INTERNSHIPS

Six month have pass since I moved to Paris and I have learn a lot not only about myself but about the fashion industry, specially the sale/showroom section.

Finding an internship:

Finding and internship was probably one of the most stressful task I have ever done, firstly case they required a high level of French (which sadly I still don't have) and secondly cause how on earth d

- Don't be scared of sending you cv to every brand or designer you can think off, honestly the worst thing that can happened is that they said "we are not looking for interns or your profile does not match ours".

- Patience is the key,  if you ever send your  application before you now the "We have received your application and appreciate it. Your case will be studied with great care...." keep looking and wait.

- Show them interest but don't be pushy. Sending the company 50 mails won't changed  anything.

- They always said going to the store it's better but honestly in my opinion is better to just send a mail. I have friends that went to the stores with the cv's and never receive any offer not even a called back, mostly they just throw your documents to the trash.

- Get real, if you want to work for Dior but your style says otherwise don't expect to be offer a position. Your personality and style must match the brand your looking for.

- Big names doesn't mean your actually learning. One of my friends did an internship at Chanel and she only prepared the coffee.

- Learn and enjoy what your doing, it maybe look like a nightmare right now but you will make new friends, learn and prepare for your future.

- Don't look for the internship a week before you need to start working, take your time. Actually take a lot of time if you can.

I remember a girl crying cause one of the seller scream at her cause she did the wrong task. Don't break under pressure, I don't have the strongest character but I have teach myself to be ready for any kind of feed  back. Don't be scared of asking questions, even if you look stupid. I once didn't understand the thick accent of my British seller and I asked what "pound" was, I feel so stupid but she was glad I asked, so no mistakes were make.
Your not a perfect calculated machine, your going to make mistakes, your going to run late one day, make a line sheet wrong, say or do something the other way. Your human remember, nothing that you did wrong can't be changed.

The other interns are not competition, of course everyone wants to stand out but at the end you are just an  team.  When someone get's  .....   we all do. Don't let them walk you down, even thought your on the bottom of the chain doesn't mean they can treat you without respect or ask you to do something you feel uncomfortable doing.

During the interview make sure to be yourself and be prepared for questions about the brand. Once I did an interview and by mistake I say the name of the other designer, ups. Be prepared and be profesional. If they said at 9 am be there at time, even before. Punctuality is important of the industry. Wear black, not only you look professional but gives you extra confident.
Be prepared to see the good, the bad, the ups and downs from the inside of the  industry.

It's okay if they said no, success doesn't come with out failure and struggle.

Enjoy your actually going to have fun and learn, even if you feel like your on the Devil wear Prada film.

Webpage I used to look for internships:

 Fashionunited.com
 Fashionjobs.com
 Fashionista.com/carreers

xx