Dear Ed,
At my internship, sometimes I feel like I’m doing something important and doing a great job. Other times, especially “down time,” I feel like I’m just…here. I’m a little on the shy side, but I want to leave a lasting impression on my supervisor and co-workers. What can I do to show that I really am interested even though my sometimes standoffish and shy demeanor may say otherwise?
Thanks,
C, New York City
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Dear C,
It’s normal for there to be downtime during your internship. Sometimes, it’s more work for an editor to come up with tasks for you to help her with! Even though it feels like there’s nothing to work on, there are many things you can do that’ll help you leave a lasting impression (and get some great experience in the process!).
The easiest thing: Look at the editors’ offices and see what may need organizing. It can be anything from going through the big pile of mail stacked up in her inbox, filing press releases that have been sitting on her desk, or bringing products that may have come her way to a closet. Then, offer your assistance. If the project is something that would require you to be in the editor’s office or cubicle, tell her you can do it while she’s at lunch. With that kind of offer, hardly any editor will refuse…and your willingness to pitch in at this level will make them more likely to throw editorial work your way.
When you’re not working on anything specific for an editor, read newspapers, Web sites, and back issues of your magazine. Find sections that appeal to you and come up with fresh ways to approach the types of topics covered in those sections. You can pitch feature ideas, but the front-of-book and back-of-book sections with shorter stories are usually easier to break into, and they’re a good way to learn what’s too broad for a brief and may be better as a feature. Write up your ideas and e-mail them to, or print them out and drop them off with, the editor that works on that section. Let her know that you’d really appreciate her feedback and would love to write any of the ideas you’ve pitched if she thinks any are viable. Give her a week to get back to you and, if you haven’t heard anything, ask to set up a time to go over your pitches.
Read other magazines, especially competitors, and find things that they do well. Write up a list, along with how your magazine could do similar things and what the benefits of doing so would be. Bonus points for reading non-competitor magazines and coming up with ways to make their recurring items work for your magazine.
Love,
Ed