you don’t run late. You save yourself from panicking an denting your reputation with your potential employer. Appearance is  key. Dress like you already have the job, keep it simple and unique. Details like your nails, hair, jewelry and make-up shouldn’t be forgotten, they pay attention to these things. Why? its the fashion business, looks are important! Once you’ve arrived at your interview venue, remember to switch-off your mobile phone. As you commence the interview, smile while giving a firm handshake, maintain eye contact and be confident with your answers. Please don’t play with your hair or face while talking, its distracting to your interviewer and might tick them off. Likely questions might be ‘tell me about yourself’, this is the opportunity to sell yourself. ‘why do want to work for us’ , your earlier researched answers about the company should be at the top of your head. ‘what is good customer service’, ‘what qualities will you bring to a team’, ‘how will you deal with several tasks in a short period of time’ e.t.c.
If possible, make the interview go like a conversation between two friends catching up on like. Be careful not to get too informal though. People(in most cases) employer staff they can talk to easily. At the end, the opportunity will arise to ask questions. You can ask ‘how can i meet the company’s goals’ or  ‘what do enjoy about working here’ or any other prepared question of yours.

After the interview, try to always send a thank-you note back to the company by email or text for inviting you over for the interview. On rare occasions, you might get hired right after the interview. Most times, they’ll get back to you in about week to invite you for a second interview or to say you got the job.

I believe in divine providence, so pray about before you start any of this. Ask for favour, direction and wisdom. You can only do so much, place all your plans in God’s hands.

Thanks for reading today’s post, hope it’s was helpful somehow to you.
Until next time,
Remain Awesome.

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