All About Internships and Work Experience Placements

[BetteT]

Hey guys, question for you! I have already received an internship at a local lifestyle magazine, but as a backup I went on interview with a similar local mag and I *might* get that one as well. So, if I end up taking both of them, I was wondering if it's dishonest in any way not to tell each mag that I'm also interning at their competitor's mag at the same time? Is this something I should tell them or is it not a big deal? At the second mag, she said that they have to always keep an eye out for what the competition (ie the first mag) is writing about and try not to duplicate their stories...so obviously I won't be taking ideas or anything.

I also intend to put my internships on my LinkedIn page, so if I don't tell them and they see it on there, would they think I was being dishonest or anything? Any advice would be helpful, thanks!

It's a longshot that you will be able to work both internships at the same time .... even if you did get both ... due to conflicting schedules.

So, I think that if you get both of them ... you should tell them both that you have been fortunate enough to be selected by both magazines and ask them how they would like you to handle it. Most likely they will tell you to choose one ... and that is what you should do. I highly discourage you trying to hide it ... they will find out (even if you don't put in on your linkin page, an employee or someone else will notice and talk), and that would damage your reputation (and reputation is everything in fashion) and probably you'd be fired from one or both internships.

 

[fashionandstyle1]

^about the conflicting schedules, it's summer for me so I have 5 full days free, meaning I could potentially commit to 2 days at one, 3 days at the other. I'm a little surprised that you think that they would ask me to choose only one..but then again, I've never been at a magazine before so what do I know. I suppose I should tell them upfront then if I'm able to get both. Thanks!

 

[tigerrouge]

In terms of starting out as an intern, be straight with people, don't muddy your reputation or give them the slightest reason to doubt your integrity, or else you could end up working for no-one in the end. It can be a surprisingly small world, and once word gets around...

Besides, if you progress to being a freelancer, you can certainly work with a range of clients then - just because you have to pick which one magazine to work with today doesn't mean you can't broaden your client list in the near future.

 

[BetteT]

As far as the schedule goes ... most likely they will tell you when they want you there and if you can't commit, then you won't get the internship. You don't usually get to pick and choose your own own hours, especially in the summer because they know that you won't have classes. An internship is a practice job and you are expected to conduct yourself as any good employee would and play by their rules.

 

[fashionyork]

BetteT,

I worked as a stylist before by myself and assisting more seasoned ones. My question was more related because I am going back to NY after a few years off the market. So I was wondering if there was anything someone might know about an intership/assisting with a stylist.

---

fashionandstyle1 , thanks for answering my question it helps. hope you have a good intership!

 

[BetteT]

I get approached all the time with resumes, etc. for assisting jobs and occassionally an internship so I know what I look for.

What I like to see is a well written cover letter, briefly explaining the applicant's goals and background, with an attached resume and references. I want an phone number and an address too ... so if I am interested, I can actually talk to this person to get a better reading.

For an internship candidate, in addtion to hype, referrals and info about themselves, I will want to know what school they are attending, whether or not it is for credit (important since in the US the labor laws say that I must pay an intern if they are not getting credit at school), I will want to know how long the intership being requested will last, what days and hours the intern will be available.

I would want to be sure the intern/assistant has a reliable car (maybe not in NY .... but certainly in any other city) because running errands will be a big part of the job.


I don't really care if they are experienced or not .... it's not important to the duties they will be performing. I just want someone who is happy to be working with me (positive attitude) and who will work hard, is a self starter and can think on their feet.

An intern is there to learn, but also to work hard ... so I need to get that sense from them or I won't be interested. If I felt that an intern or an assistant is out to grab my contacts to use to compete against me later, they will not be hired. If I sense that someone is using me to "break into" the styling biz rather than just to absorb the information I can share, I will not want them working with me. Confidentiality and trustworthiness is probably the most important thing I look for (with having a strong work ethic a close second).

 

[fashionyork]

Bette,
Thanks so much for sharing this Its good to know the opinion of professionals. I'll look into the other thread you suggested as well just to see what people are saying there.

 

[modevogue]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could advise me on this:
I live in Uruguay and I'd love to do an intership somewhere else during our summer (Jan/Feb). Do you think it is possible to apply for an intership for example in London, while I'm still in Uruguay? Or is it necessary for me to go first to London, try to find something there and leave it all to luck?
Thanks!

 

[BetteT]

You probably can apply from your country. In fact, you probably will need to apply early, because internships are usually lined up long before school is out. And, in the case of cities in the Northern Hemesphere, you will need to do some research to find out if any companies even offer internships during their Winter. The good news is that if you can be there during that city's Fashion Week (depending on the city), they may need extra help then.

Two things you will need to tell them, in your cover letter:
1. That you will be living in London (or whatever city you are looking at) during the period of the internship.
2. That you will fly there, to interview, if they need to meet you first.

That means ... you have to bear the cost of the flights and the housing, etc. If you cannot do that ... not likely you will get an internship overseas. Oh .... and take time now, to investigate what visa's you will need to intern in the other countries ... the paperwork can take up to 6 months or longer in some countries.

Do not expect to fly there and just walk in and get an internship where you can start right away. It would be very unlikely to happen. Internships are usually planned months in advance ... so there probably will not be any that are not allready filled.

 

[modevogue]

Thank you so much BetteT!!

 

[agneslo]

Help! please?

Hi there,

I got 2 interviews for 2 different internship position at 2 equally prestigious company. They are temporary PR helper (6month) at Ferragamo HK office and retail coordinator (internship. unknown duration) at Lanvin Asia/Pacific office.

I'm listing all the pros and cons here so hopefully you guys can give me some advice.

Ferragamo post:
Pros:
- i worked in their Asia/Pacific marketing team before, so i know all their PR stuff on a macro scale. But i know their company's stuff pretty well. (stand high chance)
- a stepping stone for me to get into the fashion PR field (i know it takes people years to become a in-house PR person)
- they *might* turn this into a permanent position later if budget is available
- can learn basic details about what fashion PR does
- they have more stores than Lanvin in Asia/Pacific region. (so more exposure?)

Cons:
- the salary level is low. (just graduated from university, it's definitely not upto a normal university graduate salary standard)
- they need people ASAP. (that might kill other choices i have?)
- distant work location (travelling time: 60mins+; which is considered as very long here in HK)

Lanvin post:
Pros:
- can get some hands on experience on merchandising activities
- get to learn about retail operation sides of fashion
- also a stepping stone for me to get into the merchandising field (and it's in their Asia/Pacific office, their regional headquator, so it could a career fast-track)
- I love Lanvin better.

Cons:
- as an university graduate, i want to get a real job instead of bearing the title of 'intern' again.
- low salary level
- does starting out in the Regional office mean i don't get to know much small details of the job???? harm my future career development?

I know i'm comparing oranges and apples here. (PR VS merchandising) and i know they are both equally competitive and prestigious posts. Can anyone help give me some advice?

like qualities required for the field? what should i expect for my future career path if i take either position? (i did psychology in university. haha)

 

[BetteT]

PR and Merchandising are worlds apart from each other. I think it all depends on your career goals, as to which is better for you. You told us all about the internships, but didn't say anything about your goals or your skills.

PR is all about getting the word out to the media ... so it includes a log of writing, dealing with the press, managing events and sometimes managing your clients issues, when they have unfavorable press. It's a fast paced environment and good PR people can multi task and put out fires. It's a very 'visable" career ... people in the biz will know you, if you do it right (or, sadly, if you do it wrong).

Merchandising is about numbers regarding retail sales, mostly. It's about buying the right stuff, in the right amounts so that it actually sells, without overstocking. It sometimes includes visual displays in the stores ... a tiny part of merchandising. It requires someone who likes statistics, can determine trends from those statistics, can make decisions about ordering inventory and who's goal is to make the retailer more profitable. It's a back office job ... stressfull, but not nearly as fast paced. It's not a "visable" job ... you work behind the scenes. Even the store managers probably won't know who you are.

Internships help you make contacts to bolster your chances in being hired in that industry. So in which industry do you want to make those contacts? Public Relations ... or Retail?

P.S. Your major in Psychology is problaby better suited to PR. You have to be able to read people, make friends and contacts in the media, and write things that are interesting enough to get published and to interest readers about your clients and their products.

 

[agneslo]

Thank you very much BetteT. it's very very useful. I have taken up the PR post already.

I must say i was kind of lost in the beginning, not knowing what direction to go to. I do enjoy going out talking to people, i always have lots of energy inside me and i'm always the one among my friends who initiate gatherings and map out all the details.

And i'm certainly not gd at numbers and statistics. (so no merchandising for me)

thank you again for ur help!!! Will report details of my work here later!

 

[fashionmuse]

^ congrats! I start my internship on monday,i'm sooo excited!

 

[franki]

just came here to give some feedback on some work placement i did recently:

i am so disheartened at the moment. i don't know what exactly it is that i want to do so i am just trying a bunch of different things. i worked 2 days with a quite good stylist here (works freelance but contributes for some great independent fashion mags here) and whilst i didn't think i wanted to be a stylist i thought it would be a good experience.

well... i HATED it. the first day we were sourcing/doing pick ups. i actually came home and cried because i was SO BORED. its not that i think styling is boring or easy, but i felt that she did not need me and i did a 14 hour day and felt like i did about 2 hours of work. i just wanted to go home or to my actual job the whole time because i felt so useless. i did all her calls to confirm appointments first thing in the morning and followed up emails and info on garments being sent from interstate. she was suprised i did it so quickly and i made my own notes/schedule of things that needed followed up at other times throughout the day and didn't need her to tell me. i took notes at all the places we went to on the number of garments etc we had borrowed, and getting their credit details.

on the second day we were shooting and it was slightly better because even though i was just taping and packing away etc. i had something to do all the time. the photographer commented on how organised i was compared to most assistants which i took as a compliment but perhaps part of the reason i felt like i wasn't needed/didn't have enough to do.

i think i am used to working in a more structured, faster paced environment. so on the upside at least i recognised that part of myself.

also i spent over $100 out of my own pocket on the second day for parking etc at the locations because she decided to bring her friend/'assistant' (he did nothing all day but gush over the clothing which the photographer also commented on) along and there was no space for me in the car from the studio to locations.

for doing 2x 14 hour days and come out so out of pocket is just not worth it to me. if it was my dream job or something i was passionate about i would suck it up and do it, but i decided that it wasn't for me to make it an ongoing internship. it sounds like i have a problem putting in the hard yards but i don't. i am a manager in my current job and i didn't get there without starting at the bottom and working my butt off. i am so frustrated with myself at the moment for not knowing what i want to do :-(

 

[fashionmuse]

^ that really sucks, was this for school credit? i don't know how some places get away with keeping interns for extended hours; both my school and my internship are pretty strict with making sure i'm working the hours i'm supposed to be working.

 

[BetteT]

Probably different labor laws for different countries. Plus ... if it's not done for credit nor for pay ... probably the dept. of labor, or whoever oversees these things, doesn't even know that the "intern" is even working there. So they can get away with murder and some companies take advantage of this. The don't observe labor laws and work the interns for more than 8 hours a day, without sufficient breaks. Small companies are notorious for this .... free help, no college credit .... an even exchange of "experience" for no cost to the company ... how can they loose? (Only the intern looses.) But ... all internships are pretty much just grunt work (even those that are limited in hours to whatever the labor laws state) ... don't expect to get trained to do any of the real work of the business. If you get really lucky and work really hard and they know you learn very quickly, sometimes they will let you get more involved ... once in a rare while.

Now, working for a freelance stylist is a whole other ball game. Freelancers are not protected by labor laws, in most cases. Also, in many cases, the stylist is not being paid either. When they "test" ... no one gets paid ... it's for their portfolios. All but the largest magazines don't pay ... and if they do it's barely enough for the stylist to cover her expenses. If it was for a regular client, some sort of commercial shoot, then unless the stylist contracted with them to be able to hire a regular assistant, there's no pay for interns .... so anyone who interns for a stylist, a hair/makeup artist or a photographer needs to understand that they will be expected to be there for the duration of the shoot no matter how long it takes .... and 14 hours is very common.

However .... the stylist should reimburse you for anything you spent on her behalf, including gas, if you were running errands for them and parking, if you were required to show up on location for a shoot. Next time, I would ask about that .... someone would probably be receptive to covering those expenses, but you'd probably have to give them an invoice.





For typical internships, you are there to learn about the business, but that's pretty much up to you as to how much you can observe and use ... they won't "train" you, in most cases. It's called starting from the bottom .... which you would be doing if you were a new hire, anyway. So that's the first thing you learn from an internship ... how to work your way up from the bottom.

 

[fashionmuse]

oh ok, i can see how non credit internships can get away with having interns work 14+ hour days.
i only finished my first week but so far i've been pretty involved. even i feel a bit shocked that i haven't done coffee runs yet

 

[BetteT]

Note: I just edited my post, above .... new info added about interning for a stylist.

 

[franki]

^ bette thanks for your response. just wanted to be clear that i know 14+ hrs isn't uncommon, i have worked on many shoots before (for different reasons). my frustration was more so that in those hours i was bored because i wasn't busy enough (maybe this is a good thing to others but i hate it).

and i understand working from the bottom. i have done it before. i don't expect to be spoon fed but i also think a good boss can be super busy and still provide some guidance. i started at the bottom of my job and am now one of 6 managers to 150+ people. i am busy all the time but i never let a junior team member work with no feedback or guidance. i don't expect a lot, a one sentence instruction is fine. i also don't expect to be doing anything more than menial labour, but i hope to have enough small tasks to warrant me being there haha.

but she was really thankful at the end of the day about how well i did and how she had never gotten out of a shoot so quick because i had catalogued, credited and packed everything etc so maybe it was just me being paranoid that i wasn't doing enough lol.

labour laws in australia are, well... questionable. there is no real way to track interns working for freelance/self-employed people. you can intern for any reason, doesn't have to be school credit. interns vary from 1 day a week to full time. companies usually always follow laws regarding breaks and reimbursement though which is good!