How to stay visible in a tough fashion job market

If your job search is taking longer than you expected, you’re certainly not alone.

LinkedIn research published at the start of 2026 found that 65% of people felt finding a new role had become more difficult. In the US, the number of applications per open position had doubled since spring 2022.

The picture in the UK hasn’t been particularly cheerful either. The CIPD reported this winter that employer hiring intentions were at their lowest level since it began tracking them in 2014, apart from the first year of the pandemic.

We work specifically across premium and luxury fashion and lifestyle, and none of that is surprising. It’s no secret that the sector is experiencing a particularly challenging time.

There are fewer roles around, businesses are taking longer to make hiring decisions and good vacancies can attract an enormous amount of interest.

That can make it very tempting to respond by applying for more and more jobs.

I’m not convinced that helps.

If you’re going to be looking for a while, one of the most useful things you can do is make sure the people recruiting in your market know who you are, what you’re good at and what you’re looking for.

Make it easy for recruiters to understand what you do

When I’m searching for someone, I’ll usually be looking across job titles, brands, product categories, responsibilities, markets and particular areas of expertise.

Your LinkedIn profile doesn’t need to be stuffed with keywords, but it does need to be clear.

If you’re a womenswear merchandiser specialising in luxury retail, say so. If you’ve spent eight years building international wholesale for premium brands, don’t make me work that out from six paragraphs of job descriptions.

Your headline is particularly valuable real estate.

“Experienced fashion professional seeking a new opportunity” tells me very little.

What you actually do is much more useful.

The same applies to your About section and career history. Use the language your industry uses and be specific about the work you’ve done. You can see our article on maximising your LinkedIn profile here.

Tell me what you achieved, not just what you were responsible for

A list of responsibilities might describe your job. However, it doesn’t tell someone how good you are at it.

Where you can, give some context.

Perhaps you opened a new market, grew an account, improved full-price sell-through, launched a new category, built a team, reduced development lead times or managed a particularly complicated transformation.

You don’t need a statistic against every bullet point. You do need enough information for someone reading your profile to understand the level at which you’ve operated and the difference you made.

This becomes even more important if you’ve been in the same business for several years and your responsibilities have grown considerably while your job title hasn’t.

Stay part of your industry

If you’re between roles, disappearing completely from view doesn’t help.

That doesn’t mean you now need to become a LinkedIn content creator. Nobody is demanding daily leadership lessons inspired by your morning coffee.

You can remain visible in much simpler ways.

Comment on something interesting happening within fashion. Congratulate people you know when they move roles. Share an article you have a genuine view on. Keep in contact with former colleagues, suppliers, clients and recruiters.

The aim isn’t visibility for the sake of it. It’s remaining part of the professional community you want to work in.

Keep your experience current

The World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of the key skills required in the job market will change by 2030.

Fashion is changing quickly too.

Digital transformation, AI, changing wholesale models, increasingly sophisticated ecommerce, new approaches to customer acquisition and much tighter commercial expectations are affecting roles across the industry.

If you’re taking a course, consulting, freelancing, working on a project or developing knowledge in an area relevant to your career, include it.

A gap on your CV doesn’t need to be a blank space.

Be more selective about where you apply

I understand why people broaden their search when it’s taking a long time.

After several months without success, “I might as well apply” can become the default.

Try not to let it.

If you’re applying for merchandising, buying, ecommerce, operations and business development roles at three completely different levels, it becomes much harder to explain what you actually want.

More importantly, you risk spending a huge amount of time applying for jobs where your experience was never likely to be the right match.

A more focused search also makes networking easier. You can tell people clearly what you’re looking for, which gives them a much better chance of remembering you when something relevant comes up.

Build relationships before you need them

One of the most useful things you can do during a job search is speak to recruiters who genuinely know your part of the industry.

Preferably before you urgently need a job.

A specialist fashion recruiter should be able to give you a sensible view of your market, tell you how your experience is likely to be perceived and help you understand where you might fit.

We also hear about roles that never reach LinkedIn or Business of Fashion.

Clients sometimes ask me who I already know before they decide whether to formally start a search. Other conversations begin months before there’s an approved vacancy.

That’s where having an existing relationship matters.

Six months later, when a client calls me with the right role, you want to be one of the people who immediately comes to mind.

Help your recruiter do that.

Tell them what you want next. Be realistic about level and salary. Explain which brands or environments interest you and which don’t. Keep them updated if something changes.

You’re far easier to represent well when I understand the person behind the CV.

If your search is taking longer, don’t assume you’re doing something wrong

A difficult market can play havoc with your confidence.

You send applications and hear nothing. A process disappears after three interviews. A company freezes a role. Somebody internally gets the job. None of this is particularly enjoyable.

A longer search in this market doesn’t automatically say anything about your ability.

What you can control is whether your experience is presented clearly, whether you remain connected to your industry and whether the people most likely to hear about suitable opportunities know you’re there.

Applications will always be part of finding your next role.

Just don’t make them your entire strategy.

If you are working at manager to director level within premium or luxury fashion and you’re considering your next move, you’re always welcome to get in touch with LIFE. Even when we don’t have the right vacancy today, it’s useful for us to know who you are when we do.