SO YOU ARE THE BEST INTERN
When people ask how they can work “in the magazine world” I always say: do an internship. Okay, this sounds like I've been around for a thousand years, which is not necessarily true, but still: do an internship. Jobs in this field are not exactly lying around, and an internship is the perfect way to show an editorial team what you can do. Two of the many interns we've had here still work for us because we were so happy with them that we didn't want to let them go. Internships are your entry into the company in other fields as well, so make sure you are the absolute best intern they have ever had, and here's how you do it.
Do everything you are asked
That sounds a bit disrespectful, but it boils down to the fact that you shouldn't feel too good for anything. You are at the bottom of the food chain, and especially at the beginning, you will often be asked to set the lunch table or open the door. I remember stories about an intern at ELLE who interned just before me, and she refused to write about lipstick “because I didn't study for that.” That's not how it works. Adopt a service-oriented attitude, and you'll see that you become part of the team much faster, and other bigger tasks will also be assigned to you.
Show initiative and be active
Make tea, wipe down the counter, empty a trash can, suggest going to get lunch, ask if you can help someone with something – everything works. Don't slouch at the table with your headphones on, because such an uninterested attitude won't get you far. Especially since your internship supervisor or other employees spend a lot of time explaining things to you, and if they get a lifeless mop in return, the fun will quickly fade.
Be willing to work outside office hours
Don't be the last to arrive and don't be the first to leave. The time when you worked from 9 to 5 is really over. At Amayzine, we start at 9:30 and generally work until 5:30. But in practice, that's more like 6 o'clock and often even later. If you have an appointment and need to leave on time, that's of course not a problem, but don't make it a habit to close your computer and pack your things 10 minutes before the end of the workday.
Don't shut yourself off
I don't know how it is in other fields, but in editorial offices, you enter a fairly close-knit group of people, and that can certainly be a bit intimidating at first. The first few days are always exciting, but try to integrate with the rest as quickly as possible so that you don't become the gray mouse in the corner that everyone forgets.
Familiarize yourself with the company
Our new design intern Vera made a deep impression on Josselin by familiarizing herself with how WordPress works before starting her internship so that she could get started right away. In general, the rule is: do your homework. An internship is for learning, and you can never know everything in advance, but you can certainly make an effort. When I started my internship at ELLE, I read old ELLEs over a weekend so that I knew exactly what had been written and, especially, what the tone of voice was. But this applies to law firms, consultancy, or advertising agencies as well. Go through their cases, see who their clients are, what projects they do, etc.
Take notes
An internship is for learning, and you will hear a lot of things you didn't know. You won't remember that flood of information all at once, so take notes, so you can remember it better and also refer back to it later.
Ask questions
Better to ask too often than too little. Nothing is more annoying than something going wrong because you “thought it should be that way.” If you're not sure, ask first because fixing mistakes takes more time than preventing them. And the old cliché is really true: there are no stupid questions.
