Getting to where she is
Caitlin always knew what she wanted to do and is a product of many, many internships. Since she grew up in New York City, Caitlin was able to start early with a full-year internship at Seventeen Magazine's accessories department when she was in the 11th grade. It was mostly untangling jewelry, she says, but she loved every minute of it.
After she graduated from high school "all the stars aligned" for Caitlin when she happened to be a camp counselor to Amy Astley's (EIC of Teen Vogue) daughter. The next summer she landed an internship in Teen Vogue's fashion closet.
"It was a lot of grunt work, but I got great experience and made great contacts," she says.
Catilin says that by proving herself in the fashion department she was able to land an editorial internship at Cookie Magazine through the Condé Nast internship program
She recommends doing internship programs whenever you can.
"They show so much more care. The really take you around and show you the company," she says.
Caitlin participated in the ASME internship program the next summer and was placed at SELF Magazine.
Caitlin graduated the next year, right in the middle of the recession. She had trouble finding jobs despite all her contacts in the industry and worked at a gym while maintaining two internships. Finally, Caitlin landed a job at The Knot Magazine.
At The Knot, she says she was writing about 80 percent of the magazine.
"It was really intense," she says. "I was always working until 3 a.m., but it was the best boot camp ever."
While at The Knot, Caitlin was constantly interviewing and doing edit tests, hoping to land a job at Condé Nast. She interviewed for a position at Teen Vogue, and although she didn't get the job, it led her to the job she now holds at Glamour.
Working at Glamour
Caitlin says one of the perks of her job is that she gets to go see every movie.
"Watching TV and going to movies and concerts is a part of my job and I'm obsessed with it."
Caitlin's job is half booking celebrities, which includes a lot of administrative work and also coordinating things like hair and makeup and catering for shoots, and half writing and editing.
Maintaining a strong web presence is important for Caitlin, who blogs twice a week.
Part of Glamour's recent redesign includes integrating celebrities everywhere in the magazine so Caitlin now also works with the entire features department to reach that goal.
Caitlin's golden nuggets of advice:
- If you don't blog you should start
- Keep up with all your contacts
- Really show you're interested in the internship
- Meet with editors for coffee, pick their brains
- Phone etiquette is really important
