About the Industry Careers Panel
Rachel Reavley, CBO, advisor, business coach, publisher, and Vogue and Net-A-Porter alumna; Shima Maher, founder of specialist creative talent agency We Are Peas; Abigail Wilmore, HR specialist and founder of People Flow, and James Stuart, executive search consultant at Cameron Stuart Associates, shared their valuable knowledge about curriculum vitaes (CVs), with Masters students over the Careers Day. Vogue College’s Head of Careers and Stakeholder Engagement, Zoe Souter, facilitated questions and ensured all CV questions were answered..
Each industry speaker had valuable knowledge and advice for the students because of their broad careers in the fashion industry and the human resources realm. The fusion of their advice ultimately provided students with the essential steps to alter their CVs.
“What makes a CV memorable to me is when I can see the human being behind it…”
“I’ve received CVs on a t-shirt, I have received CVs on a cake,” said Abigail Wilmore on what makes a CV stand out among competitors in her experience. She emphasised the importance of the ability to see a human being on paper, which she believes is typically accompanied with personalisation to the specific application.
Rachel Reavley believes that “you get to choose your reputation,” which has particular relevance in the fashion industry, as encounters with the same people come often as the industry is so small, so an impression must remain positive.
Shima Maher stresses the importance of never leaving industry professionals with bad feeling. This includes leaving jobs, acquiring new ones, and following up with interviewers following conversation. With extensive knowledge interviewing professionals whose careers span over fifteen years, James Stuart wanted us to consider the life journey, with an origin and a potential destination.
“Listening to our guest speakers helped me identify the weak points in my CV and opportunities for growth,” said Sarina Singh, MA Fashion Journalism & Editorial Direction student. “In undergrad, I was given the basics. As a creative student, I now know how I can improve my chances of getting further in the application process.”
Following the guest speaker discussion, students participated in a graduate talent skills elevation workshop with Abigail Wilmore, where they pinpointed their unique selling propositions, aligned strengths with target job positions, workshopped CV mission statements, identified personal values, and set long and short-term career goals. As two of the most challenging steps in the job application process, skills workshops amplifying a CV and building a personal brand will set Vogue College of Fashion students apart from their many competitors in the future.
MA Creative Direction for Fashion Media student Caroline Henderson said, “putting my strengths and values into mission statements for my CV was so beneficial. I have always struggled getting my personality across through a resume.” Students entered their initial career day with CV rough drafts but left with enough advice and understanding to elevate them to strong, professional resumés that will take them to the final steps of future interview processes.
Find out more about our Masters Programmes
Words by Sadie McCabe, MA Luxury Brand Strategy & Business
Images by James Mason Photography
