Telling others you work at STYLIGHT can trigger several reactions. In Munich, where the company is headquartered, everybody has heard of the fashion online community where millions connect everyday to be inspired by the latest trends, and this answer generally makes you look cool. This reaction, highly desirable and flattering, can be quite helpful when looking for a flat and cool roommates to live in, and is a great ice breaker when meeting new people. Being paid to create awesome fashion related stories, how could you get a better job, right?
Another reaction could be: “STYL… what ?” or “Oh, fashion marketing/PR? You must love all the parties and free stuff!?”. Would it surprise you if I said it is nothing like that ? Sometimes there is a huge gap between perceptions and reality. Let’s go over the common misconceptions you may have heard from previous employers, friends, your mom or random people about working at STYLIGHT.
Your friends: “So you work in fashion marketing? That is sooo cool! But is it like the ‘Devil wears Prada’? Is your boss an old, mean woman?”. Well friends, the average age is below 30 at STYLIGHT, so the old mean woman cliché is definitely out of the picture. Plus, not only are people nice, but the company provides me with an inspiring development program and gym classes twice a week. How’s your competitive law firm treating you, dear?
Your mom: Mothers are all the same, they love you and always see the best in you. They are always proud, and picture you as that business woman in a suit signing big deals with fashion companies . But what you really do here at STYLIGHT is more like brainstorming with coworkers on inspiring trends and fashion stories, whilst wearing white sneakers and sipping hot tea whilst sitting on the oh so comfy couch in the atrium. STYLIGHT is a great place to be yourself and enables you to express your passion for fashion in an environment that fosters creativity.
Society: Tricksters, people misleading others into buying products, shifting opinions… Communications and Marketing people may receive tons of criticism, however when it comes to fashion, people tend to think that fashion jobs are just about selling and buying clothes. Online presence through influential behaviour is a very millennial topic, and fashion blogging a real job. At STYLIGHT we all love fashion, but that does not mean that we spend our day shopping online. On the contrary!
Your coworkers: You can find a lot of people from many different professional backgrounds at STYLIGHT… Engineers, salespeople , developers, fashion experts… and what the PR and marketing team do sometimes seems a bit “fluffy” Coworkers know that your goal is to ‘inspire’ people, but how? Sometimes seen as the party throwers, the PR team actually does not only involve themselves in event management, but also press relations, sponsoring, social media, and corporate communications.
What I think I do: Sometimes, communications experts think of themselves as superheroes . I got my degree, went through some painful internships (the ‘Devil Wears Prada’ type) and have now landed a job at STYLIGHT. I feel like I could call Anna Wintour and invite her for lunch sometime. So sure, people at STYLIGHT work with great press magazines — such as VOGUE, Elle, Grazia– but we have to stay down to earth and keep working hard to reach our quarterly goals. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years Anna and I will be best friends ?
What I really do: People can think what they want about you and make their own assumptions, but at the end of the day, people in PR and Marketing at STYLIGHT just do what they love. Landing a job at STYLIGHT is no easy task, but once you achieve it, I bet you you would not want to leave anytime soon!
Also keen to work at STYLIGHT? Have a look at the interview processes here, or apply directly here.
|By Pauline Reuter|
