Dear Ed,
I desperately want to get a job in magazines, but I'm so overwhelmed I don't know where to start. Can you help?
—Lucy
Syracuse, New York
Lucy,
Yes, it can be overwhelming. Try not to let it get to you. Here are my basic tips for landing your first magazine job.
1. MAKE FRIENDS
It's true. To get a job in magazines, you have to know someone. That's because most job openings are word-of-mouth. Luckily, there are a lot of mouths. Don't be afraid to exploit them. Does your aunt have a friend who works for Vanity Fair? Is your best friend's sister's roommate an editorial assistant at Redbook? Is the senior editor at Time Out New York an alumnus of your university? Now tell every one of these people that you are looking for a job (you might want to write them a quick flattering email or offer to buy them a drink first). Then ask these editors to let you know if they hear of any openings within their company (even better if they can refer you). Next go to every possible free (you are unemployed after all) magazine networking party you can. Ed2010 sponsors happy hours and events throughout the country for aspiring editors
to mingle, gossip, and tell each other about job openings.
2. WRITE A KILLER COVER LETTER
Connections will only get you in the door. You still have to write a good cover letter. Two rules of thumb: 1) Err on the side of informal. You are applying to be an editor, not an accountant. Phrases like, "My education has prepared me for this opportunity" and "I look forward to hearing from you soon," should not appear. Instead, be creative. For instance, when Ed was hiring an associate editor at a teen magazine back in the day, one applicant sent him a magazine cut out of a man's head that he had glued to a makeshift pocket. Inside the pocket were various other clippings—a hamburger, a bikini-clad model,
a baseball, a CD player—with a note that read, "Hire me. I know what's inside the boy brain." Ed immediately called the guy for an interview. (Okay, he didn't get the job in the end, but he did get Ed's attention.) 2) Be short. No longer than a page, tops (same goes for your resume).
3. BE HUMBLE
Entry-level jobs in magazines are mostly assistant-level and consist more of mail-opening, phone-answering, and photocopying than editing or writing. Editors want to hire editors who will do such menial tasks with enthusiasm and a sense of importance, not a sense of entitlement. You may be talented, but chances are the editor hiring you had to pay her dues. She expects you to do the same. In your interview, say while you'd love to write and edit, you are also willing to fetch coffee and answer reader letters.
4. BE PERSISTENT BUT NOT A PEST
The hiring process often takes an incredibly long time, sometimes six weeks or more (friends of Ed's have waited up to four months!). Resist calling to follow-up more than twice—any more than that is annoying. If they want to interview you or hire you, promise, They will not forget to call. One thing you can do:
Write a hand-written thank you note with a reference to something you talked about in your interview—preferably something flattering or witty. You just need the editor to think, "She's so clever!" And you're in.
Love,
Ed
