Want to win some moola to live on while you take an unpaid internship? Chris Rackliffe did, and he’s Ed’s latest trust fund winner. The Baltimore, Maryland, native and Details intern sat down with Ed to tell us about who he is and how he won so you can be next.
What were your past internship experiences like?
I didn’t intern until my junior year when I interned for a promotional products company where I wrote, edited, and blogged. My main journalism experience during college came from working for the yearbook at University of Miami. We consistently have one of the top five yearbooks in the country, and we’re known for a more visual approach to stories.
Were you a journalism major?
My degree (Chris graduated last May!) is actually in advertising, but the yearbook is how I got involved with writing, editing, and design. I started out as a section editor, then I moved up to managing editor, and then I was promoted to editor-in-chief.
At what point did you decide that you wanted to work for a magazine?
Working for the yearbook really opened my eyes. I had never considered media or journalism before and I loved it. When I was editor-in-chief, it was one fun day after the other. I got to hire everyone on staff, and we would just sit around and throw out crazy ideas and then make them happen.
What are your favorite mags?
Definitely GQ and Details. They’re just fun to read and pertain to all the topics that I would talk about to my friends anyway, like celebrities, gossip, sex, monogamy, government, and society.
How’d you meet Ed?
I use the website for advice. I always check when people write in to see what Ed’s responses are about cover letters, interviews, and the industry. Mainly, though, I look at the WhisperJobs. I found my current internship on Ed2010. I applied and landed an interview.
What was your trust fund application like?
I started my essay with a quote from Dan Peres, the editor-in-chief of Details. I talked about how it had always been a dream of mine to work in the Condé Nast building. Before I got my internship, I thought that my attempt to make it in New York had failed miserably: I had a couple of interviews but nothing really came of it. I was qualified but in this industry qualified is under-qualified. I also talked about my personal struggles in the essay. I think putting it all out there and being honest was why I won.
What advice would you give to future applicants?
I read a lot of magazines and I knew Ed’s style. I tried to draw the reader in early and tell my story. You know yourself the best; why do you deserve it? For me, it was because I thought I had failed, but then I succeeded and money was really my only concern. Stay on topic, but also make it very personal.
