In this day and age the word intern is often said with a rather acidic tone-- and for good reason I suppose. The portrayal of interns by the media is always of exhausted young people, sitting in a mail-room or high-tailing it to the nearest coffee shop.
And in the fashion industry, we think, a la The Devil Wears Prada--though Andrea was an assistant, not an intern. My friend Megan cannot stand the term, and I think rightfully so; whenever it's used it is almost always in a demeaning, demoralizing way.
Right so back to the point of this rant, being an intern is not a horrid position to be in. As far as I'm concerned if you're in a niche market, industry etc. an internship is the place you need to be. And to me, i just cannot fathom why someone would turn down the opportunity to work directly with someone who has had years of experience working where they want to work; why wouldn't you yearn to work with people who have the same interests as you and aim to grow together-- to feed off each others mistakes and accomplishments? What about the meetings you get to sit in on? The networking that you're privy to-- in this day and age I have ONE word for you, Twitter.
I have been fortunate enough to have had two internships in the last year-- one of which I got even before I decided that I wanted to work in fashion. I can say, unequivocally, that it was the experience, exposure and support that I got from that internship that pushed me to start school for fashion, so thank you Lisa & Kristy I owe you much! And a year later I still manage to harass them and their company.
My second internship has challenged me beyond what I thought I could handle-- you would not believe how difficult it is to stay up to date with an industry that changes on a daily basis-- nothing stays the same. So writing for fashionotes.com, at times I wanted to pull my hair out, but I got to collaborate with amazing people, and attend great events, but not without hard work backing-- and to me, that's fair.
So to all yall who aren't jumping on these opportunities for fear of not being paid, think about it for a minute, and weigh your options... Carry on doing nothing and gaining nothing-- or do something and gain a whole lot.
My name is Brooke Glasford and I'm one hell of an intern! :D
And in the fashion industry, we think, a la The Devil Wears Prada--though Andrea was an assistant, not an intern. My friend Megan cannot stand the term, and I think rightfully so; whenever it's used it is almost always in a demeaning, demoralizing way.
Right so back to the point of this rant, being an intern is not a horrid position to be in. As far as I'm concerned if you're in a niche market, industry etc. an internship is the place you need to be. And to me, i just cannot fathom why someone would turn down the opportunity to work directly with someone who has had years of experience working where they want to work; why wouldn't you yearn to work with people who have the same interests as you and aim to grow together-- to feed off each others mistakes and accomplishments? What about the meetings you get to sit in on? The networking that you're privy to-- in this day and age I have ONE word for you, Twitter.
I have been fortunate enough to have had two internships in the last year-- one of which I got even before I decided that I wanted to work in fashion. I can say, unequivocally, that it was the experience, exposure and support that I got from that internship that pushed me to start school for fashion, so thank you Lisa & Kristy I owe you much! And a year later I still manage to harass them and their company.
My second internship has challenged me beyond what I thought I could handle-- you would not believe how difficult it is to stay up to date with an industry that changes on a daily basis-- nothing stays the same. So writing for fashionotes.com, at times I wanted to pull my hair out, but I got to collaborate with amazing people, and attend great events, but not without hard work backing-- and to me, that's fair.
So to all yall who aren't jumping on these opportunities for fear of not being paid, think about it for a minute, and weigh your options... Carry on doing nothing and gaining nothing-- or do something and gain a whole lot.
My name is Brooke Glasford and I'm one hell of an intern! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment