What's Happening?
Part of the intern supply problem comes down to greater demand. It's no secret that in recent years, parts of the publishing industry have had to cut back as the Internet and other media have cut into their market base. The need to stretch dwindling economic resources has created a new dynamic, as positions that used to go to entry-level hires are now being filled by non-paid interns. This has created a greater and greater dependence on interns to fill what were originally entry-level jobs, in turn creating a greater competition for students to fill those gaps.
Less Slack to Pay the Bills
Another issue is that as the job market tightens and students find themselves having to rely more and more on their own resources, fewer and fewer students can afford to take a non-paying magazine intern position. Instead, they're more likely to take a lower level, paying job in a related field, hoping to leverage that job into a paid position with a magazine later on. Working on a local community publication or specialty magazine may not be as glamorous as a slot at Vogue, but paid experience has the added advantage of covering the costs of college while providing needed experience.
Too Much, Too Soon?
A third factor in the shrinking of the internship pool is that many applicants for magazine intern positions now feel that magazines are asking too much of their interns, effectively loading them down with responsibilities far exceeding their capacities as both interns and students. Balancing the workload of a full-time associate editor position with a school career becomes an impossible task, forcing applicants for magazine intern positions to seriously consider whether the experience is worth it.
Getting a Jump on the Competition
A final factor in the intern ''drought'' is timing. Previously faced with long waiting lines in their senior year, students looking for magazine intern positions are now starting to look for spots earlier in their collegiate careers when competition is less rigorous. By the time they're ready to enter their senior year, many of these early starters have already fulfilled their need to take a magazine intern position and are ready to move into a paid, full-time job. By jumping a few years ahead of the pack, these students have usually been able to put together more experienced resumes and enter the work force commanding higher salaries and entry-level positions.
In a volatile job market, a publication may often discover that the slot normally occupied by an intern has been taken up by a displaced professional looking to improve his resume or leverage an unpaid position into a paid one. At first, this may look like a win for the magazine as they gain a trained, experienced professional at no cost to themselves, but these temporary ''pseudo-interns'' often move on as soon as a paid position opens up, leaving an unexpected gap. In the meantime, the real interns may have moved on to fill magazine intern positions at other companies, leaving the company to scramble to fill a suddenly vacant internship.
The Good News for You
So what's the upside? Well, if you're looking for a magazine intern position, there's never been a better time to apply. Magazines are fighting for talented young people to fill these slots, and you may be just what they're looking for. Previously coveted fashion magazine internships, such as Elle magazine internships and Vogue magazine internships, could be a bit easier to get. If you're considering seeking an internship position, this changing dynamic can change the playing field — as long as you stop to consider a few important points:
- Take a look at your commitment load. Can you handle the extra workload that today's internships demand? If not, consider carefully whether you will have to cut back on courses or other commitments to fit an internship in.
- If the internship position will involve tasks normally delegated to a full-time professional, make sure that your tasks are clearly defined and that any recommendation letter highlights exactly what you've done. If you're planning to become an associate editor for your first paid job, having that experience explicitly detailed in your resume will advance your bid a lot — after all, you've already done the job.
- Can your finances handle it? An unpaid magazine intern position won't pay the bills even if it gives you lots of experience. And paid magazine internships are hard to come by. Do you have the financial resources to get by without having to take another job? If so, a magazine internship may be a good fit for you.
