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My name is Dylan Jones and I'm the editor of British GQ. I edit Britain's most successful
men's lifestyle title and it involves everything from commissioning words, pictures, managing
people, being an ambassador for the brand etc...
I just left St Martins, I was unemployed going to night clubs, and a friend of mine who's
a photographer needed someone to interview some of the people he was photographing for
ID magazine, and he asked me if I could come and help, and as I had nothing to do that
day but wait for a night club to open I said yes and the editor Terry Jones liked what
I did, offered me a job in the space of 48 hours and sort of invented me really so I'm
very grateful for him.
We find internships and work experience incredibly helpful, because we can always use an extra
pair of hands, and it's great to have young, keen, willing people and educated people,
and I think it's invaluable for them because without those opportunities it would be impossible
for them to get into our industry. Any industry whether its journalism, publishing, fashion
industry, movie industry, whatever industry... Catering, and I think it's uh, I know there
are various elements within government that are trying to make this system difficult or
irradicate it completely, but I think it's a fantastic system and I'm all in favour of
it.
Young people are enthusiastic, they're energetic, if you get the right ones. We hired many many
years ago, we hired someone who had been an intern, they were an intern, we cooked the
books in order for them to stay because they were brilliant, almost to the point of being
annoyingly brilliant. They were so good that we eventually gave them a job, they became
an arts editor, digital editor and they've gone on to great things. I think that, I always
say that if you can be a good intern in my office or in our industry, you can be good
in anything because its all about common sense, hard work and intelligence.
Initially to be relentless and always address your letters and emails to one person, the
highest and most senior person you can find. If you send out a blank email or an anonymous
email I wouldn't even read it I would just delete it and it would be unread, but if its
something to me that I'm going to open, I would almost always pass it on to the managing
editor who would get that person some sort of work experience.
When your writing an email or a letter make it short and simple, one paragraph, and that
paragraph, within that paragraph you need to explain who you are, what you want and
dates eg. If you can only come in July tell me.
When their in the job, they need to work really really hard, volunteer for everything, be
keen, be approachable, be enthusiastic.
Just offer, offer to do everything, and if you here someone say can so and so do this,
or can anyone do this, you stick your hand up and say I'll do it, whether its taking
a book from one side of London to another or writing up a hundred word caption or delivering
some clothes or taking a picture or making a telephone call, whatever it is just do it.
The people who get on are the people who are not incumbured by the traditional thought,
or the traditional ways of doing things. The people who get on are the people who can solve
problems, it's all about solving problems, if you can solve a problem then I'm happy.
It's the same in any industry, if you can solve a problem, you don't really care how
it gets solved, but you care that that person did it, and as that person solves that problem
you say why don't you go and solve that problem, and if they continue solving problems then
you'll give them a job.
Qualifications are not essential it helps if you have a good education, if you're eloquent
on the telephone, it's better than if your not. It's you can speak French or Italian
or indeed American that also helps. So these things don't necessarily have to be things
that you've been taught they can be things that you you've taught yourself
If you get a bespoke application, if something arrives in the post that you think someone
has spent a lot of time doing, or it's funny or it's clever, you'll say get this person
in, I don't care how you do it , bump somebody and get them in because they really want to
be here
The initial thing is luck, I was lucky, you have to be lucky or else you don't really
get on, after that stage it's a lot of hard work.