Hey fellow Edsters! (Ha! It’s so weird to be on the other side of this blog!)
It’s 11 p.m. the night before my first day and I’m psyched! A bit frazzled over what I’ll wear and, of course, just keeping my fingers crossed that day one goes smoothly, but for the most part, I’m so excited that I wonder how I’ll ever get to sleep tonight!
A quick about me: I’m a journalism and media student in New York, and — like most of you — absolutely obsessed with magazines and totally fascinated by the new twists and turns of web and the digital world.
Speaking of twists and turns of the digital world, this won’t be my first (or second, or even third) editorial internship, but it was the first time I landed a position through a Skype video interview!! In fact, I’m pretty sure it was the first time my editors had conducted one too!! Which I think is so awesome, and one of the many ways the digital era is shifting and updating the industry.
But to backtrack, I found the position both through my school’s career center and again on Ed’s amazing internship listings — if you haven’t checked these out yet, I can’t emphasize enough how invaluable these resources truly are! Basically, from that moment, it was really just a matter of hours before my cover letter, resume and the three requested clips were sent off. In fact, I’d advise all aspiring interns to have an up-to-date resume and a handful of your favorite clips readily available, because who knows when you’ll find an awesome position that you’ll want to apply to right away! Also, a tip from someone who’s messed it up: make sure to send your resumes and cover letters as PDFs, not Word Documents. Your fonts may not transfer or margins may shift, plus your editor may not have the most up-to-date computer programs. It’s also not a bad idea to mention your weekly availability and if you can receive course credit!
I’ve seen response times range anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks (one of my editors didn’t respond to applications for an entire month!) And even once you’ve interviewed, sometimes things in the office are so busy that it takes another few weeks before you find out if you even got the job! But be patient, and it’s not a bad idea to follow up with another thank you email emphasizing how much you enjoyed the interview and how much you’d love to take on the position.
As far as my video interview, it didn’t compare to walking though the imposing front doors and observing the office’s daily hustle and bustle first-hand, (I actually went to an interview at one of my fave magazines, only to realize I never wanted to step foot in that office again!!) but if you can’t make it to New York, or wherever the office is located, the video chat was a fun way to have face-to-face interview time, and it actually made for a fun icebreaker, which set the tone for a lighthearted and comfortable interview setting.
Hopefully the office tomorrow will be equally friendly and exciting, but I’ll let you know how it goes soon enough!
In the meantime, I’d love to hear how you deal with first day jitters and of course, any of your video interview experiences!
Until next time,
Features Intern
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