B2S Series '15/'16: How To Land Your Dream Internship

            I’m a bit biased when it comes to landing an awesome internship. In addition to being driven and ambitious, I attribute a lot of my internship success to being at the right place at the right time, a.k.a. attending a university in the city in which I would love to work one day, full-time, for real pay.

Living in NYC has opened up so many career opportunities for an aspiring magazine editor such as myself. From interning for a boutique Public Relations firm in SoHo I was able to make amazing connections that led to an Editorial Internship and “Reportership” at New York Family magazine. It was from this amazing experience last fall, and a four-month tango with the book-publishing world while I interned for W.W. Norton Publishing, that I had a confirmed realization that the magazine industry was where I was meant to work. From here I was able to score the best career opportunities of my life so far, being a Photoshoot and Personal Assistant to a famous New York Times food photographer and contributor, and an Editorial Intern at Good Housekeeping magazine.

Working at Hearst was an incredibly eye-opening experience into the world of magazine journalism. I immediately fell in love with how different each workday could be, full of events, interviews and varying tasks. It was also apparent that this was an insanely competitive industry in which to get one’s foot in the door, and also to become successful. Fortunately I was able to attend an incredibly helpful workshop, the second-annual Marie Claire@Work Series, where I was able to hear insider tips and tricks from an inspiring panel of Hearst Magazine professionals.

Marie Claire VP/Publisher, Nancy Cardone kicked off the series and excited the crowd before introducing her first speaker, Marie Claire Executive Editor, Leah Goldman. Goldman immediately launched into the importance of having an executive presence in the office. I’m highlighting some of her top tips below!

• Gravitas: integrity + vision.
  • This is so important because it shows that you can still be confident and graceful when under fire. It shows that you’re decisive, have emotional intelligence, and a vision, all factored in with your communication skills, reputation and pedigree.
  • You never want to be the highest heel in the room.
  • You need to own the game, master the game and then change the game.

After Goldman, the Senior Marketing Editor at Marie Claire, Alexis Wolfe, came up to speak about work outfit essentials and investment pieces that all aspiring magazine professionals should look into purchasing. Here are some of her go-to pieces!

• A classic pump. Not too high, not too bright, but a comfortable shoe that you can make it through the day in.
• Short black leather boots. Even though they might seem a bit casual, they’re incredibly comfortable, especially for fashion or beauty editors who are on their feet in the closets and around the city all day.
• A work cross-body bag. A neutral color that can match anything, and hold everything you might need to get through a busy day.
• A notebook. You’re not going to get hired because of your amazing memory, but your organizational skills will definitely come in handy.

After a few more speakers, the panel came to an end with a Q&A and professional photo shoot so interns in the audience could update their LinkedIn profiles—super handy!

I found the tips at the Marie Claire@Work Series to be really helpful as this is the industry that I aspire to go into upon graduation in the next few years.

However, for those who are still in the process of searching for their dream career or internship in any industry, I have also come across a well-written guide called “The Coffee Run: And Other Internship Need-to-Knows” by Sydney N. Fulkerson. This helpful guide covers all aspects of intern life including the internship search, tips for excelling at daily and mundane intern tasks and advice for how to network and stay in touch with the connections you make throughout your internship(s). It is short and sweet and provides honest advice that can help move your career in the direction you want it to go in.

Fulkerson’s book retails for $14.99 and can be purchased in paperback or as an e-book, on Amazon.

Follow your dreams this school year, and stay classy! xx