Career Change Advice

Life
1

Having spent five years in management consultancy, I’ve made the decision to career change into fashion e-commerce - I can’t wait to try something new and work in a sector I’m innately interested in. I’m doing my best to make the switch, but honestly, it’s been a bit of a struggle. I feel like I’m following the core advice - applying for entry-level and junior roles, editing my CV to suit, and shooting direct messages to recruiters, but I’m just not getting anywhere…

I would love to know if anyone has had success in career changing to something quite different, if so, do you have any tips or advice you could share? x

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Hi Harriet, I know the search can be long but it will pay off – trust me. Few things that come to mind:

  1. Have you switched your settings on LinkedIn so recruiters know you’re looking for a job?

  2. How many of the jobs you apply for do you follow up with if you don’t hear anything? Usually the hiring manager should be fairly easy to track down and then you can ask for feedback.

  3. Are you doing anything else to make your applications stand out? Starting a blog/Pinterest/IG account that specifically showcases your style could help and you could link to it as part of your application. Even if it’s a commerce job as opposed to styling, it could help employers get a steer on who you are. Equally, we’ve had some very creative applications here at SL – videos etc. so it probably pays to think outside the box.

  4. It might be a last resort but is there anywhere you could even intern or just go for a bit of work experience to bulk out your CV? One of my friends used her annual leave from her current job to intern (which I admit is a bit drastic) but it really helped her accrue the right experience.

Hopefully some of that helps!

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Hi Harriet

I always advise having a portfolio that can demonstrate a natural interest in an industry, if you don’t already have the relevant experience. That can be a blog, an IG, a Tumblr, a TikTok account - it doesn’t matter what the medium is, but it’s helpful to have some evidence that you genuinely love what you’re applying for. You could even put together some e-com case studies to attach with your CVs. And don’t forget it doesn’t need to be an IG or TT of you in an outfit - it could be photos of shows with analysis in the caption, it could be green screen… just do something to make yourself stand out.

Hope that helps!