Tips for students

Following on from my recent contact with an old University lecturer, a student from the Fashion Management with Marketing course has emailed me asking for my top 5 tips for future careers, as part of her research for her project.

Here is what I said:

Top 5 tips: 

1. Be nice - appreciate people, be polite, have respect. You want to be recognised as a good person - go back to basics and treat others like you want to be treated. Even when people are rude, unappreciative, negative etc. just bite your tongue, smile, be nice and crack on. No one likes negative people who complain and moan. It's all about positive people who smile even when it's raining. 

2. Network - It's good to make as many contacts in the industry as possible. One thing i've learnt is that it really isn't just about what you know, it's also very much about who you know. You want these people to remember you if they ever hear of job opportunities, or need assistance in any way. Guest lecturers, class mates, work colleagues, any other people you meet along the way - get talking, leave them with a good, memorable impression of you, swap email addresses.

3. Read - Read books - don't waste time reading romance novels - get your head into fashion marketing/branding/management books - there are some really good reads out there, ask your tutors for recommendations. Read drapers, retail week, business week. Follow brands and companies on Twitter to keep up-to-date with whats going on in the industry.

4. Take opportunities - To continuously improve, you must allow yourself to always be a student. Trips with Uni, free courses, exhibitions, guest lecturers, fashion events - these are all opportunities for you to absorb more information relevant to helping you improve your knowledge of the industry, and also find your feet, pushing you in the right direction towards your ideal career. 

5. Be online - All of the work you do at Uni can be used to show potential employers your skills and capabilities, not just with writing, but also your use of programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator. I know that quite a lot of your work is report based which could be boring for an employer to read through, but why not create a blog/website, positing chapters/paragraphs that you feel are best i.e. your conclusion of Luxury Branding and Social Media, you could also post some of your creative outcomes. It's all very well stating your abilities on your CV but if it is there infront of an employer then they're much more likely to take you seriously. 

(One more...)

6. Keep your head - When you finish Uni, life changes drastically - Your next focus is to get a job and find your ideal career. You need to always focus on the positives - even if things don't go to plan i.e. you get rejected, ignored, you're skint, you have to move home for a while, you are bored of your job - you must maintain a positive attitude in order to be successful, admitidly it is a lot easier to be positive if you're successful but at the same time it is much easier to be successful if you're positive. If you're bored of your job and you start slacking then you're going to get a bad reference. If you have to move home to save for a while, that's fine - keep reading, keep building your online portfolio. If you don't get a single response to the 50 emails you sent - ask someone (i.e. a tutor/ work colleague) to read over it and ask for criticism and help to improve your message. Be persistant with out being a pest. People like dedicated, enthusiastic, eager beavers but if they haven't got a position for you then you'll have to accept it and try agin in future. 

Advice to students

I've been asked to go back into uni, to give some advice to third years on the Fashion Management with Marketing course just getting into their Final Major Projects. I am quite flattered to have been asked, and am excited to meet the students and hopefully give some useful advice.

In preparation I have been thinking about what I learnt, pros and cons of the project, problems that occurred, recommendations and any other information that may be relevant and help with their project.

SWOT analysis of the FMP

Strengths:

• Using an idea that is entirely your own means you can tailor it around your preferences and capitalize on your abilities. 
• Design you own brief means you can go as deep into the subject as you like.
• There are so many resources available if you make the most of them. Make the most of these within the University and elsewhere.
• Expert help - your tutors, Israr and Lisa are great and always willing to help - their advice is very effective and can go a long way.
• You can tailor this project to what you actually want to end up doing as a business venture/linked with your career.
• The FMP is suitable for people with a range of skills and abilities; you choose your own output so it can be as visual/written as you like. This enables the project to be easy to understand by a wide range of viewers.

Weaknesses:

• 12 weeks isnt that long so you must be quick in deciding your topic.
• You may not have learnt the necessary skills for your preference so you'll have to use time wisely learning these things.
• Less lectures and seminars, a lot of freedom compared to previous study, so its easy to get distracted.
• If you feel like you haven't achieved a lot since previous tutorial it is easy to feel demotivated and want to not attend the next, but you must go - even if its for a chat.
• As there is so much to learn - programs, research, new ideas etc you can feel bombarded, you need clarity.
• Other peoples ideas seem better - you can take inspiration from others but focus on your own.
• Keeping up with other projects at the same time can be hard - you must use your time wisely - keep a time schedule and stick to it.
• Living with other students can sometimes mean not having very good atmosphere at home to do work - Go to the library!

Opportunities:

• Quite a lot of people in industry willing to help - send emails, talk to people - great to get feedback from industry professionals.
• You can be as creative as you like if you work hard - the resources available mean you can learn new programs to make your work better than average.
• You can use this project to bring to job interviews to show off your skills and your creative thought process and professional output.
• This project will encourage you to think commercially all the time, thinking as a consumer - what is missing in the market, is there something your friends/family talk about that they wish they had or could have etc - maybe a brand that exists that you don't think is headed in the right direction, and you have an idea you believe to be sustainable - research into it if you can pove it then perfect.
• Helpful if you know someone who works in the company, or you work there yourself, try communicating with the head office before you start your project - it will make your project so much easier if you have access to business information and can develop a good relationship where they want to help you do well.
• Try to arrange a week of work experience/store visits/visit to head office.
• Social media and digital branding now makes information and customer feedback so accessible and instant, great for research - can even communicate via facebook directly to customers - why not send emails to some of the fans on the Facebook page of your chosen company.

Threats:

• You must take note of all activity revolving around this project. Not keeping a journal will lead to you struggling with evaluation.
• Not keeping reference throughout - Harvard reference will help add on marks - it is still necessary even if you aren't producing a report.
• Just picking an idea that pops into your head with no justification, working backwards and then finding out there's no market for your idea.
• Using a range of mediums may lead to mistakes - grammatical, or not having enough ability on the program you chose to use.
• Time management - dont let it slip. Make sure you do something ever day even if its reading a few relevant articles, or speaking to customers of the brand.
• Being demotivated when you get criticism to your idea, or negative feedback - must focus on the positives and keep trying to improve. Criticism is necessary as long as it is constructive, don't let it get you down.