Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Meeting Recap for April 10: Skype with Judi Pena

Last week we skyped with Judi Pena, the assistant to the editor-in-chief at Every Day with Rachael Ray.
Judi studied at the University of South Carolina where she was a English and Biology major. When it came time to write her honors thesis, she decided to flaunt her love for food and wrote a chocolate cookbook. When it came time to graduate, Judi was still unsure of what she wanted to do, so she took a year off (which he highly recommends) and managed a restaurant. After that year, she decided to go to culinary school.
After culinary school, Judi did a 6-month, full-time internship at Rachael Ray. It was supposed to only last for three months, but the intern who would be replacing her changed her mind, allowing Judi to stay on for another three months.
After her internship, Judi worked as a bartender for a month before being asked to come back to Rachael Ray as the assistant to the executive and managing editors. When Lauren Purcell (a UNC alumna) came on board as the editor-in-chief of Rachael Ray, she asked Judi to be her assistant,
As assistant to the editor-in-chief, Judi answers the phone, and organized Lauren's schedule and travel plans. She also has the opportunity to see a lot of the behind the scenes things that go on at the magazine. Judi is also involved in doing a lot of research for the magazine and is in charge of all the social media.
Judi's advice:

  • Always reach out to people and keep in touch
  • Keep trying just as hard once you "get in the door"
  • Take charge of what's assigned to you
  • Ask for feedback
  • When applying for a food magazine, have something in your back pocket like a blog, or food photography
  • BE able to talk about recipes and food confidently

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