Maya Jauslin
Richard Anderson
Bespoke Tailoress Coatmaker
What are you up to now?
I’m now working as a Bespoke Tailoress Coatmaker at Richard Anderson on a fast track apprenticeship due to having previous tailoring experience.
How far into your final year were you when you began looking for work?
I focused on getting a job from the start of third year. As I knew apprenticeships can last 3 or 4 years jobs and come up rarely, I knew I had to put aside a fair amount of time to finding the right one. When carrying out research for my collection I would also consider the companies out there, thinking about what I liked about the company and where I would like to work. I formed a list of companies to contact when the time came to think about jobs.
Also I entered a competition called Golden Shears it’s a tailoring competition aimed at Savile Row apprentices so I thought it was a good opportunity to make industry contacts. I did get through to the finals and saw Richard Anderson there which led to my current job. Competitions are great because they make you think about your work in a more professional way.
How did you get into your current position?
I did a proper job search in the Easter break of third year. I got in touch with industry contacts I had met over my degree. Also I followed up on Richard Anderson’s mention of a job at Golden Shears which in combination with the fact I had also worked a month placement at the company in the summer of first year, seemed to offer a strong potential opportunity. A job as a coatmaker became available and I was offered the chance to trial for a day alongside two other guys. I came out on top! And they invited me to continue into a month long trial period when I graduated. I worked hard and came out with a 4 year offer.
How important is work experience in your field?
In tailoring work experience is very important. I took a cutting, tailoring and menswear placement throughout my summer breaks whilst completing my degree. This paid off well for me, as in the end one of the companies ended up employing me full time. This often happens in fashion – if you work hard at a placement and keep in contact you are in a good position when you come to looking for a job.
Also it’s a good opportunity to test what areas of fashion interest you. For example my menswear placement required me to run around – sourcing bits and pieces – some people would really enjoy that but this experience helped me decide I wanted something more focused like tailoring. It helped that I knew what I wanted early on; in fact I started doing placements before I even started the degree which is great for your CV, personal work, professional practice, and confidence also work experience gives you something to talk about at interviews!
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in your field?
Tailoring jobs are hard to find, but once you are in you could have the job for a long time. You have to be ready to work hard and commit to the company as they train you and they need to know you are dedicated. Also the searching for the right position can be hard, my advice is to but just keep popping in and asking, this is also a great way to meet contacts – in the tailoring industry its best to enquire about work by physically going into the shop and asking, then showing some work you’ve done in the past.