All About Internships and Work Experience Placements

[ChanelFire]

^ I haven't but I know someone who has. I think she started in the closet and as an accessories intern. She has also had the job of doing the hiring for such interns b/c after her internship I think she ended up working there for a while. But she went back to school she's so not there anymore. I just know it sounds really cool and that's totally the kind of job I'd love. Also she had VERY late hours. Like until 10 pm wouldn't be uncommon in a busy time.

yes, being an accessories intern it's not uncommon to stay til 10 or later..

 

[knightley]

Being any kind of intern, it's not uncommon to stay until very late. I always arrived early and was never out on time. When you work for an agency, you have major deadlines, and with those you have to complete them. I stayed until three am reprinting lookbooks once and was book at seven, it was genius! I was a walking dead.

 

[frieda]

Dumb question, but how do you go about the internship hunting process? Just narrow it down to designers or companies you'd like to work for and check websites, etc?

 

[Deleted member 49693]

I've been offered a graduate intern with IMG World in the fashion department. I'm now going to ask if I can help with fashion week.

 

[knightley]

Dumb question, but how do you go about the internship hunting process? Just narrow it down to designers or companies you'd like to work for and check websites, etc?

You can use the websites listed, such as free fashion jobs, or the listed blogs. However, let's be honest. Most internships are right place, right time and they're ridiculously competitive. Precedence will always be given to people enrolled in school, or recently graduated, aiming for degrees in the preferred area. 90% of it will be connections and previous experience (which is impossible to get sometimes). It's sometimes easier to start with interning for a small house and moving up the chain if you're not well-connected or have background knowledge that sets you apart.

 

[Deleted member 103203]

im thinking about calling a company called the ground crew, they work with fashion designers for fashion shows, so i can possibly get an internship this summer but im so nervous about it, does anyone think i should try it?

 

[MarcSebastian]

I aplied for 11 internships last friday and have heard back from 4. Erin fetherston is full for summer but told me to apply in the faal. Zac is full. Bill Blass is full. The best is Twinkle by Wenlan, I got an interview for Tuesday everyone wish me luck!

 

[Cicciolina]

RedRuby just give it a go anyway, you never know what will happen

MarcSebastian good luck! Are you looking for design? I always see heaps of ads up for Yigal Azrouel and Jill Stuart so they're also worth a try. It's starting to get really close to summer and many places, as I'm sure you've already realised, are filled up or are closing their summer intakes really soon. It's crazy how now summer internships are so competitive.

As knightley said, with interning, as with getting any other job, it's a mix of luck and other variables. There are rare instances where someone gets a great internship at a coveted place, but often they're through well placed connections (mummy makes a call to Uncle Karl etc etc ) In an ideal world we'd all get the internships we wanted and from there the jobs at the companies we want... unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

Congratulations eurofashionjunki! Which country is it in? Is the graduate internship there a formal training program or like other internships?

 

[GirlOfMyDreams]

im thinking about calling a company called the ground crew, they work with fashion designers for fashion shows, so i can possibly get an internship this summer but im so nervous about it, does anyone think i should try it?

you have to be careful if it's a very small company you might have to do a lot of uninspiring admin-based work which is not ideal.

 

[knightley]

^

Still working for a small company, even if it is uninspiring admin-based work, is sometimes a better reference than any big company. Small companies tend to become champions of their interns. They get to know you better, they generally care more about you, and spend more time training you. You're less replaceable to a small company, which means you're given a little more development. That's my experience, at least! Small companies also sometimes give you the best general idea of all the work, which allows you to fine-tune and develop and have experience for anywhere you want to go in the industry.

 

[mode]

i am only sixteen years old, so is it impossible for me to get an internship? do i have to be in college?

 

[Deleted member 49693]

^ I think when you are 16, they call it work experience.

 

[Cicciolina]

you have to be careful if it's a very small company you might have to do a lot of uninspiring admin-based work which is not ideal.

Even when working for a large company though, you'll still be given tasks like photocopying, errands and generally boring admin type work. With smaller companies they allow you to be more hands-on because there is just more things to do. Larger companies have so many interns it's too easy to get lost in the crowd.

 

[Deleted member 49693]

Cicciolina - In Hong Kong. I will post more after my chat with them about the details.

 

[GirlOfMyDreams]

Even when working for a large the Fashion Spot - Reply to Topiccompany though, you'll still be given tasks like photocopying, errands and generally boring admin type work. With smaller companies they allow you to be more hands-on because there is just more things to do. Larger companies have so many interns it's too easy to get lost in the crowd.

I respectfully disagree with that. Perhaps I have been lucky to fall into the right large companies when I took my internships, but I was never just an intern.

 

[GirlOfMyDreams]

^

Still working for a small company, even if it is uninspiring admin-based work, is sometimes a better reference than any big company. Small companies tend to become champions of their interns. They get to know you better, they generally care more about you, and spend more time training you. You're less replaceable to a small company, which means you're given a little more development. That's my experience, at least! Small companies also sometimes give you the best general idea of all the work, which allows you to fine-tune and develop and have experience for anywhere you want to go in the industry.

That's a good point. I think at the end of the day it depends on what YOU work like. If your personality gravitates towards the "small company" mindset, a large company will seem cold to you. On the contrary, a lot of people need structure and appreciate a household name on their resume. That's why taking as many internships as possible is so important

 

[*Bianca*]

Are there any websites that advertise fashion/media/PR etc internships in Australia? Or is it a different approach one takes here? Cold-calling? And if I were to approach them about a placement do I even refer to it as an internship? I rarely hear of internships here.

Oh, how I wish I lived in NY.

 

[e-v-elina]

i have few questions: what exactly do you write in the email when "asking" for an internship? do you just write a few lines about yourself and then wait for a response or do you just send your resumé right away?

and what do you write to catch the readers attention? to make them think "this is the person we want and need" etc etc.

and exactly who do you write to when emailing about an internship?

 

[Deleted member 49693]

Are there any websites that advertise fashion/media/PR etc internships in Australia? Or is it a different approach one takes here? Cold-calling? And if I were to approach them about a placement do I even refer to it as an internship? I rarely hear of internships here.

Oh, how I wish I lived in NY.

You need to send your resume and a cover letter email to your chosen companies next do a follow up call a few days later if they don't reply to you.

 

[Cicciolina]

I respectfully disagree with that. Perhaps I have been lucky to fall into the right large companies when I took my internships, but I was never just an intern.

I agree it's not a hard and fast rule, but I have found with many other people I have spoken to (in both the US and Australia - huge national and international company names, etc) that they got lumped with boring tasks like photocopying and running around getting coffee orders. There are always exceptions, and we've been fortunate enough to experience those incidents.

I just thought it was important to remind people that in larger firms they may not be given as many interesting tasks as they expected. The Teen Vogue intern blog is deceiving! That's just not always the case unfortunately, and if you're in a large company, just one out of the 15 interns that come in on that day, and there's 15 people in every weekday, then there is a chance you will get lost in the crowd unless you do something really memorable.

However I've interned at small places and been really hands-on, as well as larger firms where they have just been amazing and so supporting. Then there are times I've interned at huge national companies and alongside the more interesting tasks, I did my share of photocopying and picked up dry-cleaning once for the EIC!

It is however difficult to generalise the pros and cons of working in a large company as opposed to a smaller one, as each firm is going to be different.