Job hunting can be a bloodsport, particularly in the world of publishing. And perhaps the best advice comes from those with personal experience in the matter - such as the world’s leading magazine editors. BD has collated some of the best career advice from the leading editors in the industry for those who are eager to break into its ranks:
Anna Wintour - editor-in-chief VOGUE US
“In today’s world you have to interact. You can’t really be some difficult, shy person who is not able to look somebody in the face. You have to present yourself. You have to know how to talk about your vision, your focus, and what you believe in. If you can’t be passionate about who you are and what you are doing: how can they [your audience] be?”
Kirstie Clements - former editor VOGUE Australia
“A corporation wants to know what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. A willingness to learn is crucial, but so is the capacity to bring something new and unique to the table. Be willing to do the actual job the company has a vacancy for.”
Ariel Foxman - editor-in-chief InStyle US
"Listen to people who have a bird's eye view that you don't have. Allow them to influence what you should or shouldn't do next. Trust that they have a lot of information about your talents — if they recommend strongly that you do something, pay attention."
Bronwyn McCahon - editor COSMOPOLITAN Australia
“Be nice to the work experience kids – they could be your boss one day.”
Jackie Frank - group publisher Pacific Magazines
“I think women should follow their guts, they should be authentic, it is really important to be part of the conversation, I think things like that are important and I think integrity is a huge part as well.”
Robbie Myers - editor-in-chief ELLE US
"Pleasant isn’t only nice to be around, it gets the job done.”
Joanna Coles - editor-in-chief COSMOPOLITAN US
“If I could offer any advice, it would be: Be your own shrink and ask yourself tough questions like, ‘Why am I doing this? Where do I want to be? And of course… what would I do if I weren’t afraid?’ And then be brutally honest with yourself, even if you give yourself answers you don’t want to know. Pay attention to your instincts…”
Eva Chen - former editor-in-chief Lucky
“I love it when people have original voices and opinions and they’re not just reporting on what happened in a straight forward news-ticker way… Honestly, I love following people on Twitter as well to get a sense of their personality! I’ve discovered some great potential talent that way.”
