All About Internships and Work Experience Placements

[kissmesweet]

Thanks for all of your latest posts, gia! You've been such an extraordinary help. (Karma.)

 

[weirdolove]

seriously though, thank you

 

[fashionistasista]

this is an interesting US site that i have come accross, it looks like it offers jobs and internships especially for people interested in design and fashion

http://www.wellthreaded.com/

 

[pinksatin]

^ thank you . I bookmarked it.

 

[fashionistasista]

no problem

 

[pout306]

Another question: what's the shortest length of time you could do an internship? Is a month too short?

I would like to know as well. I would love to intern for a month or 2 but it seems like many are 3 months?

 

[fashionistasista]

each mag will be different, and basically you can choose to do work experience (which here in australia is only 1 week, and you tend to do in High school), or you apply for an intern position which is 1 - 5 days a week depending. internships usually last for a longer period of time - up to a year in some cases. They usually last longer simply because the person undertaking them wants to be there and they want the chance to stay in the intern position until a real position comes up and they go for it.

otherwise some magazines may simply structure an internship around say the summer period and so you will end your time there at the end of summer.

basically contact the magazine and tell them what timeframe you are looking at, but be warned im sure most magazines want (good) interns that can stay as long as possible. good free work is hard to find, and so you may lose a spot to someone who is able/ willing to work longer.

 

[pout306]

Thanks for your response!
Also, is it common to get interviews wen applying for an internship? Do people usually reply back?

 

[fashionistasista]

not getting a reply back is one of the big disapointments of going through this process. bu tmy own personal rule is dont lose hope, remember that especially if they are a conde nast or an independent but popular magazine there are loads of people going for internships, and if they do come accross yours and dont take it then its not that you are not meant to work in mags, its just that you may be less experienced, or have clashing interests to the other people working there. but hey im sure this wont happen to you , pout!

most magazines will ask an interview before commiting to an internship.

best advice i have is to just keep ringing them/ emailing them with polite emails (but no more than four )

F

 

[Cicciolina]

I did an internship for 1 month (that was all the time I had in the particular uni holidays I had arranged them for) and I kept on being told by the company that I really should have tried to be there longer at least for 2 months so I could really see what was happening, particularly so I could see projects going from beginning to end rather than just the finished product or the beginning, if that makes sense.

I've sent so many emails out for internships and only got a small amount of replies back, and some were kind enough to say they didn't have internships for the period I was interested in or so forth, but the HUGE majority didn't even reply at all. As fashionistasista said many of these companies receive bucket loads of emails per day not just for internships but other people cold-calling for entry level/assistant jobs so they don't have enough time to personally email everyone to explain why they couldn't get hired.

For tips on getting internships, I'm with gia0202 and go for something that's smaller but still highly respected - WWD/Lucky/Glamour/etc is definitely not going to look shoddy on the resume, eg in regards to WWD it in fact shows that you know a bit more about fashion than just Vogue and Teen Vogue. Also know the companies inside out - each magazine has its own voice and perspective and I think it's important to understand where they are heading and what they are trying to do and what sort of image they're putting across.

Also getting experience anywhere is really good, whether working in fashion retail or work experience in something, as long as it shows that you're willing to put yourself out there. I've interned at a really small PR firm (small like, it has less than 6 full time people working in the office!) but I got a lot of really good hands on experience with everything from events, organising the clothing, being the door b*tch at cocktail launches, guest lists, etc - though it did help they had some absolute killer clients like Cartier so that does help on the resume.

Best of luck!

 

[pinksatin]

re: the lucky/WWD/glamour philosophy of applying for things that may not be your your first choice periodical but doing it just to get experience and feet in the door:

I have known people who did internships or even started working for other conde nast magazines that they were absolutely not interested in such as Gourmet, House and Garden, Golf World, etc. and then when a position opens at W or Vogue or whatever they wanted they are more likely to get the job since they are already "in" and may know the people at those magazines since they were already working in the Conde Nast building. It's happened to a few I know. Probably more that I don't know.

When I think of that I think "ew, I don't want to work at a Golf magazine or a magazine about window treatments" but really I guess whatever it takes.

 

[fashionistasista]

yes this is also true, its how yours truly got their job... you also get the benefit of expanding your experience/ expertise and.. work with a nicer group of people

 

[pout306]

For those of you who have done phone interviews for a fashion magazine..what kind of questions do they ask?

 

[Chanel_Ivan]

Some help would be appreciated ladies & gents...

I eventually want to be a lawyer working inhouse at a fashion house....but getting a summer internship at law firms come quite few. SinceI am not studying fashion but rather economics where could/should I try to get an internship at to gain a deeper knowledge about the Fashion world. Any suggestions would be great!!

 

[Cicciolina]

pout - I've only had two but they've both asked "tell me about yourself" and "tell me how your experience is relevant to _____". Also questionswhy you want to intern at their specific publication, they'll tell you what the internship entails and ask if you have any questions - at this point I think it's good to ask questions because it shows you're really interested and have been thinking about it. Good luck!

Chanel_Ivan there's a great thread about Fashion Law in this section. I'm not sure where you live but where I am one just can't get law internships if you don't study law. Also as someone said in that aforementioned thread it's perhaps better to aim to be a lawyer rather than specifically an in-house lawyer for fashion. Anyway, to increase your knowledge about fashion, perhaps look at a PR fashion firm or in a large fashion company if that's available to you, because they deal with the business side of fashion.

 

[gia0202]

how much exp interning does one need to get an assistant spot at a magazine? should one try to freelance as a stylist assistant/stylist, and then go back in , or what?

 

[gia0202]

i am trying to aim for slightly over a year of expereience an almost a yr of high end retail exp. is that enough?

 

[fashionistasista]

to tell you the truth, its all about who you know.

go to a fashion school, build contacts, shadow a stylist you admire, he or she will tell you about openings or give you one themselves if there is one available. be active in the fashion community, start a look book and turn up to fashion events, it doesnt matter how lowley to meet people and learn learn learn! unfortunatly people can intern for free for a year (or more but usually if you havent been hired by that place or made connections its best you leave, or not depends how patient you are). its not all about experience. its how well you get along with the people in the departments. they will appreciate your knowledge and experience, but not as much as they appreciate someone with connections and invites to the same openings and events as they do
good luck

 

[fashionistasista]

also retail generally in mho means squat. if the people that work there are well connected, or you meet interesting people? go for it, if not you are shutting yourself away 3 days a week when you could be out being a secretary or a PA to a small fashion designer or agency... this is much more interesting than retail. again just my 2 cents... but its rung true in my experience.

also sorry for the double post

 

[gia0202]

I beg to differ. I was hired onto Barneys NY's staff. amazing. Alber of lanvin visited last week--ahhhh

W magazine still needs accessories interns. email resume with kickbutt coverletter ijn email body
If interested, please send resumes to [email protected]