The Ordinary, the Glamorous, & Everything in Between

Just like the movies, working at a magazine has many glamorous aspects to it. Walking through swinging doors that say Philadelphia Magazine, seeing next month’s issue before it’s finalized and printed, and getting to meet the team behind the magazine are some of my favorite parts of working at my Co-Op. But of course no job is pure glamour and fun without some hard work and relatively dull tasks. To give you a better idea, I’ll tell you about a typical day as an intern at Philadelphia Magazine.

The day at the office starts at 8:45. When I arrive I check the intern email account, which is shared with four other interns, and catch up on what tasks were given earlier that week before my first day of the week on Wednesday. Once the other interns arrive, I ask them how Monday and Tuesday went to see if there is anything we need to finish first.

Throughout the day, I report to three marketing specialists above me and occasionally two marketing directors above them. If one of my bosses has not given me something to work on, I’ll ask them if there is anything I can do. Typically, one of the marketing specialists will send an email with an assignment to be completed by the end of the day but usually as soon as possible. One aspect of working that differs from being in classes is that assignments need to be completed almost immediately. If I need to come up with something creative, I cannot think about it for a day or bounce ideas off my friends. I need to not only to think on my feet, but finish the project swiftly and correctly.

Some of these tasks my boss give me are everything from cleaning out the magazine’s storage closest, editing pieces that are going in the magazine, updating the magazine’s social media outlets, creating PR lists of upcoming events, and many other tasks involved with event planning. So far, it has been a very diverse working experience with both some ordinariness and excitement.