The Life Of An Intern at Sheerluxe
Being an intern is something that, despite the horror stories that have been recounted to pretty much every pre-working 20-something, I find so enjoyable to do over my holidays. I’m a rather proactive individual so I find it very difficult to spend my time doing nothing, especially when I have an empty schedule that spans for weeks on end (I know, I know, it may seem a tad weird... but that's just me!). Therefore, I reached out to Sheerluxe after having seen an opening on their website and sent my CV in hopes of securing an internship. Fortunately, they offered me a placement in their Wandsworth offices as an Editorial Intern. I’d never worked with a completely digital brand before, so I was immensely excited by this new opportunity to enter the realms of an online-based business.
Sheerluxe is an online magazine that caters for women of all ages, posting inspiring stories, shopping pieces, beauty hacks and recipes, just to name a couple of examples from their fabulously robust editorial repertoire. I’ve read many of Sheerluxe’s pieces and could really resonate with their tone and approach to style, beauty and life. As you could therefore imagine, I was delighted to have been offered a spot as an intern.
Now, Wandsworth isn’t a section of London that I had ever ventured to, being a “Northener” (in terms of the London map) it seemed like a completely foreign expedition to cross to the other side of the river. However, to my delight it was in fact an endearing place, with rows upon rows of neat, colourful townhouses and a local street that was laden with independent, cutesy stores that proved fun to wander in and out of as I waited to for an acceptable time to go into the office (is being 20 mins early too keen?????).
When I arrived at the office, I timidly rang the buzzer and waited for the click of the door to signal I had been approved to enter the building. I shared the lift up to the 2nd floor with the other intern who was also beginning on that day. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the office was the small, intimate team. I knew this was a growing enterprise, but I wasn't expecting such a small group of colleagues, especially as I have interned at institutions such as Condé Nast and Hearst, all of which are mazes upon mazes of desks, with an astounding number of colleagues. We were greeted with a cheerful smile by our supervisor and were shown to our desk for that day.
Another thing that took me by surprise was the number of interns they had. There were 5 of us in total and, seeing as most of my previous internships have involved me being a lone wolf in the Narnia that constituted the fashion cupboard, I was extremely pleased to have actual human presence around me. We were shown the basics first, how to affiliate product links where necessary for the products in the articles; Hattie and Harriet (big up those gals) were incredibly sweet and understanding of the nerves that come with being an intern, making the process that extra bit enjoyable. Having passed my ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence - yes, I know it sounds utterly ludicrous - I breezed through the technicalities and rather enjoyed the rhythmic process of copying and pasting endless lists of deeplinks.
As the days went on, I was taught how to build an article by inserting and formatting the copy, uploading the images and testing the product links. I felt though we were given a sizeable amount of responsibility, which was an immensely satisfying feeling. Having constant conversation with the other girls was a good motivational boost throughout the day, as were our regular tea breaks during which we would admire the personalised Emma Bridgewater mugs and debate over which curiously-flavoured herbal teas we should sample next. Lunchtime was mainly spent in the "hub", which was a trendy - think neon wall lights and the most millennial wallpaper you ever did see - space, kitted out with a kitchen, seating area and a photoshoot corner.
My favourite aspect of the internship was being able to chit-chat with the other interns whilst getting on with our tasks. The tasks were separated into different steps and we were all assigned different ones to take responsibility for. I also particularly enjoyed having the chance to sit in on an editorial meeting, where us interns were able to pitch 3 ideas each for website stories/articles. When my 3 ideas were greeted with "oh that's a good idea!", I was given a much-needed boost of confidence, motivating me to have some faith in my ability as a writer/idea generator. I was also fortunate enough to have the time to speak one-on-one with Charlotte Collins, the fashion editor, which was an extremely insightful and inspiring conversation.
I am truly thankful to the Sheerluxe team for welcoming me so warmly aboard the company and I can confirm I gained a wealth of insight and knowledge into how an online magazine is put together, managed and analysed, which is an experience I hadn't ever had the pleasure to witness. I have come away with some new friends and contacts that I hope to keep throughout my career!
Love from a very tired, very fed-up-with-commuting but very motivated Chloé x
When I arrived at the office, I timidly rang the buzzer and waited for the click of the door to signal I had been approved to enter the building. I shared the lift up to the 2nd floor with the other intern who was also beginning on that day. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the office was the small, intimate team. I knew this was a growing enterprise, but I wasn't expecting such a small group of colleagues, especially as I have interned at institutions such as Condé Nast and Hearst, all of which are mazes upon mazes of desks, with an astounding number of colleagues. We were greeted with a cheerful smile by our supervisor and were shown to our desk for that day.
Another thing that took me by surprise was the number of interns they had. There were 5 of us in total and, seeing as most of my previous internships have involved me being a lone wolf in the Narnia that constituted the fashion cupboard, I was extremely pleased to have actual human presence around me. We were shown the basics first, how to affiliate product links where necessary for the products in the articles; Hattie and Harriet (big up those gals) were incredibly sweet and understanding of the nerves that come with being an intern, making the process that extra bit enjoyable. Having passed my ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence - yes, I know it sounds utterly ludicrous - I breezed through the technicalities and rather enjoyed the rhythmic process of copying and pasting endless lists of deeplinks.
As the days went on, I was taught how to build an article by inserting and formatting the copy, uploading the images and testing the product links. I felt though we were given a sizeable amount of responsibility, which was an immensely satisfying feeling. Having constant conversation with the other girls was a good motivational boost throughout the day, as were our regular tea breaks during which we would admire the personalised Emma Bridgewater mugs and debate over which curiously-flavoured herbal teas we should sample next. Lunchtime was mainly spent in the "hub", which was a trendy - think neon wall lights and the most millennial wallpaper you ever did see - space, kitted out with a kitchen, seating area and a photoshoot corner.
My favourite aspect of the internship was being able to chit-chat with the other interns whilst getting on with our tasks. The tasks were separated into different steps and we were all assigned different ones to take responsibility for. I also particularly enjoyed having the chance to sit in on an editorial meeting, where us interns were able to pitch 3 ideas each for website stories/articles. When my 3 ideas were greeted with "oh that's a good idea!", I was given a much-needed boost of confidence, motivating me to have some faith in my ability as a writer/idea generator. I was also fortunate enough to have the time to speak one-on-one with Charlotte Collins, the fashion editor, which was an extremely insightful and inspiring conversation.
I am truly thankful to the Sheerluxe team for welcoming me so warmly aboard the company and I can confirm I gained a wealth of insight and knowledge into how an online magazine is put together, managed and analysed, which is an experience I hadn't ever had the pleasure to witness. I have come away with some new friends and contacts that I hope to keep throughout my career!
Love from a very tired, very fed-up-with-commuting but very motivated Chloé x
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