As promised I am disciplining myself and making an effort to write regularly- now I've got a little time off it's been much easier to find the motivation to keep entertaining all of you! Just as a little side note before we get down to what everyone reeeally wants to hear about, I had my first EVER comment last night! Very exciting, and whoever you are- thank you! I don't know how many people even see what I write, or whether it actually makes any difference but it is much appreciated that someone took the time to write a comment saying they enjoy my posts.
Little gush over, let's get back to business: Vogue.
My first day at Vogue was the most nerve racking thing I've experienced! To set something up on a pedestal is a dangerous game and having collected issues of Vogue since I was 14 years old, meant that I was quaking in my boots at the thought of meeting so many influential people. I want this post to be both helpful and hopeful. It's hard to keep your head in the game when you feel as if you're fighting a losing battle, but honestly- Vogue is the smoothest and most organised magazine I have been to, and they are reading each and every application that arrives on their desk. The women who work there have a lot on their plates but they will always do their best to help someone who has a genuine interest and passion in learning from some of the best in the industry. So many of the most successful women in fashion who are doing incredible things once worked at British Vogue, such as Grace Coddington and Kate Phelan. That alone should give you hope that great things are possible for you too- we all just need a little help to get to where we're meant to be and the people I met seemed more than willing to help.
They do expect a lot from you but in return they give you a lot back- there was never a shortage of please, thank you or "honestly, go home!" to be heard while I was there. And by that I mean, they were encouraging me to go home on time- not getting rid of me! While these may seem like small things they make all the difference; if you feel appreciated and respected by the people you're working for then you'll not only have a more enjoyable time there but probably work harder, something I'm sure the Vogue team have worked out. An important part of spending the time undertaking these placements in the first place is making sure that you are learning something from the people you're surrounded by, something almost impossible to avoid when at British Vogue.
As I have mentioned previously I didn't start out wanting to work in fashion, for a while I was convinced I was meant to be a lawyer, and have always slightly worried that my chances at forging a career in this industry might be lower than someone who studied fashion. So I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Francesca Burns, Vogue fashion editor, also started off on a completely different path to the one she finds herself on now. The bottom line? It's never too late to take a deep breath and go for it: my parents weren't ecstatic when, after my first year at University, I changed my course to English Literature but it was the best decision I ever made. Even though I didn't decide to go to fashion school instead it laid the foundations for where I am now- I can show that I have more strings to my bow than some other applicants, that I can write well and, perhaps most importantly, I managed to juggle interning with writing a dissertation on French realism and come out the other side with my sanity just about intact. You can find an article on Francesca Burns's journey to the top here, hopefully it will provide you with the inspiration to take the plunge and do whatever it is you're passionate about- whether that is editorial fashion, e-commerce, buying, merchandising.. The world is your oyster!
I hope I've shed a little light on what work placements with Vogue fashion are like, and that I've shown you can get to where you want to be if you can demonstrate how strong your desire to work in fashion is. Your cover letter will be just as important, if not more so, than your CV and I definitely feel that mine is what got me my place. You're not applying for corporate positions in the same industries as some of your friends so you shouldn't expect a standard issue cover letter to do the same job- you need to demonstrate that you genuinely love what the magazine stands for, that you understand its brand and its readership and that you have picked up enough experience at previous magazines to really be an effective intern at Vogue. If you can show all of these things I have no doubt that it will be the start of something amazing, just as it was for me.
Next time: My placement at The Outnet
No comments:
Post a Comment