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For their "Yes, You Can Make It In Fashion" column, Huffington Post Style interviewed Emily Weiss, founder of Glossier and Into The Gloss, and a recent honoree of Forbes's Top 30 Under 30 In Retail. Weiss offers advice on everything from fundraising to interviewing, and makes it clear that a career in fashion is not always as fun as it looked on The Hills. "I think I'm just really busy, but the unglamorous things are that I'm not swanning in and out of cars all day long. I'm on the subway sweating or freezing or going to an appointment uptown," she said. Here are five career tips from Glossier's founder, including an Instagram quote to live by:
Do your research before job interviews: "I find it really surprising when people come in and just haven't even looked — you can just tell they don't know what our value proposition is and they haven't done any reading. It's not that they need to be a fan, but it's just like any job. If I were going to interview at Intel, I would probably research Intel before I sat down with the CEO."
If something's not possible, find out what is: "I learned to push the envelope when it comes to asking questions or making requests. And if you hear 'that's not possible,' then to ask 'what is possible,' instead of just saying thank you and leaving. But also to think creatively about problem solving."
Have a strong point of view when explaining your idea to possible investors: "In the beginning, particularly with Glossier, that's why we decided to raise money because it takes a lot of money to make physical things, that was a really trying time because it's an incredibly crowded market and you really have to have a strong point of view and a differentiated idea to make someone understand, particularly a room full of men, who aren't necessarily beauty consumers, understand something that is foreign to them and understand why something like Glossier is different than what is out there."
Know that fashion and beauty jobs aren't always glamourous: "I think reality television has made the fashion industry and the beauty industry, any industry, frankly just life, it has made life seem much different than it really is. And there is a lot of misconception that fashion jobs are really glamorous and you're going to be hobnobbing with influencers every day and it's all the good and no bad, and I think that's unfortunate because it paints an unrealistic idea about any industry. And I think that leads to entitlement and a lot of unrealistic expectations about what an entry-level job is like period."
Her most inspiring Instagram quote: "I feel like all of my speech is peppered with Instagram quotes, like quotes I've seen on Cara Delevingne's Instagram feed and this is probably one of them, but I love it. 'In the end you will discover it was never random.' I think that's another nice way of saying, everything happens for a reason. Your destiny will reveal itself and it's a roller coaster and you just have to ride it."