Unfair Rejection

Are you ever in one of those frame of minds when all you want to do is have a really good rant? Well that's the kind of mood I'm in right now!

Lately I've been reassessing life, especially career wise, because I want to do something amazing with my life; its just getting there that will prove difficult.

To give you a quick low down, I've worked in retail now for five years, passed my A Levels with high grades and turned down a sought after place at the prestigious London College of Fashion and why? Because I wanted to learn from scratch.


I've wanted to be a visual merchandiser since dressing a mannequin on  a school work experience placement in a ladies retailer. I decided against going to a LCF simply because I wanted the challenge of throwing myself right in at the deep end into a career in vm learning everything - good and bad - and actually doing the job rather than learning about it in a lecture room.

But now after two years as a vm, I'm ready for a new challenge. I love styling and have a passion for magazines and writing. But any jobs remotely linked to this kind of work either asks for a degree and any internship is offered to people studying for a degree. How is this fair? Retailers are saying to have a passion for their brand, or have a keen eye for fashion and creative vision you must have a degree?

What about the fashionistas who have slogged it on the shop floor and worked their way through the ranks? That not only takes passion but determination too. Applicants with core experience and who can prove they can commit to a career and work hard and show determination to succeed should be just as sought after, or even more so, than a graduate.

I think it would be fantastic if retailers encouraged employees to work their way up the business or offer internships and higher jobs to those of us who have the real experience of working in retail. Otherwise how is anyone supposed to make a career for themselves? Just because you don't go to university does not mean you don't have the determination to succeed.

Work experience is vital, but what gives a graduate the right to experience things that a retail employee cannot? There are so many discrimination legislations for employment, well surely this should fall under the same category?