 |
| Photo by Emily Wilson |
| A teleconference with a New York-based editor allowed students interested in magazine internships to gather a few tips on applying. Junior Allie Townsend (center) moderated the talk. |
Organizers of Ed2010, a magazine interest group, sponsored the teleconference with Elisa Benson, associate features editor of Seventeen Magazine, in the Ernie Pyle Lounge.
Ed2010 organizer Allie Townsend’s phone call caught Benson just as she was wrapping up an interview. While walking the streets of New York, Benson talked to the group. First, she stressed personal touches.
“‘To whom it may concern’ is the kiss of death,’” she said. Instead, contact human resources to find out the name and gender of the internship coordinator you’ll be addressing in your cover letter.
Benson advised showing personality in a cover letter rather than sounding too formal. “I’m looking for a cover letter that feels like a love letter,” she said.
For those without much experience, put as much thought into your cover letter as possible. Benson said if she isn’t impressed with your letter, she won’t even look at a résumé. If she is impressed, she said she may offer you an interview no matter how lean your résumé might be.
| Benson’s Advice: Resume Necessities
|
“They really want to see that you’ve read the magazine,” she said. Benson even recommends talking in “magazine speak.” For example, editors don’t contribute ideas, they “pitch” them.
Benson doesn’t recommend sending dozens of your best clips to the publications. Instead, send the clips that are most relevant for the publication. Don’t automatically send the hard news piece you won an award for, if you have plenty of solid features to send in. And, don’t send more than two unless the publication says otherwise.
And what’s Benson’s ultimate pet peeve? It’s when people attach their cover letters instead of pasting them in the body of the e-mail. Benson stressed that these seemingly minor issues may cost you a competitive internship.
In January, Townsend and others decided to try to establish a chapter of Ed2010 at IU. Ed2010 is a nationwide network of young magazine writers who hope to have magazine jobs by 2010.
The students plan to bring Chandra Czape of CosmoGirl to campus at the beginning of April.
| Benson’s Advice: The Art of Cover Letters
|
| Benson’s Advice: Decoding Résumés
|
