Hey guys. I’ve been looking, and looking, and looking for a job for months. I have great newspaper and magazine internship experience from college, and have just completed a year-long paid internship at a regional magazine. I’m living at home, and my parents can no longer afford to pay for my bills (my health insurance, in particular), yet I really wanted to take this time to really buckle down and focus all of my time on finding my first real editorial job.
That being said, do any of you pursue employment at stores or in restaurants while you look for what you really want? Do you think that hinders you job search, or are you able to balance both? Has anyone managed to make waiting tables or working at a clothing store pay the bills, and then found a “real” job that you love? I’ve never taken a non-editorial job before, but I’m getting desperate, and I’d really like your input.
Thanks!
Retail
I worked retail in between my internship with Teen Vogue and the full time position I just received with Conde Nast. It is flexible hours ie: you could have the whole morning off with which to job search and I didn’t even need to show it on my resume, as I had enough editorial experience. If I were asked what I was currently doing in an interview, I would say working retail. If an employer starts to scoff, translate it like this: By working retail, you are essentially involved in the culminating step of the fashion flow-chart. The clothes pictured in magazines are there because they hope people will eventually go to a store and buy them. Witnessing that step first-hand is great in experiencing the Fashion market as a whole, as is dealing with customers. Whether they are cranky, bitchy or sweet - you deal with everyone and have to remain positive, with the mindset of “the customer is always right,” which is a great skill - to grin and bear it- that you will use for the rest of your life.
Retail is also fairly easy to have a shift covered if you were to need to interview and if you are forthright with the fact that you are job searching for your dream job on the side, most people are flexible enough to help you out. Think about where you work though: I worked at a pricey label that is well-respected and the clientele and their spending habits reflected that. The experience I got at DKNY is much more translatable to the mag position I have now than if I had worked at say, Hot Topic or Old Navy. If you are smart about it, working retail on the side can be an extremely helpful and instructive job while you job search.
Definitely
Retail and resturants are where it’s at for post grads. I’m currently full time at Nine West (which gives me benefits and health insurance), and the flexible hours allow me tons of time to interview for journalism jobs. I’ve also looked into corporate, which is an avenue you may want to explore. Although retail sucks, we all know that, it does give you that flexibility which is key when looking for a real job. I would let your managers know that you’re looking though. Wait till they hire you, then tell them that you want to remain with them as long as you can, but you’re are looking for a job in your field. Retail is such a revolving door that it wouldn’t be a big deal if you came and went, as long as you were a good worker and honest. I’m open with my managers about what I’m doing, and it’s been good. Now I just need to find that real job! Good luck to you!