A little disclaimer before I start: For obvious reasons, I won’t disclose everything. Duh.
Flashback to three months ago when I officially got accepted at Status Magazine for an internship: I was looking for blog posts that would help me give an idea on how things work at Status. I found several blogs but they didn’t necessarily answer the questions I had. I was a newbie, practically scared of entering the real world and no one was giving me answers! Imagine the horror. I remember wishing having someone who could tell me what’s expected of me as an art intern (again, I was clueless, ok!), so I decided to write this for y’all.
My internship at Status started January 11, 2017 and ended March 16, 2017. At first, it was hard. Internship + freelance work + thesis + 2 other major courses doesn’t really sound like a piece of cake. But with troubles like this, you’ll just have to learn to adjust and make it work.
Time & shift: Since I have classes on Fridays, I only go to work three days a week; Mondays to Wednesdays – the Thursdays I reserved to catch up on schoolwork. My shift starts at 9am and ends around 6pm! We had three breaks, one in the morning, lunch, and another in the afternoon. They never made me take an OT, which is something I really appreciated. On a good day, I’d be home before 8pm! Just in time for dinner :p
Dress code: Decent clothing is expected, as with most companies. However, Status isn’t really that strict with their dress code. Considering that I don’t have much business clothes, it’s really a blessing that I can get away with wearing shorts and skirts from time to time. Usually, I’d just rock a shirt, jeans, and sneakers! If you’re looking for an internship, make sure to ask about their dress code as some companies require their employees to wear business attire.
Expected work: Seeing that I’m a Multimedia Arts student, the kind of work that were expected of me lay on the creative side of the spectrum. I was mostly tasked with article layouts (like the one pictured above) and social media visuals – but sometimes, they made me help in covering events/shoots. Truth be told, I don’t regret taking this internship as it really helped me strengthen and expand my portfolio! Woo!
Overall it was fun and engaging. I’m happy that I got to new and meet talented people in the creative field. I learned a lot of techniques and I can honestly say that my skills have improved. No joke! I look at my old works and cringe, lol. Aside from the experience, I’m grateful that my supervisors taught me to be proud of my work even though they didn’t really say it explicitly. I have a tendency to doubt myself and my work, so that’s really huge for me. (Really, thanks!)
Tips:
Look for pegs or find inspiration – art block happens to most artists but that’s not an excuse to stop producing work. Visit Behance, Pinterest, or even Tumblr and look at pegs. Don’t forget to rest, too!
Be on time – and if you’re going to be late or absent, make sure to tell your superior in advance. This was the first tip my older sister, who’s an HR manager, told me!
Ask questions – if you don’t understand something or doubtful, ask. I shouldn’t even be telling you this anymore!
Count your hours – I forgot to count my hours and only did so when my supervisor reminded me. Make sure to always count how much time you still need to accomplish so you can also update your boss . This is quite important since they schedule the intern tasks on time. There are numerous time calculators and timesheet templates available online!
Back up your files – you should know this by now too. Just take this as a reminder to back up your files cause you never know when your laptop’s going to give up on you. It’s the sad, sad truth. Upload your files on Google Drive or invest on an external hard drive, whatever you choose, just back up your damn files, boo!
I heard Status Magazine is currently looking for art and editorial interns, so if you’re interested head over to their site and look for their contact details 😉
Thalia Karr 