List of skills needed in luxury business
Obviously, there are dozens of jobs in luxury that each requires a different set of hard skills. However, when thinking about the luxury industry, we discover some unique characteristics in its organization and culture as well as observe a completely different way of doing business. These differences create a sufficient need for employees in luxury business to possess a specific set of soft skills. Those are the skills that should influence your candidate choices.
Choose candidates with excellent problem-solving skills and a positive can-do attitude
For luxury business, every day is a new challenge. In the past decade, luxury industry has shown a constant decrease in its growth due to the slow-down of the economy in well-developed countries. This led to some disruptive changes in luxury business, such as reorientation to the Asian market, adoption of digital solutions and an extreme shift from product-based business model to experience marketing. Consequently, the development of creative problem-solving skills in employees is a necessity for the luxury industry, where a quick adaptation to new trends and fashion is vital. Hence, it is important to initially hire employees who showcase the natural aptitude to design thinking, are not afraid of challenges and have a can-do attitude to work.
Pay attention to candidates with creative thinking and great analytical skills
Luxury businesses have to be one step ahead of trends, constantly innovating to please their most valuable customers. Therefore, you should look for candidates who possess pragmatic and creative thinking along with an entrepreneurial spirit and international vision. Candidates that have excellent analytical and strategic thinking skills and who can innovate while respecting the brand’s history and DNA are the ones who should be preferred and hired by luxury companies.
Your perfect candidate should be able to adapt quickly and be a strong team player
In any other industry, talented employees often leave good companies because they fancy fresh experiences elsewhere. In the luxury business, where most of it is controlled by three major groups, Kering, LVMH, and Richemont, an ambitious individual seeking a resume refresh must never leave her group because, as a matter of fact, most of the brands that she’d want to move to are within it. By keeping their employees in the group and frequently moving them from one brand to another, luxury companies ensure that the high-potential employees develop unique knowledge while exchanging experiences with other teams in order to spur innovation. Considering this tendency, a perfect candidate should be able to adapt quickly and work autonomously while remaining a strong team player.
Look for candidates who have a taste for luxury products
When hiring employees for a luxury company, you should consider candidates who display passion for your brands and have a good taste for high-quality products and services, not only because they will become your brands’ ambassadors but also because they should be enthusiastic about their job and deeply understand the brand that they work for. At the end of the day, “A very motivated person with average skills will always outperform the very skilled person with average motivation who expects great things will just come his [or] her way.” – Dr. Paul Powers, psychologist, and author, “Don’t Wear Flip-Flops to Your Interview” (Career Press, 2015).
