6quickstepsbookr2

7/27/2019 6quickstepsbookr2

1/19

6 Quick Steps

to

Get the Job, Move to NYC

and Live Your Dreams!from a fashion designers perspective

byKali Simba

Copyright 2008, Kali Simba, 6 Quick Steps to Get the Job, Move to NYC and Live Your Dreams! from a fashiondesigners perspective, Artwork by Kali Simba, This Ebook may be freely distributed!


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Table of Contents

Intro..................................................................................................................................3

Step1 Prepare Resume....................................................................................................3

Sample Resume...............................................................................................................4

Step 2 Get Summer Internship.........................................................................................5

Step 3 Summer Housing...................................................................................................6

Step 4 Work It!..................................................................................................................6

Step 5 Send Out Resume for Full-Time Job.....................................................................7

Important Skills.................................................................................................................8

Step 6 Housing, This time Its for Real!...........................................................................11

Manhattan and Boroughs Map.......................................................................................12

Hudson County, NJ Map.................................................................................................13

Congratulations!..............................................................................................................14

Glossary..........................................................................................................................15

Climb Your Way to the Top of the Design Ladder...........................................................16

Pay Scale.......................................................................................................................17

References.....................................................................................................................18

About the Author.............................................................................................................19



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Looking for a fashion job right after college? Be the first in your class to land a job thatyou desire in one of the greatest cities in the world! Its the fashion capitol of the world,New York City. Its were dreams come true if you make them happen. You can win, youcan succeed. You can make it!

These steps come from a young designer who was the first person in her college classto land a fashion design job right after school. More about her later. This ebook is foryou! So lets start again.

Are you ready to land your fashion design job straight out of college in New York City?Do images of the big city intimidate you? New York City is a fascinating city. Look at itas a fresh start in a very unique place. You will have the opportunity to grow to unknownheights, meet tons of very interesting people and work with the very best in the industry.

Here are 6 very easy steps that will lead you to your dream.

Junior Year College, Start Early!

1) Prepare Resume

The earlier you start, the better. Prepare your resume. Get assistance from yourschools career center. A clean concise one page resume is sufficient.

Sample Resume

This resume is sufficient to use for internship and your first full-time fashion job. Feelfree to make variations to suit your personality. See sample resume on the following

page.

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Jana Lewis234 West StreetPhoenix, AZ 29112(891) 555-5555

[email protected]__________________

ObjectiveTo obtain a position as a fashion design intern at a company that designs exclusive high fashion womensapparel in New York City.

Notable Achievements

2005: Awarded All American Trophy for Womens Cross Country team as best team player.

Relevant Skills

Hand Sketch

Adobe IllustratorAdobe Photoshop

Excel

Bilingual English and Mandarin

Employment History

Carmelas Accessories Boutique, Phoenix, AZIntern, Summer of 2006 - Present* Assisted in all aspects of selling* Developed and organized a charity fundraiser fashion show at Carmelas boutique. Raised $5,000 of

which a portion went to the local childrens travel club. Summer 2006.

* Arranged store displays.* Created and designed a new fashion headband concept. Product was produced with the financial

backing of boutique owner. Sold approximately 50 units per month during the spring/summer of 2007which resulted in over $19,000 in sales.

Voice Now Telephone Company, Phoenix, AZCutomer Service Representative, Summer 2005* Assisted customers with trouble shooting service malfunctions. Assisted both English and Mandarinspeaking customers.

Education

2008 Expected date of Graduation, Bachelors of Arts, Fashion DesignFashion University, Phoenix, AZ

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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2) Get Summer Internship in NYC

But wait, where will I live? Hold on, were getting to that! Remember its one step at atime. Start by finding companies that you would love to work for. The earlier you start,the better. Start looking for internship possibilities in February. Most college fashion

design programs offer summer internships abroad. This is a great opportunity. Try thisroute if it interests you. The price normally includes room and board. Most of thesesummer programs are in cities like Paris, Milan and London. If you want to do aninternship in NYC then first ask your school if they are affiliated with any schools there(in NYC). This could be a possible way to cut costs.

If youre finding an internship on your own, dream big and identify the brands that youlove. Call at least 10 different companies and keep calling until you land your internship.If you land the internship of your dreams great! If not, great also. This is your chance tolearn with any company. Your main goal is to get in and get the experience so that youcan move on. This means that you have to be flexible and open to learning. The

fashion industry is very consolidated so most companies own many brands. This isgood for you as an intern because, once you are registered with Human Resourse for aparticular company then year after year if you start even earlier than your junior yearyou can ask to work with another brand within the same company. They will already befamiliar with your work habits which is a plus for you if you wish to build yourrelationship within one company.

Key to finding an internship in NYC

Do a search on http://www.fashioncareers.com or http://www.stylecareers.comYou can also use other job search engines like craigslist, hotjobs or careerbuilder. Thiswill give you access to a companys human resources or job contact details.Stylecarers.com is an excellent site. Most major corporations are listed here. If you seea brand or ad that interests you, email the contact person who is listed on that ad. Tellthem that you are interested in assisting as an intern for this particular position. Humanresources will let you know if that particular position is available to have an intern.

Pay: This is something that should be discussed up front. FYI-most internships only payfor transportation. That is, getting back and forth to work everyday.

Do not take it personally if you do not get an internship right away. Large corporationshave to go through a process of budget approval that seems to take longer than at asmaller company. It may seem like it should be a quick and easy answer but, it could -5-

http://www.fashioncareers.com/http://www.stylecareers.com/http://www.stylecareers.com/http://www.stylecareers.com/http://www.fashioncareers.com/http://www.fashioncareers.com/


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take weeks before you get a final answer so, follow up and do not get discouraged.Keep it moving. Do not wait for one company to call you back. Keep going to the nextand the next opportunity.

3) Housing: Ive landed my internship now what?

Celebrate as you are on your way! Now you will need a place to stay and money forfood and fun. If you started early enough as suggested you still have plenty time to lookfor a place to stay. Use your contacts first, thats family and close friends. Is thereanyone that you know who lives in NYC who can let you stay for free. Can you afford todo a sublease just for the summer months that you will be there? Be creative, ask yourschoolmates if theyve landed a job or are doing internships as well the same time youare. A group of you and your friends can share an apartment!

4) Work It!

Work your summer internship 100%. Do it well and learn all that you can. Meet as manypeople as possible and get their business cards. If you do not know Adobe Photoshopand Illustrator already, make sure that you learn these programs at your internship. Takeinitiative, if its not part of your job, ask if for a few hours per day or week you can learnthese programs. You will more than likely use one or both in your first job to create flatsketches of garments. If you are not able to do an internship in NYC or abroad, do oneat home in a fashion company or as close to a fashion related position that you canobtain. Remember you are looking to gain experience so take it from wherever you can.This will help you in the future if you are going to have your own fashion business andalso to grow in this industry if you continue to work for others.

Now that you have your internship. On the weekends make time toexplore different parts of NYC and its boroughs also nearby New Jerseytowns (they really are not foreign countries), you will need a place to live

when you land your full-time job. With this attitude you are keeping all options open.

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Advice


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March, Senior Year5) Send out Resume for Full-Time Job

Start sending out resumes in March so that you can get used to the communicationprocess which will be similar to the way that you obtained your internship. First utilize

the contacts that you made during the summer. Remember the business cards of thefriends that you connected with in step 4? Utilizing your contacts are a more quick wayto gain entry into a company. Make sure that you are applying to companies that youcan see yourself working in for a year or so. Now that you ve had your internshipexperience this should aid you in what type of position that interest you. There are somany aspects of design. You can start off as an assistant in design, merchandising,sales, buying, technical design, production, sourcing, fabric research and development,pattern making and in the cad department.

Again, keep sending out resumes for positions that interest you.

Be sure to schedule your interviews in a time period that does not affect your schoolwork. If you need to travel out of state to NYC, can you schedule interviews on aThursday or Friday so that you can be back to school by Monday? You can also workwith a head hunter. There are many head hunter agencies in New York City related tofashion design. There is 24/Seven, Gromwell Group, Project Solvers and many others.You can register with them for free and they will advise you of any jobs that fit yourbackground and interests related to fashion.

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Important SkillsFashion Designers frequently use the following skills, knowledge, and abilities:

Design - Knowledge of current trends in styles, colors, prints and otherdecorative trimming. Knowledge of design techniques that are cost

efficient. Able to sketch collections fully and come up with new ideasconstantly.

Sell- Ability to sell/present seasonal collections to design directorsdepartment heads, and sales team for approval to start sample process. Allparties have to be convinced that the collection will sell therefore, conceptpresentations are not for the shy. Designer has to have confidence in hisideas and be able to present them during concept presentations.

Active Learning - Being aware of price points of fabrics and trims.

Attending fabric and print trade shows for new concepts and materials toadopt. Reading fashion publications and keeping abreast of sourcingtrends. For example if the price of metal has been on the rise then, acollection may not have much decorative metal trimmings. Knowledge ofyour competitors and their price points.

Communication-Able to direct the design team that assists in building the

collection. This includes interns, assistant and associate designers. Somecompanies have specific woven and knit designers. Head designer has tocommunicate with the entire team on the direction of the collection.

Problem Solver-Able to settle any misunderstandings in regards to styledevelopment and can quickly come up with new ideas to solve a problem.If a sample does not come out looking the way design expected, designerhas the skill to communicate adjustments to spec technician or must beable to decide to drop the style and replace with new idea immediately.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. As adesigner one works with an entire team of people in order to coordinate theprocess of sample making and production approvals. This applies tointeracting with in house departments such as the following:

sales: Design normally generates style sheets for the sales team to useduring market week. This computer generated catalog normally includes abrief description of each product with fabric details. It also shows the manycolorways a particular garment will be sold in.

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Design also works with the sales team to get feedback on what the buyerswant and any changes that the buyers require for a particular style, designhas to act on the changes that the buyers want by putting into work a newsample reflecting the change.

production: Designs role with production is to make sure that if anyquestions arise during a garments approval process that a representativefrom design is ready and available to answer these questions. There couldbe a need to confirm a print layout on a strike-off or if there are anyconcerns about fabric quality, design can reconfirm with their productioncounterpart.

technical design: Design normally works with technical design during theentire process of a garments life. Initial sketches are presented to the techperson to go over new styling details for each delivery. Design has to make

sure that the technical designer is fully aware of all styling details because,tech creates the specs that will be sent to the manufacturer. Any prolongeddelays in the process could result in a style not being in-house for marketweek. Design also has to attend fittings to make sure that the garmentsoverall look and fit is what they conceived.

cad (computer aided design): Design works with this department whennew artwork is needed for a style. For example, if a pair of cotton capripants are designed to have a floral print, design is responsible for givingcad any purchased artwork that was used to conceive the idea plus any

additional requests to be represented in the final work. Design tells the cadteam what colorways to print the artwork in and approves the repeat orborder or placed art pattern. Design has to make sure that artwork such asa print, embroidery, applique is affordable. They work with the cad team tostay within the allowed price for each art work.

product development: Product development sends out the packages ofstyle development which includes fabric, artwork, and in some cases specsto the manufacturers. Design works with this team to make sure that thepackages are correct as if the wrong fabric details go out to factories, this

could delay the fabric sample yardage making process. Productdevelopment develop also raises any alarms in terms of fabric yardageavailability and tracks samples for the design team.

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colorist: Designs role with the colorist is to make sure that they have allpitch sheets and color standards necessary to approve a garments colorfor sale sample making and for production. This also includes pitch sheetsfor prints yarn dyes, embroideries and appliques. If the colorist has aquestion then design is responsible for making sure that all questions are

answered right away as to not hold up the process.

This is basically the designers role in coordinating with other in-housedepartments. Its very important to follow the companys time and actioncalendar and work with the above mentioned departments to meet thecalendar deadlines. The ultimate goal is to have correct samples in-housefor market week and to have production samples approved so that massproduction can begin and delivery schedules to stores can be kept on timeaccording to calendar. Design is copied on emails from most of the

departments listed above so that they can make sure that the samplemaking process is going smoothly.

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6) Housing, This time Its for Real!

Once you have your job start date confirmed. Make sure to immediately startlooking for housing. Again, first use the resources that you may already have

which includes friends and family. See who you can share an apartment withuntil you earn enough money to live on your own. Also check online for

roommate searches.

Can you afford to live in New York City? If so, by all means live where you can affordand where you will be happy. If you need to seek alternatives, try other boroughs suchas Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx or Staten Island. These are not foreign countries. Somecommunities are very accessible by train or bus or even water ferry.

Do not forget about New Jersey. Hudson county has excellent towns that are easily

accessible by bus, water ferry or Path Train http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/ . There are cities such as North Bergen, WestNew York, Weehawken, Guttenberg, Union City, Jersey and Hoboken thatare right across the Hudson river. In a lot of cases, rent and the selling

price of condos is less expensive than New York City. You can also get a higher squarefootage for your space in New Jersey. See the next 2 pages for maps of Hudson countyand New York and its boroughs sometimes we do not realize whats next door to us.This could result in saving a ton of money or finding the space that you really want. Thisis just a start. If you desire to venture out further please explore but, make sure you caneasily commute with no problem.

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Advice
http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/


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New York City and its Boroughs Map

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Hudson County, New Jersey Map

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Congratulations, as you now have your first job and home! Give your joball that youve got and when its time to move on, do so. You will know when

the time is right. If you plan on having your own business you may want to work for afew years at other companies before you quit and do your business full-time. The idea

is to learn while you earn. Learn all aspects of the design process. Make at least onefriend in every department (sales, tech design, pattern making, buying, merchandising,production, art/cad, and so on). Continue this pattern as you move from job to job asyou increase your income and your network of friends and associates.

When new to any city you may want to join clubs or groups to help you get acclimatedto your new environment. New York City has tons of groups and organizations for anyinterest that you may have. You can check meetup.com or do a general web search forgroups or clubs that interest you. You will soon gain friends from work and you socialactivities. Having a social circle outside of your work associates will help you in gettingmore comfortable and more varied perspectives on your new environment.

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Glossary

CAD computer aided design. Most companies use a software called U4ia. This programallows the user to put a pattern into repeat such a floral print.

Adobe Photoshop a program that allows the user to use creative concepts indeveloping artwork.

Adobe Illustrator create flats and illustrations for any kind.

Sourcing the ability to manage a products cost by getting initial price quotes andnegotiating quote to meet your companys margin goals. Placing product with the rightmanufacturer that has the capacity to produce the item in the fabric or yarn/knit qualitythat your design team requests.

Fabric Research and Development being responsible for bringing in new fabrics

season after season and reporting on new fabric directions and trends. This enlightensand inspires the design team. Working with fabric vendors that meet the quality andprice points of your product and the ability to challenge the vendor to come up withways to use his resources to meet your price points.

Budget an extremely large mass appeal to the largest buying audience. Huge productquantities are produced and sold at a very discount price.

Moderate very large mass appeal targeted to a very large buying audience. Largeproduct quantities are produced and prices are affordable to the masses.

Designer large mass appeal targeted to a buying audience that can afford to purchasefashion with innovation and high quality and or novelty materials.

Couture appeals to an exclusive buying audience who can purchase custom items.Very limited and exclusive. Not mass produced.

Head Hunter a person who works for an agency or owns their own agency andperforms the task of matching clients with jobs that fit their clients interest and skill level.The job seeker does not pay for this service.

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Climb your way to the top of the design ladder! These are some of the positions thatyou can aspire to with a career in fashion design. These are only examples. Differentcompanies may term them differently and of course, you can always change the coursethat you are on to target new goals and objectives.

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Design Intern

AssistantDesigner

AssociateDesigner

Designer

Senior Designer

Design Director

EVP of Design


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Pay Scale:According to Vaults Career Guide to the Fashion Industry, the pay scale for New YorkCity varies. Entry level assistant designers can earn between $20-$30,000, $30,000 -$45,000 for associate designers and $60,000 plus for experienced designers. This givesyou a very general idea of the salary scale in design. Each company is unique and pay

will be reflected on your experience, the companys budget and your negotiation skills.

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References

http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=15

http://www.realtor.com/hudsoncounty/nbregion1.asp?st%3Dnj%26poe%

3Drealtor&poe=realtor

http://books.google.com/books?id=g9EH2PYGxkQC&dq=industry+pay+scale+for+fashion+designers&pg=PA30&ots=cM1zqNSaLb&sig=rtn8qckeits3RXgmjXG-a4pp0E8&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dindustry%2Bpay%2Bscale%2Bfor%2Bfashion%2Bdesigners%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26start%3D0%26sa%3DN&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1&cad=legacy#PPA30,M1

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About the Author:

Kali Simba has worked in the fashion industry for companies in New York City for thepast eight years. She was the first in her college class to move to New York City andwork in the fashion industry as an assistant designer. She advanced up to associatedesigner and has also worked as a sourcing and production manager. While at one ofher corporate jobs she started her online boutique http://www.newyorkaccents.comwhich focuses on creative and fun womens fashion accessories. These include t-shirts,necklaces and bangles in exciting colors and at moderate price points. The new luxurycollection Kali, incorporates fashion with innovation and exquisite high quality designdetails. This collection combines art with fashion and utilizes dual functionality in theJenny bag and the Hip Pak. Visit this collection at: http://www.newyorkaccents.com/

kafiac.html

Kali knows what its like to leave a small city, Washington, DC and move to a largemetropolis. Shes gone through a bad landlord to having her apartment burglarizedtwice and to finally owning her own home and fashion accessories business.

If you have questions please ask!

To Your Dreams!Kali Simba

email: [email protected]

http://newyorkaccents.comYour Online Accessories Boutique!

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http://newyorkaccents.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.newyorkaccents.com/kafiac.htmlhttp://newyorkaccents.com/http://newyorkaccents.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.newyorkaccents.com/kafiac.htmlhttp://www.newyorkaccents.com/kafiac.htmlhttp://www.newyorkaccents.com/kafiac.htmlhttp://www.newyorkaccents.com/kafiac.htmlhttp://www.newyorkaccents.com/http://www.newyorkaccents.com/

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