By Marcus Lee
Yup, that’s me in the forest green sweater. Around me are my Editor-in-Chief Adele Chan, publisher Kenath Low, and the rest of the bunch, my happy colleagues. We’re happy because we’re getting lunch for free, and after lunch we get to go home. This is a group photo we took at The Botanico last Christmas… but back to me in my green sweater. It’s from Uniqlo U SS18, a collection I really liked and wrote about even before it launched in Singapore. In fact, there’ve been a ton of things I really like that I’ve written about: getting designer bags for less, fashion brands that are truly inclusive, and this amazing Instagram account about counterfeit clothing. And granted, sharing great online finds is a big passion of mine. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg being an intern at NYLON Singapore. Here is my story:
Job Scope
Work starts later than most offices at NYLON. I get in at 9:30am every morning, scrolling through Instagram and other “news” platforms and report on what’s trending at the moment (yes, using Instagram IS part of the job). I found out Cate Blanchett subscribes to “penis facials,” Netflix pays you for a full year of maternity leave, and millennial pink is apparently no longer cool. Alternatively, I’ll work on bigger, “investigative” projects; I’ve tried and reviewed the cult micro-roller, even spoken to a man who gets paid to insult his customers! As I’ve said, writing isn’t everything, but it’s certainly an important part and can get really fun if I get to work on the right topics.
In between writing about two articles every day, interning at NYLON includes other tasks like receiving press kits at the front door, answering phone calls, sending out emails, buying lunch, buying coffee, shooting pictures and videos for our social media platforms, editing those pictures and videos, taking meeting minutes, sorting out press products, and running to whomever’s desk when you hear your name called out.
Some of the pictures I shot for Instagram
And that’s most days, really. There’s a huge misconception that working at a magazine takes the same effort as reading it; when you’re working for hours trying to create great content, it’s the power of good work that MAKES it look effortless, when it fact it’s not. Some times if I’m involved in a project or have requested to be, I get to attend events or visit exclusive showrooms. Last Christmas, I got a VIP view of The Sam Willows perform in front of the Tiffany & Co. Christmas Tree. I also got to loan my favourite Hermès accessories; the entire office was squealing and taking pictures with the SS18 Kelly like it was a celebrity. I even got a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, with my initials monogramed on the case, when I attended the official launch of Singapore’s first Ray-Ban store!
The Office
If you think life’s pretty great as a NYLON intern, you should check out the state of our office. Without giving too much away, this is the picture we received from Adele when asked to clean up our desks on Chinese New Year Eve:
Photo for illustration purposes only
Our office looks like the office in “The Office.” There’re past issues of NYLON and copies of Editing Beauty Book I and II stacked on shelves, paper bags with beauty products and press releases littered everywhere. It’s honestly not a bad mess to be in, I must say. We’re a small team in a small office space, and everyone’s desk is their mini Kingdom.
That’s me in the middle, at the intern’s desk
The Good Stuff
NYLON is the first magazine I’ve interned at. Growing up with Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty, I was honestly quite skeptical about how life would be like working at a company with such a leading voice on all things beauty and pop culture. Would I have to deal with Anna Wintour types every day? Would I be judged for my sense of fashion?
After interning for six months, I can assure you that working at a magazine (at NYLON, at least) is almost nothing like it is portrayed in TV and movies. Nobody has the time or energy to look or dress like they’re heading off to a gala; I’ve cultivated a “uniform” — button-up shirt, jeans and sneakers — that I stick to religiously. I don’t wear the same clothes every day, of course, and if I’m feeling jazzy I might try something new.
Work-wise, it’s as fun as you make it out to be. The number of projects I’ve been assigned increased the more I worked, which made it important to manage my time and focus on completing tasks duly. Nobody really “forced” me to be creative, it was up to me to change the way I worked every time so that I could improve on my own terms. And that’s another part of working at NYLON that I really enjoy: you’re encouraged to express yourself freely, and if you’re able to prove you can execute great ideas, those ideas get produced. Some quirkier fashion features I’ve done include my favourite ugly Christmas sweaters, and the best fashion collabs of 2017.
But the part of my job I really enjoy, which is crucial to the overall happiness of an employee, is (in my opinion, at least) the culture always enforces open communication. We have weekly editorial meetings to discuss potential story ideas for the week and beyond, which encompasses the brains from the editorial, design and sales teams. The (current) team is also a really close-knit group of friends, many of whom I hang out with even after work. We have lunch together every day, and love to discuss creative ideas for our website and social media, as well as our recent obsessions; mine’s #COCOGAMECENTERSG.
The Bad Stuff
I’m not going to sugarcoat my experience; you wouldn’t believe me even if I promised you my six months have been rainbows and butterflies, so I might as well come clear about what I disliked about my internship:
The wifi sucks and we seem to have a shortage of tissue.
My Verdict
I kid. Not about the wifi and tissue, though. While there’ve been proud moments and others when I desperately wanted to tap out, interning at NYLON has definitely been an important role in affirming my interest as a writer, or, should I say “content creator.” So I wouldn’t want to bash it too much; the stress and rejection I’ve faced have ultimately made me a better worker.
As my first foray into the media industry, it has definitely helped ease me into the challenges of technically working a full-time job. More importantly than hone my technical skills like writing, shooting, editing, ideation, etc., I’ve picked up many valuable soft skills like problem solving, resilience, and willingness to learn, which I believe are among the top ten most valuable skills companies look out for in 2018.
You seem to need a certain amount of luck to get an internship at NYLON. I joined when they were looking for interns; an intern once told me she’d applied for a position here for five years! More significantly, however, when you DO get that position, you’ll need to show that you have what it takes to excel, and actually back that assurance with results.
If you want to apply as an intern for NYLON Singapore, head over to our Facebook page for more information.
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