Top Tips:

Work placements are crucial to securing a job in a pr agency. This gives a potential employer the opportunity to observe your skills and ascertain whether you would be suited to the business and their particular agency. Demonstrate initiative and,enthusiasm for all tasks, an upbeat personality will all help to get you noticed.

Back up all of the above with a genuine love of the media. A passion for reading and understanding the different media titles is vitally important and will ensure you are knowledgeable about the subject.

The PR industry is driven by ideas and energy - demonstrate that you are plugged in to what is happening and come with ideas that get you noticed by the decision makers in the Company.

Most pr agencies are extremely busy and you will need more imaginative routes to get a foot in the door than just sending a round robin email - start using your creative talents by devising a cv that grabs attention and at least warrants an interview......................

Top Tips:

A strong portfolio with original ideas, nobody wants anything that’s already been done.

Keep the portfolio focused and the order relevant to the company you are approaching.

Follow up a CV with a polite phone call to check it reached the person concerned.

Be flexible, the ideal job may not be available at first, but it’s important to move out of the Graduate stage.

Don’t be afraid to ask advice, it’s a networking industry.

Do some research on the Company concerned before an interview.

Think about presentation skills, both of how you explain your work and your visual appearance.

Know the market, price points and brands within your specialised area.

Don’t always go for the obvious, sometimes there are brands that get forgotten about, that can offer good opportunities.

Never give up, the break will come eventually.

Top Tips:

The most important thing you should do after leaving college is to try to secure any experience you can in the industry.

Starting your own company is very high risk and you can learn so much, on both the creative and business side, from working within a firm.

Offer to do projects or work experience. These may be paid minimally but you will be able to gain a lot from it and they may lead to something more permanent or give you connections you can use in the future.

Top Tips:

Believe in yourself, your potential ability and strive to progress your career at a pace you can manage.

Everyone has 24 hours in every day! Maximising on the success of each individual depends on their ability to allocate those hours in the most balanced way.

Time management is essential. The gift of time is the most important gift anyone can have.

Try not to be nervous at interviews. It’s your one opportunity to impress. Remember you cannot lose the job, since you cannot lose what you don’t own! A positive performance however might mean you get the job.

Remember body language says as much about you as your verbal contribution to personal presentation techniques.

Research a potential employer ahead of the interview to maximise your understanding of their business.

Always seek a career and not a job!

Remember time is infinite, like money, you can only spend it once

Top Tips:

Being a good buyer isn't just about selecting beautiful product, it is a continuous balancing act and you must have awareness of past and future trends, the current marketplace and your competitors.

A knowledge of fabric, pricing, quality and fit as well as an understanding of budgets and how to make a profit.

I think a lot of young people underestimate the hard work, long hours and constant travel that buyers do. My advice to anyone wanting to get into buying would be to start at the bottom by doing work experience for a few months to see if it’s really for you.

A passion for product and a constant thirst for new and exciting, innovative product is essential.

Top Tips:

Always seek out and be open to as much stimulus as possible; it will shape and provide support for your thinking.

Ensure your ideas are well thought through and have conviction in them.

Never be embarrassed to ask questions.

Top Tips:

Get as much work experience as you can in as many areas of the industry as possible. While your dream might be to start your own label, think very carefully about whether you have all the necessary skills to make that succeed. Having 100% creative control of something is fantastic but if you don’t have enough money to eat, you’ll find your creativity becomes less important to you. You can be very successful working for someone else. Whether you rate Tom Ford creatively or not, the man created his dream after learning the ropes using other people’s money.

The business side of designing is, at the end of the day, more important than creativity in securing success. The annals of fashion industry are filled with failed businesses where the designer was a creative genius (particularly in the UK).

Do not put off making a business decision just because it seems dull or incomprehensible.

Be nice to people, listen to their opinions, but be true to yourself (unless you’re completely financially inept and, if that is the case, get a job).

If you are going into business on your own, you need to get used to taking informed risks. Sometimes that might involve giving up some control. You need to decide whether it’s better to have 30% of something the size of Dior or 100% of a £100,000 business operating from a slum in Dalston.

Top Tips:

Always research what ever you are doing.

Your C.V should not only reflect your ability but your personality and work, Don't be boring.

Make sure your portfolio has bredth and tells a of your thought process from start to finish on a project.

Know who you want to be, and why.

Be yourself. Always smile. Never give up.

Top Tips:

Interviews - Research the company or brand before an interview and tailor your presentation.

Show some initial ideas, however sketchy, of how your concepts could be applied to the collection/brand.

Demonstrate some understanding of the business you want to work for, its competitors and where it sits in the marketplace.

Top Tips:

1/ Always be positive, enthusiastic and yourself! A sunny disposition is vital for team playing.

2/ Keep your CV focused with a creative touch to reflect your personality. Also when applying for any job always follow with a phone call to ensure they have received your CV.

3/ Be well prepared - research the company prior to an interview and display an awareness of the brand and its competitors. Show a focused portfolio that is in a considered order and relevant to the position you are applying for.

4/ Be willing to work on projects or placements to gain experience (often without pay). This will get you the vital introduction to new opportunities and contacts.

5/ Be prepared to work very hard, with a positive, willing ‘can do’ attitude to all tasks. Remember you have great opportunity to prove yourself and learn lots.

Top Tips:

Make friends with everyone. You never know who you'll need to call on in the future.

Have a long term vision for where you want to be in the future. And short term solutions of how you're going to get there.

Be interested in the detail - if you know how things work, you'll be able to sort things out in moments of crisis.

Surround yourself with as much stimulus as possible - films, art, music, people. It's where the best ideas come from.

Have confidence in your ideas. If they're strong, the rest will follow.

Always be yourself.

Top Tips:

Business Opportunity Profiles & Business Information Fact sheets
Business Information Fact sheets provide help for prospects and customers on different aspects of running a business, from marketing to health and safety. In addition, prospects and customers can explore the market they are considering with one of our Business Opportunity Profiles. See the list of businesses and order them from your local branch.

Access to the unique Team of Experts
The Team of Experts Programme is unique to Barclays Local Business and provided in exclusive partnership with the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the NFEA (National Federation of Enterprise Agencies) and the Law Society.

It’s a truly valuable and practical proposition to your start-up as it gives you:
-45 minutes of free accountancy advice from a local Accountant from ACCA
-45 minutes of free marketing advice from a local Marketing expert from NFEA
-30 minutes of free legal advice from a local Solicitor from the Law Society.
Available to start up business customers when they open a business account with Barclays.

FREE - Let's Talk Seminar and Workshop Programme
We have two great seminars – Let’s Talk Business Ideas and Let’s Talk Starting in Business. Both seminars are free and open to all and are designed to help you understand what it’ll take to succeed in business. They’ll also demystify the process of starting up to help make the move less daunting and more exciting.

‘Let’s Talk Business Ideas’:
is aimed at both those who are considering whether self employment is the right option for them and also those who are in the very early stages of setting up.

‘Let’s Talk Starting in Business':
is aimed at those who already know that self employment is for them and are in the advanced stages of setting up.

Top Tips:

Trust your instincts. Quite often you will enter into what appears a hugely complex and professional environment where the presumption is everything has been thought of or done before. It hasn't.....it will take time to for your colleagues to believe in your ideas but keep pushing.

Really focus on execution. Every sample, every detail, every meeting. In a retail environment you will often not be surrounded by creative people, they will not be able to take the leap of imagination and time and effort will be wasted. Better the good idea executed perfectly than the excellent idea executed averagely.

Be resilient. Your ability to react to criticism (whether personal or specific to your collections) and bounce back unscathed comes at a premium. Your career will prosper and your marketability grow.

Be passionate and enthusiastic....however much the minority of cynics around you challenge this. We are in the Fashion business, enthusiasm is important in many industries, in ours it is priceless.

Manage upwards and across, even in small companies. Forge honest and open relationships. Never become isolated and put yourself in your manager's shoes.....realise the difficulty of their role and become the person they enjoy managing and in whose loyalty they trust. This will give you the freedom to spend time at work on what you love most.

Fiona's Top Tips:

• Your CV has to be punchy, ideally one page never more than two!
• Research the company and know why you want to work for them
• Don't be shy about your strengths; you have one chance to impress!
• When you have a job.
  • Show passion, enthusiasm & focus, with a willingness to learn
  • Be prepared to work hard - go the extra mile
• Show initiative- it will make you stand out
• Whatever you do, know the facts, your customer, the deadline, and the costs that way your hard work will not be wasted!

Top Tips:

1. Show passion and enthusiasm in everything you do. There is no substitute for a positive "can do" attitude.

2. Try to get an understanding of how the financial side of the business works, from manufacturing costs through to the retail price

3. Learn to listen and always ask questions. Be prepared to take on extra responsibilities and diversify if required, it is a great way to learn how a company operates.

4. Be patient and be determined. There will be knock backs but talent always wins through in the end

5. Build relationships and be an active networker. This will open doors later in your career - good contacts in the industry are essential.

Top Tips:

1. The main thing is to use all the opportunities you have to get a start in the industry.

2. Be open minded and send out your cv and examples of your work to as many people as you can, not just your ideal companies.

3. Offer to do projects or internships to get into companies and to meet people. Once you’re in the door you have the opportunity to make an impression, to network and make lots of contacts who can help you find a permanent role. Many of the placement students we’ve had in the studio here have gone on to find positions in the KM brand or the wider Aurora group.

4. Before you go for interviews do your research on the company and the people you’re meeting.

5. Make sure you’ve seen their product or stores and that you’re prepared to talk about them.

6. Maybe do a small project specifically for the person you’re meeting, it’s a good opportunity to make an impression.

7. When we’re interviewing for graduates we’re looking for beautiful portfolios, fashion and detail drawing skills are still incredibly important to making your design concepts reality.

8. Remember, you need to be able to talk articulately about your design ideas and willing to listen to feedback and consider other’s opinions about their work.

9. And finally – you need energy, enthusiasm and self motivation - think how you can use the interview to present yourself to your best advantage.