Yesterday afternoon I met up with Moni, a very successful, young Visual Merchandiser currently working for Pandora. Fresh from a company meeting, he took me over to a near by bar where we sat chatting for an hour or so.
Although there was the intention of having a portfolio review, for what I want to do, it was more relevant to have a long business chat.
He began by asking me why I was interested in Visual Merchandising and I told him that it really appeals to me because I want to do something active and creative, yet also linked to another huge personal interest; fashion.
To Moni, the main thing that got him to where he is now is passion. He mentioned this word to me several times during our discussion. He said that if I really want to pursue a career in this field I must be prepared to work hard for it and either work for free, or start at the bottom. This is something I knew I would have to do. I have never worked in fashion/retail before so in order to get a 'foot in the doorway', as he put it, I would need to find voluntary job opportunities or apply for a job at base level and spend time working my way up. He told me to just apply for any job that seems relevant, keep looking for opportunities and take them, most companies promote in house so you never know if it could lead on to something else. The important thing is to stay with a particular company for a year rather than 6 months if you plan to move on; it looks much better on the CV.
"It's all about experience" is what Moni kept repeating, and it's up to me how I intend to get that.
One thing he did regret was not taking photographs of what he has done. He said that it is a good idea to be in the habit of recording my work and keeping a portfolio as evidence to show other employers. I will most certainly make sure I always have a camera!
Moni was extremely chatty and was more than willing to tell me all about his experience and how he moved from working out on the floor at French Connection, to then work alongside the Visual Merchandising team before becoming a VM himself. He has never done a creative degree; he just has a really good eye and knows what works and what doesn't. The job at Pandora was brought to his attention after he left French Connection, and although he felt unsure about working with jewellery, he took on the challenge and really enjoys his job.
He told me to join the Manchester Fashion Network which I am currently doing as I am writing this post. There seems to be quite a few internship opportunities on there at the moment and they keep you updated with any other events that may be of use and interesting for those who want a career in the fashion/creative industry.
I have been offered a job as a manager at the company I work for at the moment. I asked Moni what he thought, because I have been sitting on the fence wondering whether it is too good an opportunity to turn down, or whether I should be looking for a job that suits what I want to do in the future. Because this job I have been offered is a foolproof fast track scheme to management, he said that it doesn't matter that it is in a restaurant, it looks good on your CV to say you have been a manager of some sort.
I think that managing others will not only give me more experience, but give me some extra confidence to throw myself at other highly responsible job roles. I am constantly looking for retail jobs and visual merchandising roles, so when it is meant to be it is meant to be.
I know that I am going to have to work my way through perhaps different companies and job roles to get to where i want to be, but I think I have some sort of plan and I'm feeling good!!!!!!!!
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