Emmis Interns Turned Employees

Hey interns!

This is Elise and Shannon, editorial interns at Indianapolis Monthly magazine. We'd love to share with you some useful information to help you make the best of your internship at Emmis. For our first post, we've interviewed two former Emmis interns who are now Emmis employees. We've posted their answers below to give you some fascinating insights into what it takes to make the transition between intern and employee. Happy reading!

Megan Fernandez, Senior Editor for Indianapolis Monthly

1. What intern position did you have? How old were you ?

Editorial intern, between my junior and senior years in
college.

2. What college did you attend? What was your major?

 Indiana University, journalism major

3. Did you have any other jobs before coming to work at Emmis?

I held editing jobs at a few small magazines in Indianapolis (Indiana
Business Magazine, Where Indianapolis magazine, and Journey magazine) and
freelanced for Indianapolis Monthly before joining the staff full-time.

4. What did you learn at your Emmis internship?

To emulate Julia Spalding, who was an editor when I was an intern...

To give yourself permission to write a bad first draft if you need to, 

and let the editor help you... That earnest sucking up can open doors.

5. What advice do you have for current or future Emmis interns?

Takethe initiative to learn during this internship. Go to the editors and pick
their brains. Ask to see a story they edited from start to finish – the
assignment memo, the first draft, the revision instructions, the next draft,
the final version on layout – and ask why changes were made. Also, talk to
the art directors and ask them what makes a good editor, from their point of
view. Learn everything about the art and production processes. Pitch a lot
of ideas.

6. How and why did you decide to work at Emmis?

 Emmis allows writers and editors to be creative and provides them with a 

terrific audience and even better colleagues. I was freelancing for IM 

when a position came open, and that gave me an advantage. The editor already

knew me and what I could do.

7. What are employers looking for in interns who might be future employees?

 We take notice of talented writers and smart people who are curious, dedicated,
and take the initiative to make the most of their time here.

Elyse Causey, Administrative Assistant  for Indianapolis Monthly

1. What is your educational background?

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing from Indiana Wesleyan University.

2. What internship position did you have when you interned at Emmis?

I was an editorial intern for Kim Hannel in the fall of 2009.

3. What is the career path that led you to work at Emmis?

I have always loved magazines and magazine writing, so I knew

I'd like to work at a magazine. I've also had quite a few customer

service-oriented jobs, from hostessing at a restaurant to working

in retail, and a lot of what I do now as receptionist and administrative

assistant includes being the first face people see when they walk into

the company, so those customer service jobs were good training.

4. How did you land a spot working at Emmis? Why choose to work at

Emmis?

I was nearing graduation so I contacted Kim, who has had many,

many interns over the years and has many, many connections. I was hoping

she had heard about a job opening somewhere around town, but she

quickly responded and said that she had found out that day that they

would soon be hiring for my position. I never dreamed I would

wind up back at Emmis so quickly, but I am so glad I did!

5. What things did you learn from your internship that apply to your

work now?

I learned how to manage deadlines and to do the work you may not

always be passionate about so that you can get to the work you love,

which for me was getting to write a few snippets in the magazine.

6. What advice would you give to interns who would like to work at Emmis

in the future?

                 

I would highly recommend doing an internship at Emmis, whether

it's in art or edit or corporate, because not only do interns get a ton

of experience, they're also an integral part of the company. Some of

the interns made a video a couple of years ago about how some

internships only require you to make coffee and go on bagel runs,

but that is definitely not how it is here at Emmis. The interns here

even get their names in the masthead of the magazine, which I thought

was so cool, but it's truly deserved because of all the work they do

for the magazine. Take a look sometime at other magazines, and you won't

often see interns' names listed in the masthead. It's an honor but

it's hard-earned.

7. What are employers looking for in interns who might be future

employees?

Former interns are at a big advantage when applying to the

company they once interned for: they already know a lot of the staff and

they have a feel for the general atmosphere and how things

operate. Even if the job they're applying for isn't specifically related

to what they did as an intern, they already have a step up on outside

candidates, who will need a few weeks to simply get adjusted to a new

environment, never mind their new job responsibilities. As long as the

intern left a good impression on those they came in contact with during

their internship, they are definitely at an advantage 

(which they should not neglect to mention in the interviewing process).

8. Anything else you would like to add that might be helpful for

interns?

Just be yourself and use the internship as a learning experience--not just learning

how to perform your responsibilities, but learning about what you enjoy doing, 

what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask; 

when I was an intern, I got a chance to ask our dining editor what her favorite restaurant 

was in the city. Although thousands of people around the city read the magazine, 

many of whom use it to find out about the newest and best restaurants in the city, 

not many get the chance to ask that question directly to one of the editors.