How to get into magazines: Advice from the editors

By Helen Russell  on Wednesday 16 March 2011

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Fancy carving out a career in the glamorous world of glossy magazines? Marie Claire's editor in chief Trish Halpin and the team shared their top tips on how to make it in the industry as part of our Inspire & Mentor campaign.

Readers who came along to the inaugural How To event for our 2011 Inspire & Mentor campaign at Marie Claire HQ enjoyed a glass of bubbly, nibbles and networking before meeting the Marie Claire team to talk careers and top tips for getting into the business.

Joining Trish was features director Andrea Thompson, fashion features director Jess Wood, beauty writer Cassie Steer and me, digital & online editor Helen Russell.



For those of you who couldn't make it, we asked each of the speakers to jot down their top five tips for success:

Trish Halpin, Editor in Chief
- Do your homework. Research the magazine you want to work for and get to grips with their house style. And always write a bespoke covering letter!


- Think about what you can bring to a role. Draw upon your experience and knowledge to prove to the employer that you are the right person for the job.
- Get experience in the industry. Even if a role isn’t exactly where you’d like to end up, you’ll be picking up invaluable skills.
- Make the most of where you work. If you’re part of a large publishing house, you can move around different magazines and roles to get closer to your dream job.


- Strong communication and people skills are essential. Get out there and build relationships. This will help to improve your confidence and your reputation at work.





Andrea Thompson, Features Director
- Get as much work experience at as many magazines as you can. You’ll gain valuable experience and make contacts at each magazine.


- Make yourself indispensable. Go the extra mile by constantly pitching ideas and offering to write. Make an impact and you’re more likely to be considered when a job comes up.
- See things from a reader’s point of view. This will ensure that you’re pitching ideas that are interesting to readers and show that you’ve done your research. 


- Have passion for your chosen topic. Writing about something personal to you will mean that you write with conviction.


- Contacts are vital in the world of magazines. Make sure you’re always out there meeting people and when you make a valuable contact, work hard to maintain it.



Jess Wood, Fashion Features Director
- Creativity is essential to becoming a successful writer. Think about new and exciting ways to write about catwalk trends.
- Working in a fashion cupboard gives you good experience and knowledge of the industry. You’ll get to know the important PRs, learn how shoots are styled and build relationships with senior team members.
- Assist a freelance stylist. Jobs in this area aren’t as competitive as trying to get a full time job at a magazine and you’ll get good hands-on experience.
- Schmooze! The relationships that you have with your contacts are crucial in securing a story or interview with a designer in a hugely competitive industry.


- Be persistent. The fashion magazine industry is notoriously difficult to break in to and you need to be dedicated and passionate to succeed.



Cassie
 Steer, Beauty Writer
- Get as much experience as possible on as many titles as possible.
- Build up contacts with beauty brands. The industry is so small that people soon get to know you and can put in a good word when jobs come up.
- Show willingness. Be prepared to do anything when you’re starting out – it’s the old cliché of making a good cuppa that can give you a foot in the door.
- Be tenacious. There are no guarantees of a job in this business and it takes serious stamina, but if you’re good at what you do, it’ll pay off in the end.
- Write. Do as much writing as possible for websites, blogs etc – anything that shows your breadth of talent.

Helen Russell, Digital & Online Editor
- Take up offers of training. Whether it’s online, in print, or on screen, training gives you an edge and makes you a more versatile (and attractive) employee.
- If you say you want to work online, prove it! Show that you’ve made an effort to develop your experience in this area on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
- Adapt your style to suit different titles or sites. Always research thoroughly, from reading back issues to scouring the net and looking at the media pack.
- Be comfortable at taking direction from editors and always welcome feedback. There’s no room for ego!
- Being genuinely nosy and fairly outgoing also helps. Good journalists are great at listening, finding things out and getting people to open up.

Let us know what you think - and any of your own top tips for success - in the comments box below.

FOR MORE ON GETTING YOUR DREAM JOB, JOIN OUR INSPIRE AND MENTOR CAMPAIGN HERE

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH MARIE CLAIRE'S ISSUES AND CAMPAIGNS HERE

Wednesday 16 March 2011

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I found the evening very useful and I am planning on getting as much work experience in styling as I can. Thank you for the brilliant tips!
Comment by Elena Ruiu on March 18 23:31

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