'A million girls would kill for this chance' - an ex-intern at Vogue US

[ysljunkie]

great read.... I think Ive made my mind up about Vogue ( I would intern if they took me) but ther are tons of other magazines out there two BTW does anybody known what the deal is at Vogue's international editions i.e Paris Italia etc.. thats something id like to known

 

[Acid]

that article was amazing!
sounds like a lot of fun! if i was 17 again perhaps i would do it and get into rediculous troubles!
if anybody is going to intern at a magazine, don't let them boss you around and feel like crap. what the hell do they know about fashion anyway

 

[adorefaith]

i'm amazed by how many people here justify the behaviour...
because it's "vogue" and it's "anna wintour"?...come on people..
there is NO reason to treat people like sh*t...i dont care WHO you are...

and this whole "they're major editors and they're REALLY busy" argument is ridiculous imo..
no-one has the right to abuse people...

i dont know if this stuff is true...
ive not met anna wintour and until i do, i'm not going to judge..
but internships dont have to be miserable and interns dont have to be mistreated....even at VOGUE....i dont care how good the opportunity is or how many doors it opens up...it doesnt give anyone the right to treat a fellow human being as anything less than that..

 

[tigerrouge]

Working in any part of the media is going to be pressurised, and if you're starting at the bottom, you will be constantly reminded that you're replaceable. There can be similar treatment when you work at newspapers, where people don't care about what you wear, so we can't blame the fashion aspect for the attitude.

While it might be a 'rite of passage' to go through what these Vogue interns go through, in order to progress, I wouldn't want to look back on any period of my working life where I compromised my self-respect to that degree. And more importantly, for that little money.

 

[prosperk]

One hardened ex-Vogue EiC once told me that she was beastly to "these simpering little rich kids because they needed breaking down and building up to make them useful in the real world". It's pretty much what we used to do to Parachute Regiment recruits when I was a corporal in that unit long, long ago before I metamorphosed. Of course, the Voguettes don't get kicked and beaten with knotted ropes to make them move faster but even I have been tempted to resort to such measures when faced with some gormless, inbred minor aristocrat screwing even the simplest of tasks up. The worst ones are often imposed because daddy or mummy know someone "upstairs". It takes anywhere between a week and three months to scare them away. The ones that stay the course are probably worth keeping as raw material. Sorry if this seems callous but life's a b1tch...



However, in response to the point someone made about food, I used to try to feed our interns, even though the food in the canteen used by French Condé Nast staffers wasn't much better than the swill we got in the British Army. Yes, we had to pay for it...but it was subsidised, not that that made it any more edible. One way of keeping the girls nice and skinny...

PK

 

[pinksatin]

Also, avoid rising too fast too young at a magazine like Vogue because, there being nowhere much else to go afterwards unless you get a gig with a major broadsheet or launch your own title, you're going to have to defend your job for years - think about All About Eve - and very few people have the stamina to achieve this without becoming bitter and twisted. Crash and burn too young and you had better have a Plan B lined up if you don't want to end up as a bitter old faghag living alone with psychotic lapdogs and warped memories
PK

Oh god! Don't give me something else to worry about. I'm already stressing about hoping to get one of these "remarkable" internships aside from stressing about school and all that. I don't want to think of the flip side of it. Though I think I should be blessed if I got to worry about being too successfull too young. You raise a good point which I never thought of but I think it must be the rare and lucky girl who gets faced with that problem.

 

[tigerrouge]

Yes, each stage brings its own considerations. At the moment, I've been a newspaper editor for around eight years - and there isn't anywhere else to go, in the company I'm in. I've hit the ceiling. There's no more money, just more of the same that I can comfortably do. You could coast along like that for who knows how long, but it's hardly living your life to the full. I've achieved it, I've maintained it... now what? When you're on your way up, you gain satisfaction from each step forward, and there's something to be said for the excitement. Me, I have monotony.

Well, I did - before the devil in me made me give it up for the great unknown.

 

[ellewoods]

What a whiner- most places you work, whether in fashion, banking or law, require long hours and are extremely hierarchical. The only difference is that fashion is more desirable and so people are willing to work for free. Most people I know work 12 hours a day- it's the new 9-5. That said, I really enjoyed reading this article, as someone who loves fashion but will never end up working in the industry.

 

[Working Girl]

I don't have a problem with hard work. But rudeness and being mean, I have a problem with. I can never last in a job that people are constantly rude to me.

 

[thefrancofille]

great read.... I think Ive made my mind up about Vogue ( I would intern if they took me) but ther are tons of other magazines out there two BTW does anybody known what the deal is at Vogue's international editions i.e Paris Italia etc.. thats something id like to known

That's what I want to know: do you still go through Conde Nast to intern at one of the foreign Vogue mags? Does anyone know?

 

[Cicciolina]

thefancofille I think you'll have better luck contacting the foreign Vogue directly. I know Vogue Italia/Paris/etc have offices in New York.

 

[thefrancofille]

thefancofille I think you'll have better luck contacting the foreign Vogue directly. I know Vogue Italia/Paris/etc have offices in New York.

Thanks! It's worth a try.

ETA: just did search but am only coming up with the American Vogue. Maybe I'll call. . .i'm sure they take interns.

 

[L0VE]

What a whiner- most places you work, whether in fashion, banking or law, require long hours and are extremely hierarchical. The only difference is that fashion is more desirable and so people are willing to work for free. Most people I know work 12 hours a day- it's the new 9-5. That said, I really enjoyed reading this article, as someone who loves fashion but will never end up working in the industry.

THANK YOU!!!
All of the people on here who said that they can't believe people let others treat them like crap, are either too young, have't had enough work experience, or just don't understand that you're not always going to have people around you that you like. There are going to be bitchy people that you will work with and guess what deal with them!
I'm an accounting major and I will have the option of working in fashion or for many other fields (exeryone needs accountants) and this story doesn't scare me one bit. I moving more towards science labs for accounting though, =).

 

[TheGlassAngel]

Hey, I rather get treated like crap at Vogue than you know...a grocery store

 

[Ma_Petite_Chou]

THANK YOU!!!
All of the people on here who said that they can't believe people let others treat them like crap, are either too young, have't had enough work experience, or just don't understand that you're not always going to have people around you that you like. There are going to be bitchy people that you will work with and guess what deal with them!
I'm an accounting major and I will have the option of working in fashion or for many other fields (exeryone needs accountants) and this story doesn't scare me one bit. I moving more towards science labs for accounting though, =).

Or are old enough to realize that life's to short and have had enough work experience to realize that it's not necessary to take sh*t from people who get a rise treating other people like crap.....

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

it all depends on how bad u want that job. granted that it sux to be treated like that but hey IT IS Anna Wintout and Vogue we re talking about.

 

[Meg]

ultimately it comes down the person and their motives. If they are demanding because the job requires you to do things constantly, thats different than say, berating someone as a person and calling them names. I wonder if the treatment is different of those who get in from a well connected parent/relative and those who 'earn' it. Probably not...

 

[adorefaith]

Or are old enough to realize that life's to short and have had enough work experience to realize that it's not necessary to take sh*t from people who get a rise treating other people like crap.....

AMEN!!!...



thank god someone said it..
HOORAY..

this is NOT about "accepting life"...or "learning to be tough"..
this is about coming to a place in your life where you realise you are WORTHY of being treated with the respect that you DESERVE..

L0VE...you say if people are shocked by this they must be young or lacking experience..
and it's funny you say that...because i think those are EXACTLY the people who take this kind of crap as "necessary" and "part of life"..
it simply IS NOT...
i dont know where you work or how you live...but in my life and my work, i don't take that kind of abuse and ridiculous hierarchy as NORMAL...and i don't surround myself with people who believe it is OK to treat others that way...
i dont live in a bubble...and of course i meet people who i dont particularly get along with....but i dont speak to others with disrespect and they dont speak to me that way either...

there is a BIG difference between learning to work hard and be surrounded by people who you dont particularly get along with and being instructed not to look someone in the eye or being taken advantage of...
i think with age and experience you learn that kind of discernment...

 

[smartarse]

good post.

Let's just say it all comes down to how well the individual tackles the demanding tasks. B)

ultimately it comes down the person and their motives. If they are demanding because the job requires you to do things constantly, thats different than say, berating someone as a person and calling them names. I wonder if the treatment is different of those who get in from a well connected parent/relative and those who 'earn' it. Probably not...

 

[misssakura]

The people in here pointing fingers at those who refuse to be treated like dog poop are missing the point. It's the same as those who insist bullying is necessary in schools because it teaches children the reality of life and the workplace. The fact is, bullying shouldn't exist. It just shouldn't. It shouldn't be tolerated. It shouldn't be TAUGHT. It shouldn't be encouraged. Now, it seems this woman wasn't bullied but she wasn't exactly treated with respect. However I've been bullied in the workplace and I've been bullied at school and under NO circumstances is it acceptable. In my instance, it has NOT taught me to have a thick skin, if anything it has made me distrustful and insecure, I fear what people will think of me, if they think negatively then it will turn into bullying, I doubt every thing I say, how I look, how I dress...

If anybody ever bullies you in the workplace it should NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT be tolerated and I hate the people who think it should be. If we keep sticking to the idea that it's a necessary evil then society won't change for the better.