One thing many potential interns might not realize is that, with your first internship, you really can’t aim too high. Typically, interns have to start out at local magazines, slowly working their way up the magazine food chain to one of those prized unpaid internships at a national mag in New York (unless they are BFFs with a Hearst or have some other freakishly fortunate connection to the magazine world).
I really lucked out with this, my first internship. Rather than start out at a local magazine in my college town, I was able to land an internship with a regional magazine in Atlanta, an exciting cosmopolitan city with a seriously thriving magazine market.
Can you say jackpot?
I really feel as though starting out at this particular magazine, with its smaller staff and laid back atmosphere, has been the best thing for my education in magazine journalism. I am one of those anomalies who chose to major in a liberal arts subject, rather than journalism or communication. Therefore, prior to this internship, I had learned all I knew about journalism from my days working on my high school and college newspapers.
With my internship, though, I feel like I’m getting a J-School experience… for free (and in a three-month period). It’s as if my internship is an express class and the editor I work under is my professor.
Since my mag has a really small staff, I get to do a lot of writing assignments, which is basically unheard of in the internship world. When the editor tweaks my pieces, she explains why she is making each edit and how I can improve my writing for the next assignment. She is always positive and encouraging, showing me different aspects of the magazine and explaining how, exactly, each department runs and why each is integral in the publishing process. I also get to help copy-edit, fact check and assist on photo shoots… the whole shebang.
So in summation, dear Edsters: don’t aim too high when applying for internships. The education one receives at a smaller publication is simply priceless.
With l-u-v,
Ed’s Intern #3
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2 comments:
great advice!! i landed an amazing internship this summer (my first) and i'm just really sad because i don't go to school in nyc and i'd LOVE to intern during the fall or spring, but i can't. :( :(
so i feel like everyone else is getting an extra step ahead of me!
I agree great advice. I also live in Atlanta and have worked for two local magazines. I will be working at the end of July at another local magazine here so I'm excited to begin a new journey because this magazine is completly different from the lifestyle one I worked at before. I can't afford New York, but Atlanta is just as promising. But I totally agree the experience at a smaller magazine is great! Can you reveal which one you work for here? You never know, we may have crossed paths.
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