Let's
face it, we’ve all had lulls in the office, making us each wish the 378 Twitter
accounts we follow posted more articles to read or that our boss did ask us
to organize that messy supply closet. As far I have learned that having something to do, whether it is running
across the city on errands or researching pitches, is better than having
absolutely nothing. Yes it is true
that there is never ‘nothing’ to do but after hours on end of drafting pitches
or whatever your fill-in task may be, we all find ourselves waiting for the
next email to come with an assignment.
The
other day someone from the human resources department came and talked to the
features interns at the magazine, as well as the other interns in fashion,
features, photo, and marketing. First off, I had been waiting to meet the
interns at the magazine because I have been dying to know what they do. The
woman from HR gave a great talk on how to be a great intern, especially at the
magazine, and how to manage the professional world of publishing. The interns
asked questions from what college degree looks best on a resume to what is the
best way to keep in touch with your bosses. And finally, the best question I
had been thinking about was asked: what should we do in downtime?
Although there was no simple answer, the speaker told us we should feel free to ask if anyone from another department wanted our help on an assignment. As soon as she said this, I lid up because I have been eyeing the work the marketing department was doing as well as the fashion closet. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day there? The speaker also told us to get ahead on projects, ask the editors if they need any help, or to do with the downtime. It might be because I am one for scheduling and certainty and that I am not the best at guessing what I should be doing.
When I have talked to the other interns about this problem they seem to be in the same boat as me, which reassured me a great deal. Last week was especially slow which led to a lot of "are you working on anything right now?" We collaborated on projects and shared the responsibilities on assignments given to us. I had a great time working with the other features interns but we all still felt like we were missing something or doing something wrong. What do you do during the lulls? Is it ever okay to leave the lulls?
Although there was no simple answer, the speaker told us we should feel free to ask if anyone from another department wanted our help on an assignment. As soon as she said this, I lid up because I have been eyeing the work the marketing department was doing as well as the fashion closet. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day there? The speaker also told us to get ahead on projects, ask the editors if they need any help, or to do with the downtime. It might be because I am one for scheduling and certainty and that I am not the best at guessing what I should be doing.
When I have talked to the other interns about this problem they seem to be in the same boat as me, which reassured me a great deal. Last week was especially slow which led to a lot of "are you working on anything right now?" We collaborated on projects and shared the responsibilities on assignments given to us. I had a great time working with the other features interns but we all still felt like we were missing something or doing something wrong. What do you do during the lulls? Is it ever okay to leave the lulls?
Out for now,
Edit Intern
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