Surviving Internship Pressure

I'm at the halfway point of my time at TeenMag.com! Though I'm positive I'll be staying on as a Contributing Writer while I'm at college, I know it's not going to be the same as being in the office every day. This time around, there's no guarantee that I'll have the opportunity to go back to TeenMag.com. Eek! 

Unfortunately, it seems like EVERYONE—from the competitive intern I work with to my friends and parents—are under the impression that I'll definitely be offered a position at TeenMag.com when I graduate next year. I would absolutely love to work at TeenMag.com, but as we in the magazine industry know, there's no guarantee there will be a spot on staff for me next summer. 

I've been meeting with alumni from my school in the magazine industry, attending Ed2010 events (maybe I met some of you there!), asking editors from other departments to coffee, and pitching stories to TeenMag.com as often as I can. I feel like I've been taking all of the opportunities I can while at Teen Mag, and have complete faith that when it's time for me to apply for a job, something will fall into place. I know that my family and friends want the best for me, but it's making me crazy that every family dinner conversation somehow revolves around earning a position at Teen Mag.

Interns, Do Your Part!

This week at work has been…frustrating. I know I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m now the only intern in my department at the magazine, but this week my workload really began to affect me. My tasks for this week included gathering products and helping the beauty editor set up for a run-through, requesting samples from toy companies for a holiday gift guide, brainstorming ideas for the December issue, and harassing people to send pictures for various features. I’m good at budgeting my time, so everything was going smoothly until I got a phone call from a woman at a company we needed pictures from. I’ve been in contact with this woman because I had to take over the assignment of ANOTHER intern who wasn’t showing up to the office. Seriously people, what is going on!