Fashion Quarterly | 10 tips for nailing a new job

While many a career guide would state that the key to nailing a new job is to fly under the radar, Fashion Quarterly features writer Phoebe Watt thinks this advice is majorly overrated.

Believing that fortune does, indeed, favour the brave, Phoebe shares her top ten career advancing tips in this two-part series:

Don’t wait for your dream job to be advertised – and don’t email your CV to a generic, catch-all email address as I promise you no one is checking this. Find the #GirlBoss on some form of social media, ask for their email address via a private message, then send your CV to them directly.

Nail the interview – Tbh, I’m not exactly the authority on this as I’ve only ever interviewed for a job once. That was for a communications role at an NGO and I wore a fur coat and leather-look leggings, which was super wrong and not just because it was the middle of summer. I did get the job though, so I guess the moral of this story is that if you are an otherwise confident, intelligent interviewee, your interviewer might be able look past your inappropriate outfit choices. That being said, I would of course advise thinking carefully about what you wear. You want to look representative of yourself, but you also want to make sure that this is the version of yourself that’s most representative of the brand you want to work for.

Dress to impress (but don’t peak too soon) – This advice actually came from my genius BF, who talked me out of wearing a super baller outfit on my first day at FQ, pointing out that I was better off dressing to a level that I could sustain for a while (meaning mid-price point fashion with baller accessories), and then bringing out the big guns when the occasion called for it. As far as negotiating the dress-code (and perhaps testing its boundaries), I figured this one out for myself. Basically you want to take your cues from those around you. If you’re seeing multiple people across all different levels of seniority rocking sheer tops and ripped jeans on the regular, go hard. If you’re not, then definitely save yours for the weekend.

Get in with the squad ASAP – Say yes to every coffee invite even if you’re not thirsty. Stay for Friday drinks even if you don’t have time. The sooner your teammates get to know you on a social level the better.

Know the names and faces of key personnel – On my first day, in totally extenuating and non-creepy circumstances, I was given a ride home by a very senior member of staff. I had no idea who this staff member was, though, until we pulled up to my house and I asked him (pretty much as an after-thought) what his role at the company was. When he told me, all I could do was squeak “cool!” and shimmy out of the car with absolutely no chill. That same week I met the head of the HR department and straight away got her name wrong, a faux pas that I’m convinced I’m going to pay for (literally) when my first appraisal comes up. Learn from my mistakes, okay?