Top 5 Places to Find Jobs in Textiles

Landing your first job is almost a full-time job in itself these days. Networking, searching for opportunities, perfecting your resume, and promoting yourself are all essential, but time consuming. Often times, what ends up eating the most hours of your day is just trying to find the right opportunities to apply to.

To help save you some time in the search, here's a list of the top five places to find jobs in textiles (in no particular order):

1. NYC Craigslist

Craigslist job boards can be a hit or miss - sometimes there are really great opportunities, and other times just small gigs or nothing at all. It makes sense that the quality of job postings on Craigslist (or any regional job board for that matter), is directly related to the presence of a certain industry in that region. New York City happens to be the national hub for all things fashion, including textiles. So, if you're looking for a full-time or freelance position designing textiles for fashion, check out the NYC Craigslist.

2. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media platform much like Facebook in that you set up a personal profile and connect with other users. The big difference, though, is that LinkedIn is focused on professional connections. Your profile includes your resume, your employment status, links to online portfolios, recommendations from people you've worked with in the past, etc. Be sure to join some of the active textile groups and check out the job board - it's a great place to look for both designers and engineers.

3. 24 Seven Talent

24 Seven Talent is a recruitment agency for the apparel, accessories, home furnishings, retail and beauty industries. They recruit for positions all over the country, though most of them end up being in the greater New York City area, or in major cities on the west coast like L.A. and San Francisco. It's free to become a member, which allows you to browse their online job postings, and apply for positions. If you're nearby, also check out some of the career oriented events that they host regularly.

4. School Job Boards

I cannot stress enough the importance of utilizing your school's job board and alumni network. When companies post there, you already know that they are willing to hire a recent graduate, they are familiar with and respect your school's program, and have probably hired from your school before. It may also be the case that they haven't posted the opportunity anywhere else. Ask your professors or someone in career services about what's available.

A quick aside - job boards and alumni networks are also something you should research when choosing which school is right for you.

5. fibre2fashion.com

Fibre2fashion is a global business to business platform for the fashion and apparel industries. Their job portal is incredibly thorough and user-friendly. The best part is that you can sort your searches by industry, functional area, and country, and it's equally useful for designers and engineers.