Recruiters? Linkedin? Stylecareers? Which has been the most effective?

I’ve had the most success with LinkedIn. The majority of meaningful job prospects have come from their job postings since stores in my area seem to be utilizing that feature regularly. Also, it’s where I’ve had the most communication from District Managers and Store Managers looking to fill positions or make me aware of new store openings in the area.

I appreciate the suggestion but to be honest with you this country should recognize my full legal name because I have been influencing American and Western trends in music, art and culture since I was in college and your suggestion to chop up my name to fit Supremacy is exactly what’s wrong with the need to be ‘anti-racist’ yet have people like me ‘assimilate’ when I am a BORN AMERICAN. My family all work for the US Government and Military as well. I am the “black sheep” that trekked to NYC after art school after splitting time between Brooklyn and Baltimore and made an impact on the corporate climate for the last decade without any accolades and barely any monetary compensation be cause of how toxic both fashion and media industries were to me and thousands others like me. I formed CremeNow (you can Google us) to represent the countless other Women of Color and People of Color in the industry.

I have embraced my brand completely which is why I have full ownership of everything on every platform and media production and contract I have ever been under including the god forsaken Conde NASTE and Amazon. And why we are building our cases against Anna Wintour and Jeff Besoz and now Mark Zuckerberg (I own part of Instagram as one of the original 10 Creative Designers and Strategists on the BETA team). Unfortunately everything you said is what I’ve done except for the name chopping and if the industry doesn’t want to accept me at this point we have developed our own industry on our own platforms since the beginnings of covid19 and have a growing Blacklist going on. So every hater, every supremacist, every toxic cultural emblem of the old paradigm has been dually noted. Clearly, I don’t need LinkedIn to still attain the opportunities I need. The complete disregard of who I am in social networks like LinkedIN is why the old industry will fail. It is crumbling and it is going to be vanquished by 2022. MARK MY WORDS <3

During this time,I am also studying Harvard Law and opening up a law firm specializing in BUSINESS DISSOLVEMENT. Three strikes is all it takes for us to come after you and your “brand” trust we have dissolved many 6-figure startups already :wink:

@blownkiss ummm the fact that someone even has to or should consider altering their name smells of what you’re telling them to to jump to the conclusion of. Step back and listen to yourself. I totally understand where you’re coming from as my name is unisex… and I also keep my resume gender neutral so no one can tell what I am. But if your name isn’t something like that you should be forced to create a pseudonym to bypass potential racial or gender discrimination. Their are sooo many articles done on discrimination in the hiring process by names. It’s a real issue… My mom told me that when she was younger jobs asked for photos with resume here in the US and they stopped it because ppl were discriminating. I mean honestly nowadays you can just look up someone’s address which is why you shouldn’t put that on your resume either…just your city.

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I miss Gromwell Group, I think 24/7 bought them out, one recruiter there really looked out for me. Alicia Fazio, who started Agency Works, has helped me so much in my career and has championed for me, as I’ve gotten booked repeatedly wherever she sent me.

I detoured from apparel for a few years, and went into accessories. The jobs were fewer and I didn’t want a career in accessories, and this was where a recruiter sold me to an apparel company and I got the job and was grateful. Recruiters have that relationship with the company. Back in April I got a zoom interview, and I had to explain to the recruiter how the industry worked and even what a tech pack was, so its important that they are knowledgeable about the industry. I like linkedin because you can connect directly with HR and the job posters.

I always question other agencies, like Jaral and Winston, as they are always posting but I wonder have anyone been successful thru them.

Yes! Four years ago, I was laid off, took the month off the enjoy the rest of the summer, decided in Sept that I needed to get a new gig, had a temp to perm opportunity by the end of the week. It was just that easy. New times for sure, especially with, back in office or remote, companies closing, etc.

Gromwell hired a former 24Seven employee who stole the 24Seven candidate database and brought it to Gromwell. 24Seven sued and basically, won Gromwell in the settlement. This was about 15 years ago, I think.

The person who screwed both 24Seven and Gromwell went on to screw an agency on the West Coast too.

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damn, yeah it was messy. I was on the Gromwell payroll at the time.

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The suggestion made has everything to do with building differentiation and that can start with your name. That is all. This suggestion made is only a personal marketing approach and has nothing to do with your wonderful passionate concerns. Work colleagues from other countries blessed with five or more names have for decades used an initial approach or drop names altogether to create their own brand recognition. Finding ways to differentiate your cv/resume/profile in the best way from the herd of job seekers is my focus and desire to help. Whatever rings true, then stand by that truth. All the best.

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Recruiters for my 22 years have been useless and actually haven’t helped me land a job ever.
I have been most successful searching on Indeed and LinkedIn and reaching out to hiring manager or recruiter from that position directly. Style careers I used often but never had much success.
Most of our resumes go into a black hole and not like years ago where it was mail it in and wait for reply.
You now have to be tenacious and really go after It now unfortunately. It can be a tough process but network like crazy and don’t be afraid to ask people for help!

@fashiondiva Agreed. The best success I have had is to apply on company portals or job sites as requested, so I am in the system, but to also get my resume on the right person’s desk as quickly as possible. Ideally, it is though a contact who works there or knows someone personally. Sometimes I find the HR team/hiring manager through LinkedIn and send a resume to them directly. They often tell you not to do that, but honestly, who cares? If they don’t like your resume, they still wouldn’t have called you if you stuck to the regular channels, so you are no worse off. If they do like your resume, you got it in front of the right people, potentially bypassing whatever BS gate keeping software or inexperienced HR person that might have tossed you out before you even got a chance.

Also, take the time to create a beautiful resume, ESPECIALLY if you are a designer. Pay a graphic designer to lay it out for you, if you can’t do it. Look online for examples. Find a format that is easy to read and guides your eye around the page - the story you tell about yourself and your career starts here. Make it memorable.

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Leveraging your own network and reaching out to CEOs/C-Level Executes is the best. Also, there’s a network of very private niche recruiters working globally that place people in high profile roles; so it’s best to get on their radar. Most of the important roles are never posted online.

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Yneedsajob: Your situation is exactly as mine: I have attributed my lack of finding a job to “age discrimination” I have extensive experience in the apparel industry and many transferable skills. Most recruiting agents and as well as job search sites are completely depending on algorithms. There is very little “person to person” interactions. It used to be that recruiters knew me personally including my talents and would physically help to make connections and to effectively build relationships between the candidates and hiring managers.

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I use Style Careers to learn about new jobs. I use my personal network to get in the door. I’ll even present the jobs on Style Careers to the agencies I’m working with to see if they can get me in the door.

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WWD was the place to go years ago. Do they even post jobs now? Stylecareers is great because it is targeted to our industry. LinkedIn is not but its useful as an introduction if your profile is fleshed out - experience, skills, recommendations. I’ve found my last few jobs through word of mouth though.

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Yes, I am not a fan. I live in Seattle and they are great at ghosting.

As a director, when I’ve hired designers, Stylecareers was the best resource, Indeed was also good. When I’ve looked for work , I have found that my personal network, stylecareers and LinkedIn were the best resources. I’ve had employers reach out to me from LinkedIn. In the past, FIT was a great resource for talent but no longer. I have found that recruiters misrepresented jobs, and lately they are unabashedly ageist. Last year, a recruiter who was older than me told me I was a perfect fit for a job, owner liked me, but wanted a younger designer. Her colleague was on the call and was shocked that she said it. So was I. Not sure if that company has survived the pandemic. But this summer is a new landscape. It’s never been this quiet. It feels like we are in a holding pattern and the industry has to reinvent the way product is made and marketed.

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just curious as to why FIT is no longer a great resource

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I am an FIT alumni, very grateful for the excellent education I received. However, I’m in textiles and I have received very few responses to open positions from FIT in the last few years. Of those few applicants, Most of the designers seemed unfamiliar with what was happening in the market, had trouble creating repeats, didn’t know how to index the colors in a file.

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Why are only agencies posting jobs? I don’t see any actual companies posting jobs? How would an agency have a job when nobody else does? Also who would use a recruiter for the only jobs hiring, during a pandemic, when companies have to pay more to use them!!? To get their “cut” from each new hire. I would think they’re just collecting resumes, like you said.

Yes, I agree the recruiters are always rude and don’t ever listen to you when you tell them exactly what job you’re looking for. They just lump you into a group where you don’t fit in, then ghost you after they say “I’ll send your resume over right away” and you never hear back from them again.

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