London Fashion Intern's blog

From the journalist's mouth: The Lookbook Cook gives internship application tips

Oh course, it would be way better if she (I assume it's a woman) gave work application tips but eh, we'll take what she gives us. All her advices are very sound and come straight from her experience as someone on the receiving end of applications. Sit back, read and learn.

1) Do your research – look at the website of the magazine/newspaper you want to work at as there will probably be instructions for how to apply. If not then the best route is to email the Editorial Assistant whose details will be on the masthead of the publication [...] email rather than call [...]

2) Do not email multiple publications at once – each one will feel that you are not particularly loyal to their magazine and will also be less inclined to respond to a group email. [...]

3) Within your email there are some key details to include. In the first paragraph put your age, when you are available (dates and for how long), specify if you are keen to be in a certain department (although be aware this may not work in your favour) and put a little about yourself, focus on how helpful you are and your awareness that you may need to do any type of job but are more than happy to do so. It is also good to include why you like the publication you are applying to, just a sentence will do.

4) Keep it short and check your spelling and grammar. [...]

5) Other relevant information – It is fine to send a CV or covering letter although we are pressed for time so the likelihood at looking at attached documents is slim. [...]

6) Chasing?! This is a tricky one, ideally your application will be acknowledged in some way but if it isn’t should you chase the contact or not? I would suggest sending an email seven days later (if you haven’t heard back) acknowledging how busy the person may be and gently checking they received your original email.

All those advices and more on the wonderful The Lookbook Cook blog.

Internship kit

Here are a few things this London Fashion Intern always tries to carry around during internships. Some of them are on the list because during past placements, I have realised having them would have been useful. Others I always have on me, internship or not

• Earphones - You never know what you will be asked to do. If you are researching a designer, you might have to listen to You Tube videos etc.
• USB stick - In case you can't access the company server and have to transfer everything you did from your computer to you boss'. Emails also work, but some companies won't allow you to send sensitive documents via your personal email.
• Magazines/books - You never know how busy you will be. Ideally, pick a book closely related to the internship you are doing (avoid Twilight); for magazines, avoid a direct competitor. Books and mags also are a great way to get your coworkers to speak to you.
• A cardigan/ a scarf - Air con, incessant trips in and out of the office etc. Layers are your best friend.
• Flats/ heels - The idea that fashion editors only wear heels is utterly ridiculous. They mostly do so when other people are watching.
• Bottle of water / easy-to-carry food - You never know when you'll get a lunch break, especially in the first few days, when you are still trying to figure out how the office is working.
• Cash - Your canteen is unlikely to take cards, you might have to go buy something quickly for the office and not get any advance on it
• Plasters/ aspirin/ any other necessary medication - A day in an office running around with no natural light = headache
• Tissues - At one point or another you will have to wipe something/ take make-up off someone etc
• An envelope for receipt - Or a specific compartment of your wallet. Will be a lot easier to claim back your expenses if everything is in one place, plus you'll look organised.
• A canvas bag - You never know what you'll have to carry. Having a bag in handy is always practical.

The non-starter generation: the ILO warns against a "lost generation"

Of the "we are all screwed" variety - On Wednesday, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report on Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010. There isn't a single good news in it, starting with the fact that the youth unemployment rate is at its highest ever at 13%, and apparently it will keep increasing.

According to the ILO, this creates a

risk of a crisis legacy of a ‘lost generation’ comprised of young people who have dropped out of the labour market, having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living

Young people are the drivers of economic development. Foregoing this potential is an economic waste and can undermine social stability. The crisis is an opportunity to re-assess strategies for addressing the serious disadvantages that young people face as they enter the labour market. It is important to focus on comprehensive and integrated strategies that combine education and training policies with targeted employment policies for youth.

Cartoon from Sullivan-county.com

Intern Blog: My turn to spill the tea

Curly Hair, My turn to spill the tea... is a blog written by an anonymous fashion magazine intern. Even though she wants to "write a column in the Sunday Times Style magazine" rather than work in the industry and regularly points out her lack of familiarity with fashion, her daily postings on life in the cupboard are easy to identify with. Her tales are often spot-on, from the general inadequacy you might feel as an intern to the fear of the phone or comparing the fashion department to "the youngest class at Sunnyside Nursery" in Toy Story 3.

Read it if... For a day-to-day breakdown of life as a fashion cupboard intern, blisters and trotting around town included

Skip it if... reading about someone who doesn't want to work in fashion complaining about interning in fashion is guaranteed to annoy you

The hook: It's always good to know how things are done in other places. Plus you can try to guess which magazine she's interning at (I have so far eliminated Vogue)

Technical Detail:

Author: Anonymous. 

Location: London

Platform: blog.co.uk

First post: Tween Building in June, but her Fashion Experiment started on August 1st

Posting frequency: Daily-ish

Links...

The Blog: http://curlyhair.blog.co.uk/

Who are you kidding, London 2012?

First of all, apologies for the lack of updates - this London Fashion Intern is busy interning, juggling part-time jobs and beating insomnia and its dear friend exhaustion.

On to today's business - adverts asking for volunteers for the 2012 Olympics have sprung up all over London those past few days.

The Olympics are still two summer away, but I'm already worried about the way London will (mis)handle them. Considering how often my Tube line breaks down during rush hour, how overcrowded some Tube stations are (I'm looking at you, South Ken) and generally how inefficiently so much of this city is run, I don't know how Londoners will survive them. In fact, I've already planned to get the heck out of here during the Olympic period.

Apparently, and to nobody's real surprise, the organisation of the Games will partially rely on volunteers. There is an official website dedicated to recruiting those people - I don't know how much it cost but my bet is that a few people could have been paid on the money spent doing it. Not to mention that it is Flash based. 

The website includes a quiz which starts off by asking "do you know how much hard work and dedication is involved?" It follows up with questions about your willingness to give up 10 days of your summer holidays in 2012 (plus three extra days before for training) and to find and fund your own accommodation and travel (they're only giving meal vouchers and free transport for when you're doing a shift).

To sum it up you have to be willing to give up most of your 2012 holidays and to spend money working on something you won't get paid for. What do you get in return? Not even free tickets or meeting with athletes, no. You will be part of the Olympic and Paralympic history and "you’ll get to keep your uniform as a souvenir." Well that's alright then. 

Intern blog: Overheard in the newsroom

Must-read/watch/buy is the kind of term which really annoys this London Fashion Intern. It's a bastard adjective which shouts "conspicuous consumption" and too often "procrastination". If you are a journalism intern working in a newsroom however, the crowd-sourced Overheard in the Newsroom blog is an actual must-read, if only to realise that other work places can be just as crazy, weird and surprising as yours.

Below are some of the most recent intern-related posts. Word of warning: the intern rarely has the good role in those anecdotes:

Intern to News Editor: “You have a really kick-ass nickname. Can you help me get one? Because right now, they all call me ‘Hey, Intern.’”

Crime reporter about clueless intern: “She is some sort of alien invader and has chosen this newsroom as a good place to learn about planet Earth.”

On going home instead of to another party: “I am not going to be the guy who got the new intern drunk and left her in a strange part of town.”

Intern talking to source: “I don’t expect any information on how to *make* a bomb, by any means, but any other information you could provide would be great.”

Intern: “So, what do you do for the magazine?”
Editor: “I’m… the editor.”
Intern: “Right, yeah, I know, but what are your responsibilities?”
Editor: “…being the editor.”

Editor to new health intern: “I have a question about your story. What is it about?”

Picture from Sunday Postsecret

From the journalist's mouth: Refinery 29 suggests fashion interview outfits

Yesterday, Refinery 29 rounded up suggestions on how to dress for a fashion interview. In any other field, a black suit thrown on would do as long as your answers are clever. For a fashion interview,your answers have to be clever and you have to dress in a way which shows that you understand the style soul of the magazine/brand you are interviewing for.

On to Refinery 29 four tips:

Pick a trend—Show that you know this season's trends, by wearing one of-the-now styling trick [...]

Stay away from logos [...] it's important to know designers, but flashing overt logos may seem like you're showing off or compensating for something else

Don't forget the vintage

Things to avoid [...] Avoid anything that covers your face, is too tight or short, or that reveals cleavage. Forgo evening wear, anything costume-y, pantyhose, or things that can be seen as too casual. Sweatpants might be trendy right now, but they're not right for an interview.

Last October, when the Teen Vogue Handbook came out, Anna Wintour gave her own answer on how to dress for an interview with her:

Q: Is there a "wrong" thing to wear to an interview with you?
A: A suit, I have to say. But who knows? Maybe next year I'll love suits. And I don't mind jeans. If there's a girl applying to work in the fashion department and she comes in here with a great pair of jeans pulled together with the right top, it's fine.

Picture from Refinery 29

Intern blog: Campus overload

The Washington Post has a blog dedicated to "juggling everything. Achieving. And still having fun". Ran by the newspaper education reporter Jenna Johnson, Campus Overload blogs daily about stereotype interns, summarises the best intern Tweets of the week and advises on internship application. Even though all entries are meant to be DC-focused, it covers placements beyond the White House and Capitol Hill. It even dedicated a full week to intern fashion, which included a post on  "The Flip-flop Revolution".

Read it if... For the usual mix of advice and anecdotes on other internship fields

Skip it if... this blog only advises you on how to make the best out of your internship, and generally shies away from controversial posts

The hook: The "That intern" section is generally very well-written and pretty funny

Technical Detail:

Author:  Jenna Johnson and other Washington Post journalists

Location: Washington DC

Platform: The Washington Post website

First post: So, what is Campus Overload? January 20, 2010

Posting frequency: Every working day

Links...

The Blog: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/campus-overload/

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/wpjenna

From the journalist's mouth: Disneyrollergirl on How To Become a Fashion Editor

Disneyrollergirl writes one of those "must follow" industry blogs. Self-described as "an anonymous fashion insider", she has access to all facets of the industry and her advices are generally pretty sound. Her 2008 post on "How to become a fashion editor" comes with a warning:

When I was starting out, the competition for styling and fashion editor jobs was nothing compared to what it is now. When people watch the Devil Wears Prada or Ugly Betty I don’t know what happens but they become completely deluded that being a fashion editor is about strutting the streets in high heels, swingy ponytails and Phillip Lim jackets [...]
The reality is rather different. If you live for fashion the job is certainly fun, creative and varied but make no mistake, it’s flipping hard work as well.

On internships...

you have to be prepared to work for nothing. Why? Because if you don’t there’s always some eager beaver behind you who will happily fill your shoes. Hell, things are so crazy now that even getting a work experience placement or an internship is like applying for a paid job.

Of course, she's right, but the fact that many people want to work for free doesn't justify it in any way. 

The hardest thing during an internship...

Be unforgettable
As well as being efficient and indispensable it’s important to be memorable. If you’re only there for a month, there will be umpteen interns after you before that oh-so-elusive job vacancy arises so make a lasting impression. If you’re a bit of a wallflower it’s essential to force yourself out of your shell and make conversation with people. Get to know the other interns (Teen Vogue has fifteen!) and people in other departments and make sure they all know your name. Offer to make tea and collect faxes from the fax machine. Go the extra mile and I can guarantee they’ll love you for it. This is how I and all my assistants became successful in our careers. Talent hardly comes into it, it’s all about the hard workers.

All those advices, an many more, at Disneyrollergirl...

Also worth reading is her post on the reality of fashion magazines versus the fiction depicted in films, something I feel quite strongly about

The non-starter generation: Fashion industry internships: exploitation or experience?

In today's Guardian, Jamie Elliot asks: Fashion industry internships: exploitation or experience?

The article will not teach anything new to anyone working in the fashion industry. Elliot however indirectly asks: what would companies over-relying on interns do if they had to pay their currently free workforce?

Fashion companies are not charities. Alexander McQueen, a brand part of the Gucci Group, itself a subsidiary of PPR, is a money-making entreprise if there was any, even though Alexander McQueen is not the most profitable label of the luxury conglomerate. According to its website, PPR 2009 revenues were 16.5 billion euros. In the first quarter of 2010, the Gucci Group sales were up "by 5.3% (+3.8% in reported terms)", including "exceptional growth" for Alexander McQueen, no doubt helped by the designer's death. So by the look of it, they can afford to turn intern positions into junior ones, and to pay them a starting salary.

The second interesting point Elliot makes is the rise of interns daring to sue their employers for financial compensations. Even though he only lists two cases, this London Fashion Intern hopes that this is part of a wider trend of interns standing up to exploitation. Of course, companies will only start reconsidering their internship schemes if the money lost during trials added to the bad PR it might bring them outweighs the advantages of having an army of people working for free.

Work reader Michelle Jackson was paid £1,000 for work she had done during a six-week internship with an advertising agency after her tax office told her she might be entitled to the minimum wage.

"They put me in touch with the National Minimum Wage Helpline who investigated the agency and found they had a history of using unpaid placements as free labour," she says. "They were ordered to pay me for the work I'd done as well as any other students they had employed and not paid."

Last November, an employment tribunal ordered London Dream Motion Pictures to make backdated minimum wage payments to Nicola Vetta, an art department assistant who had been taken on by the company on an expenses-only basis.

Martin Spence, assistant general secretary of Bectu, the union that supported Vetta's case, was optimistic that the ruling would set a precedent. "We hope this judgment will draw a line in the sand and we will see more employers complying with the law," he said.