Get a Job at WIRED

From Wired How-To Wiki

Getting a job at a magazine can be tough. Internships are always limited to a lucky few with no guarantee of employment afterwards. Assistant jobs often end up being gopher-type jobs or lack training and often leave said assistants overworked, underpaid, and under-qualified to look for work elsewhere. So how can you avoid the pitfalls of the magazine industry? Be prepared.

Below you'll find a few tips on preparing to get a job at a magazine and its companion news site, in this case, Wired. If you've already got a sweet job at a magazine or news site, feel free to add your knowledge as appropriate.

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Before beginning your vision quest, you must make the career choice of, "do I want to sell advertising and make money for the magazine and myself" or "do I want to use my creative journalism tactics and mass amounts of knowledge to report on the future of technology." This is the difference between the advertising or publishing side of the coin and the editorial side. Below is a rough guide to getting a foot in the door on the editorial side. For advice about the publishing side of the magazine industry, see How To [Get a Job at Wired Selling Advertising].

It is important to note that in order to get a job in editorial one must be original, creative, analytical, and most of all, understand the industry you'll be focusing on. Be sure to really read the magazine that where you're going to be applying and take note of the bylines of articles that you enjoy. Form your opinions about the issues raised and be prepared to discuss (not defend) in your interview.

If you fit all of these characteristics, go ahead and check [Conde Nast Careers]. See what's out there, submit your resume. But as you'll quickly learn, submitting a resume isn't likely to be that useful. So then, let's answer that age old question, "How did you get that job?"

First...you must be intelligent and tied into the internet or science. Though a few of the Wired staff knew they were destined for heavenly geekdom since they won their first science fair award at the ripe old age of five, with enough perseverance, you don't have to be a child prodigy to land a Wired job.

When fostering your own Wired editor from birth, you may want to consider our Teach a Kid to Program wiki. This is obviously a good starting point to see if your progeny is even interested in following your dreams for her.

Contents 1 EDUCATION 1.1 High School 1.1.1 For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career 1.2 College (Optional) 1.2.1 Major or Focus of Matriculation (Pick 2 (two), as a dual major is generally the rule for Wired editors) 1.2.2 For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career, coursework should include: 2 WORK EXPERIENCE 2.1 Internships 3 REQUIRED REGULAR READING 4 NETWORKING 5 INTERVIEWING 5.1 What to Wear

EDUCATION

High School

High school lies at the sweet spot where we have learned enough to start thinking critically on our own and our minds are still sucking in knowledge like vacuum cleaners. It's a real shame that it's become so vogue to suggest that extracurricular activity is the only worthwhile endeavor during those years.

Courses You Should Take:

1. Introduction to Programming - lays the foundation for you to learn on your own
2. Creative Writing
3. Literature - read books by the assigned authors besides the ones assigned (because everybody hates reading books they are forced to read, but the authors are generally worthwhile)
4. Shop Class - tinkering is fun
5. Photography
6. Graphic Design

Activities and clubs:

1. Debate Club
2. School Newspaper
3. Chess Club
4. Your Blog (you have to have a blog and a personal web page that has nothing to do with a social networking site)
5. Mathletes!
6. Yearbook
7. (need your input here)
8. (need your input here)

For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career

Courses:

1. (need your input here)
2. (need your input here)
3. (need your input here)

Clubs:

1. (need your input here)
2. (need your input here)
3. (need your input here)

College (Optional)

The most important characteristic of the Wired editor is being able to teach yourself anything and everything. Knowing how and where to gather knowledge is quintessential to fitting in with Wired culture. Wired editors are smart because their natural thirst for knowledge is insatiable and because their greatest pride is in their ability to mentally and verbally spar with the most prolific minds of our time.

That being said, college, if you so choose to indulge, can act as a place not only to build your knowledge and hone your Lincoln-Douglass debate skills, but also to find equally gifted colleagues. These relationships will be very important as you'll need partners for the senior project you'll do to get you recognition in the tech community. Perhaps you'll make a "social ________ site." Fun.

Major or Focus of Matriculation (Pick 2 (two), as a dual major is generally the rule for Wired editors)

1. Applied Mathematics - See Compiler
2. Computer Science - See Complier
3. History - (also known as the War major) - See Danger Room or Day in Tech
4. Politics - Focus should be on internet security, privacy, and on-line crime - See Threat Level
5. Business - Focus on tech business (who wouldn't?!) - See Epicenter
6. Humanities - Any and all
7. Cognitive Science
8. Psychology of Personality
9. Magazine Production

For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career, coursework should include:

1. (need your input here)
2. (need your input here)
3. (need your input here)

Courses you should take before leaving (because who graduates anymore?):

1. Economics
2. Physics
3. Molecular biology
4. Statistics
5. Shakespeare (preferably a year)
6. Intro to Journalism
7. Creative Non-Fiction

For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career, don't forget to take:

1. Typography

WORK EXPERIENCE

Internships

Interns built the pyramids. If you are that fine young age of 20 or so and are interested in obtaining an internship at WIRED, CondeNast's internship program is competitive and opens in January, so get your butt in gear. Internships at a magazine or news site are a must. So start getting work experience as soon as possible in the tech news sector. This is primarily important so that you can begin to learn the key players in the industry and where they work. You will also need a working knowledge of all of the following terms:

1. Web 2.0
2. Wiki
3. IPO
4. Page Views
5. Blogs
6. I can haz cheezburger
7. Goatse.cx
8. The Long Tail
9. Newsreader
10. hed
11. dek

You can also refer to Wired's Geekapedia for vocabulary you'll need to know when talking to a Wired editor. Writing hit pieces and yellow journalism about Ron Paul experience a plus.

For Those Wanting to Focus on an Art or Design Career, often your first job won't be with a magazine. Here's a list of good choices to get a head start on your career before you make you move to Wired:

1. Any professional association
2. Ad agency
3. Freelancing

Terms You Should Know:

1. Bold text

REQUIRED REGULAR READING

1. Wired News (Wired.com) (duh!)
2. Threat Level
3. Slashdot.org
4. TechCrunch.com
5. C|Net
6. Digg.com
7. Reddit.com
8. Gizmodo.com
9. Joystiq.com
10. Washington Post, New York Times
11. BoingBoing
12. Techmeme

NETWORKING

But the best way to get a job at WIRED is to actually know someone at WIRED. This is when going to college starts to pay off. To start networking, join LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Twitter. Invite friends and friends of friends. Yes, this is a popularity contest so get with it.

Go to the parties. Geeks don't party. They show off. They compare notes. They contemplate the future. And they network the hell out of a party. Especially those in tech news. Connections beget information. Information begets news. Information also begets job opportunities.

Here's a list of names that you should always keep in mind when doing the tech party circuit:

1. Chris Anderson
2. Nick Denton
3. Robert Scoble
4. Om Malik
5. Kevin Rose
6. Mark Zuckerberg
7. Danah Boyd
8. Tim O'Reilly

INTERVIEWING

Points to Make About Yourself

1. True geek
2. Understand (and actually read) magazines or news sites
3. Original ideas
4. Get Wired and why it's not like other mags
5. Know bylines
6. Opinion about the future of magazines and news sites
7. Have a vision or plan for yourself

What to Wear

Unless you're applying for a high level position (i.e. Creative Director) a suit is rarely appropriate. So you can pretty much ignore this wiki on How To Dress Like a Professional. The goal of your appearance is to convey a sense of cleanliness (no one wants to work with someone who stinks), professionalism (button up oxford is appropriate. A tie is excessive), and organized (don't carry your resume all folded up in your pocket with a load of dirty tissues). Your appearance should open the door for your personality and intelligence to shine through not be a distraction.

This page was last modified 01:38, 31 January 2008 by rajiv. Based on work by roger, pstatz, howto_admin and mrkendalb and Anonymous user(s) of Wired How-To Wiki.