A fashion marketing internship is one of the most effective ways to enter the industry. Internships help students build skills, confidence, and credibility. Using the tips and tricks outlined in this article, students can secure a fashion marketing internship even without existing connections. 

This article outlines exactly how to land a fashion marketing internship using real, proven steps. Each section will focus on building visibility, value, and building confidence by learning how to market oneself in a competitive industry. 

What a Fashion Marketing Internship Really Involves

A fashion marketing internship focuses on how brands communicate with their audience. Interns usually support the social media, influencer outreach, PR, wholesale, email campaign, or brand strategy teams. 

Unlike design roles, fashion marketing internships blend both creativity and analytics to analyze trends, help with campaigns, and help shape brand identity across various platforms. 

Understanding the requirements and expectations of fashion marketing internships helps candidates better prepare and stand out during the application process.

Interns schedule Instagram posts, track engagement, build influencer lists, and pull weekly analytics. For example, at a direct-to-consumer activewear brand, interns manage TikTok trends and help increase reach by reposting user-generated content.

Why Fashion Marketing Internships Are So Competitive

The fashion industry is a global, fast-paced industry that attracts many ambitious and well-qualified candidates. A single fashion marketing internship posting on LinkedIn can receive thousands of applications in only a few days. For example, a Revolve summer marketing internship received over 4,000 applicants- following the steps below will help applicants stand out in such a large pool.

Brands look for candidates who understand the digital culture of today’s society and have a strong understanding of what consumers are drawn to. Passion and interest alone are not enough to secure a fashion marketing internship. 

Applicants who treat a fashion marketing internship as a long-term career investment gain a significant advantage. Securing an internship requires real drive and determination. Candidates who have both of those things will have much more success than those who don’t. 

Step One : Build Experience

Applicants will often hear the words “come back when you have more experience,” which leaves many applicants confused. This is because many people believe that an internship is the first way to gain experience. However, to succeed in the fashion marketing industry, you must show the interviewer a level of understanding of trends, consumer behavior, and creativity. 

Running a personal fashion Instagram, offering to run social media accounts for an organization on campus, managing TikTok content, and creating mock campaigns are all great ways to show these companies that they are making the right choice by hiring qualified and experienced interns. 

Possible mock campaigns for an application could include:

Real-world example: A student who built a mock campaign for a sustainable fashion brand used it as their main portfolio piece and landed interviews despite never having a prior internship.

Getting comfortable using Canva, Semrush, and Capcut will give applicants a basic understanding of some of the social media and marketing platforms that might be used throughout the internship. 

Step Two : Create a resume

A resume for a fashion marketing internship should highlight creativity and results. List results-driven data under each project using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result).

Before:

Managed brand Instagram

After:

Grew Instagram engagement by 28% through utilizing Reels Strategy and a weekly content calendar.

The second example shows the impact that an applicant made and is much more likely to be noticed by a recruiter.

Applicants should additionally utilize the Harvard Resume Template to better pass ATS and AI screening. Adding a summary at the top of the resume, highlighting the exact wording listed in the job description, can help an applicant’s resume score higher during ATS AI screening. 

Pro tip: Applicants should be writing cover letters for every role that they apply to- if there is no space to upload additional documents, it should be attached as an extra page on the applicant’s resume

Step Three : Build a Digital Portfolio

A resume tells employers what an applicant has accomplished, but a portfolio shows employers what an applicant has created and achieved. A portfolio strengthens applications significantly and will help applicants stand out from the rest. 

Step Four : Networking 

Networking for a fashion marketing internship does not require existing connections, but it does require perseverance and intention. 

Engaging with alumni, attending brand events, and utilizing LinkedIn can all lead to referrals for a Fashion Marketing Internship. 

Pro-Tip: Networking can be discouraging, especially when the other person doesn’t respond. Applicants should not be afraid to cold email anyone in the company- especially CEOs and higher-ups. They may be able to forward your email to the hiring team, and since the email was forwarded internally, HR is much more likely to look at your application.

Utilize emails, LinkedIn, or even Instagram DMs- perseverance will be rewarded. 

Mistakes to Avoid

One common mistake that applicants often make is applying to roles without customizing their resume to the job description.

Applicants shouldn’t lie about their experience, but if possible, they should edit their resume to match the wording and skills listed in the job description using the same wording.  Oftentimes, the most difficult aspect of applying to jobs is passing the steps necessary in order to land an interview. 

Final Thoughts

Breaking into the industry is hard, but possible following these steps:

A Fashion Marketing Internship requires skill, confidence, and, most importantly, requires that the applicant know how to market themselves as someone that the company cannot live without. Using these tips, landing a Fashion Marketing Internship is an achievable goal and something to be proud of.

Applicants can start their journey to landing a fashion marketing internship today by building mock campaigns, working on their portfolio by making one slide each day, and beginning to send networking emails as soon as possible. Small steps will lead to big opportunities.

🪽 Written by Autumn Presley