Interviews About Work Placements at Magazines

I interviewed three designers and journalists to share their experiences of work placements at magazines.

Interviews were held via email during March – April 2010

DAISY DUDLEY

HARLEY GRANT Student, pre-BA Journalism

Have you ever work/work experience with a magazine? Yes, currently at Lula magazine, with the ongoing position of ‘Online Scrapbook Administrator’

How did you go about finding the right person to contact for the placement/job? I was referred by a tutor who had a lot of contacts in the magazine industry.

What did you have to do in order to apply and how did you prepare? I e-mailed the person my tutor referred me to, and heard back fairly quickly. There wasn’t much need for preparation.

Did you have an interview for the role? Yes, but it was more of an informal chat at the magazine offices.

How did you prepare? I read the latest issue of the magazine so I could refer to it and show that I knew the publication well.

What kind of questions did they/you ask? They just checked I had the basic computer skills, as the job requires very little time.

What were your impressions in the first day of your experience? Talking to the art director on Skype, and e-mailing the editor was really exciting. Because of the instantaneous nature of the work I was

doing, it was cool to see it up on the website so quickly.

What were your roles and responsibilities at the magazine? I make posts to their Scrapbook and thus have to make sure they are posted accurately and on time.

What do you feel you learnt/gained from the experience? I’ve learned the importance of striking a balance between professional and familiar. The Lula girls are very informal and down to Earth, though.

What were the high points of your experience? The whole thing has been great. I love seeing the famous artists we get content from, and Kirsten Dunst’s post was lovely.

What were the low points of your experience? My halls internet cuts out quite a bit and I once missed a post, which wasn’t great. Also, the site went down for a good few weeks. It’s been a pretty great all through, however.

Did you follow up the experience in any way and did it lead to any further opportunities/contacts? It looks good on my CV and I now have an interview for an internship at Vice magazine.

Do you have any future ambitions to work in the magazine industry and how did your experience affect these? I have contacts which will prove valuable.

Can you give any advice to others seeking a creative internship within a magazine in terms of; How to find opportunities/contacts? Look online, go to launches, talk to Journalism tutors, or e-mail people directly.

What to include in your application? Relevant experience, interests and skills are key.

Interview preparation and behavior? Show that you love the subject, and read the magazine beforehand!

How to make the most of your time there? Offer to help with as much as you can, and try to always make new contacts.

Have you done placements in any other field and how did these differ from your time at the magazine? No, none.

JAMES MACKENZIEFreelance Graphic Designer

Have you ever work experience with a magazine/magazines? Yes, I have had quite a bit of experience over a varied amount of publications.My first experience was with Computer Arts when I was at Uni, but have been workingwith publications since graduating.

Computer Arts - Group uni project, designing their graduate showcase identity for 2008. Time Out - Freelance Designer, Feb 08 to Apr 09. (Varied departments, Guides, Brand Solutions and Advertising.)Distill Magazine - Design Intern, 2 week work placement Nov 08.Attitude Magazine - Designer (Intern), Maybe on and off for around 6 months... 09. GQ Magazine - Design Intern, on and off for about 4 months 09. GQ Magazine - Freelance Designer, 6 months Oct 09- to date.Shortlist Magazine - Freelance Designer, 2months Feb10- to date.JUMP Magazine - Art Director (Freelance design project) Mar- Apr 10.

How did you go about finding the right person to contact for the placement/job? I actually bumped into an old uni friend (he was third year when I was in foundation) whilst I was working at my part time job over the summer, he then told me he was at Time Out and if I ever needed a placement he would get me one.

I then corresponded for a year until I needed one, then after the placement, they said I was better than their freelancers, so started working with them before I had even graduated.Past that, I met some people at my degree show and emailed work placements I saw advertised on various job sites, mainly the the arts.ac.uk and ycn. I have been fortunate enough that work has been relatively consistent and people have passed my information on for me. So I have not really had to search for placements or work.... yet...

What did you have to do in order to apply and how did you prepare? I think it’s important to keep CVs and your portfolio really up to date. Whilst sending a covering letter and CV, I would send a few examples of my work, as a taster for them to get me in.

Did you have an interview for the role? I have not had an interview for a long time, most of my work has come from having placements. Where people don’t tend to want to interview, but would rather have me in for a week or two to see if I work well etc etc...

How did you prepare? Sometimes the majority of my prep is... Ahhhh I can’t remember how to use Photoshop well.... and silly things. But I think the best thing to do is make sure you are on time, not early... well get to places early, but don’t let them know your there until the time you agreed. Normally Mondays are a nightmare and the designers have enough things to sort through before having to deal with an intern or freelancer...

What kind of questions did they/you ask? Hm... I think it was mainly down to listening to what designers have to say, the majority of new things I have learnt since uni has been through watching what the other designers do... shortcuts etc.....

What were your impressions in the first day of your experience?Majority of places have been fun. Its always intimidating being a

freelancer and going into an environment where everyone knows everyone and understands the process etc. One placement made me question why I wanted to be a designer... (I will not name it)But over the time I spent there, it was up and down. Major highs and big senses of achievements, followed by mistakes and telling offs... But I think when you work through these moments, its better to deal with them when you’re new to the industry....

What were your roles and responsibilities at the magazine?Within most of the roles where I have been for longer periods of time, it’s normally the junior role, so its doing the grunt work at the moment. Running errands, tidying bins, checking stationary, updating mini walls and printouts. The main role at GQ was the majority of these, as well as looking after regular pages/features. I have also been lucky to work on three supplements, which is always a great project. I have also had to collect dry cleaning, but I have been able to avoid making tea as I don’t drink it.

What do you feel you learnt/gained from the experience? The main things I have learnt is that it’s all about your personality, don’t be extreme, get on with people, smile, always be happy (not extreme), but be open to do most mundane chores. All of my big placements were supposed to last a week, but I have lasted for 5-6 months, so it pays to help and get them to like you, its harder for them to get rid of you....

What were the high points of your experience?High points were the supplements, finishing them and having a pat on the back by the creative director at GQ. Also having job offers from Time Out and GQ at the same time was a great high.

What were the low points of your experience?Always when I make mistakes, or getting blamed for things because

you’re at the bottom.

Did you follow up the experience in any way and did it lead to any further opportunities/contacts?As I have always stayed in places for long time periods I normally get to know people relatively well. I still meet up with the designers from Time Out once a month for dinner and go for the odd drink or talk with the Art director from Attitude. Even emails help, as I strongly believe it’s who you know not what you know. When I started at Shortlist I didn’t even need to show them my CV, they knew all about me and actually called me in to work for them...

Can you give any advice to others seeking a creative internship within a magazine in terms of;Get as many placements or big names on your CV as possible, and also maybe specialize. I was the only one from my degree course who was 100% editorial. My tutors were concerned, but I knew it was what I wanted to get into, persistence... Now I have been working for some of my dream mags... Keep at it. Never get stuck in a temp job full time, do part time and live within your means... Most placements will let you do 4 days or less, and you still gain a load of experience.

How to find opportunities/contacts?Degree shows are a good test, invite people, its very competitive as your surrounded by fellow eager students, so it makes you work uber hard to get noticed. Also if you do a placement, ask if they know anyone looking for a designer/intern. It doesn’t hurt and I’ve learnt that a lot of designers know each other within the industry.

What to include in your application?Some personal work. I have learnt people like seeing what you do in your free time other than set work from uni and clients.

Interview preparation and behaviorI very rarely prep, as I work best naturally talking, rather than listing certain points. Although that did backfire in an interview I once had, for a very cheap weekly gossip mag (no where near my dream mens mag), but I thought it could get me into the publishers and a better job. Sadly the first question they asked me is why I wanted the job.... silence.... I actually said “ I wouldn’t have seen myself working for a magazine like yours.... errrrrrr but but... “ So sadly, I was too experienced for that job.

How to make the most of your time there.Try and be chatty, look comfortable, even if you don’t feel it. Small talk, more than likely they will try and suss you out socially, at the end of the day, you will spend a lot of time together.What to avoid/look out for:

Have you done placements in any other field and how did these differ from your time at the magazine?I worked in a studio for 5 months after graduating, working on stamps, signage and flyers for well know companies... But I always wanted to get into publishing. The jobs were often very long and the whole process was not as thrilling to me as seeing the development of an issue and then how the next issue gets developed... and so on...

MARTINA DAHLGraphic Design Student

Have you ever work experience with a magazine? No not a magazine but a publishing company and their design team in the marketing section. At National Magazine Company. With the graphics team in the marketing department.

How did you go about finding the right person to contact for the placement/job? He was a friend of mine.

What did you have to do in order to apply and how did you prepare? I just sent my pdf portoflio to his boss and didnt even have an interview.

What were your impressions in the first day of your experience? I was so nervous I couldnt even eat breakfast and there was so many people everywhere but ony one other guy that i was gonna work with so that was ok. An everyone was nice it was just me being scared.

What were your roles and responsibilities at the magazine? Well i designed/made stuff that was promoting the various titles.

What do you feel you learnt/gained from the experience? A lot of practical things like some stuff in the programs. But also a bit about how it works in a publishing place. It was also good practice to gain a little confident.

What were the high points of your experience? I designed some posters that then hung in the windows of WH Smith. Also I got a really massive goodiebag when i finsihed. But it was fun to see the whole house and all different offices.

What were the low points of your experience? The feeling of being so nervous the first day but the rest was fine. I never made tea for anyone, they made it for me tho!

Did you follow up the experience in any way and did it lead to any further opportunities/contacts? no

Do you have any future ambitions to work in the magazine industry and how did your experience affect these? I could see myself working in a mag for a while.

Can you give any advice to others seeking a creative internship within a magazine in terms of; How to find opportunities/contacts? Talk to everyone u know.

What to include in your application? Your best work.

Interview preparation and behavior? try to be relaxed but also point out that you are good.

How to make the most of your time there? Ask questions and keep busy. Be nice to people but be yourself.

What to avoid/look out for? lack of inititive or saying you cant do something, ask how you do it and then do it.

Have you done placements in any other field and how did these differ from your time at the magazine? With a freelance designer and that was a lot different. more proper work.