How I got a job at VOGUE…
It wasn’t quite like this…
See that look on Anne Hathaway’s face?
That’s kind of how I felt when I started working at VOGUE magazine in Sydney as a Copywriter.
How did I get there at just 20 years old? Coming from Newcastle with no idea how hard landing this job should be?
Well, here’s the first thing I learned as a hopeful young writer…
Just start writing.
I started copywriting at age 18, working for a Newcastle radio station and local ad agencies.
What changed my life was being invited to work for David Jones Advertising by a woman named Chris McConnell. She was a towering American with a sharp eye, a huge smile, and prosthetic leg she called Clementine.
When our DJs ad department was made redundant due to company restructuring, I thought it was a disaster. But I later learned this:
Redundancy can push you out of the nest to bigger, better things.
It did. My think-big boss Chris McConnell knew someone at VOGUE in Sydney and asked her to meet with me. So then I learned…
Don’t wait for a company to advertise. Network as much as you can. Reach out to who you want to work for.
My first interview at VOGUE was with a tiny, bird-like woman named Norma Mary Marshall. She was platinum blonde, pushing 70 but still super-glam, sharp as her stiletto heels, with a big heart.
Norma told me that VOGUE was about to start a Promotions department (no jobs advertised yet), with her heading it.
Then she showed me an advertorial campaign she was working on, and asked me to give her a clever headline for it. On the spot. An idea popped into my head, and she liked it. And that taught me…
Learn how to think on your feet.
Soon after, I was ushered into a meeting with the two bigwigs….VOGUE editor-in-chief June McCallum (a sleek brunette with a great pixie cut) and managing director Eve Harman (stately, with a presence that filled the room).
As scary as it might sound to sit there, this was not The Devil Wears Prada. These were women who were smart, elegant, but still down to earth.
(I later found out there were a number of high-flying women at VOGUE who had modest beginnings: they might have left school at 15, come from Aussie battler working-class families, or started as secretaries before rising to editor level. They just worked hard to get where they were.)
As June and Eve studied my resume and sized me up, Fashion Editor Nancy Pilcher burst into the room. I thought, Wow look at her…like a real-life Barbie cheerleader. American accent. Thick blonde shoulder-length hair. Big warm smile. Sweeping dirndl skirt with a Ralph Lauren cowboy belt at her tiny waist. I’d love to work here with creative people like that.
After Nancy left, June and Eve leaned in to finish the interview. This is it, I thought. They peered at me in my French-navy suit (which I’d jazzed up with jewellery and cool heels), and said…
“Well, you’ve got experience, but you're a little young…”
“Yes,” I replied, “but I learn fast. And I’d love this job.”
They glanced at each other then back to me, and said:
“So, when can you start?”