Have you ever imagined yourself living in New York, riding the subway to work and walking into the doors of your office as the editor-in-chief of a best-selling magazine (13 Going on 30 style)? Well so has Chloe Metzger, and she’s actually done it. . . kind of.
As a junior in college, Metzger has already had three magazine internships, one of them at Cosmopolitan in New York.
“On my first day they gave me a note-pad and camera and told me to go find men and ask what their most embarrassing moments were in life or sex and then take their picture to make sure their face was in the story,” Metzger said. “I learned a lot of people skills.”
Metzger spent the summer of 2011 in New York with Cosmo, not fetching coffee or making copies, but interviewing 10 of America’s sexiest bachelors and writing other stories for the editorial magazine.
“The coolest part was realizing how important Cosmo’s interns are,” Metzger said. “It was shocking to realize that if the interns weren’t there, the magazine wouldn’t run.”
Metzger started her career in magazines early, landing a job with the online music magazine Driven Far Off as a sophomore in high school. Being close to Chicago, Metzger’s job was to review CDs and interview bands when they came to play, like All American Rejects, The Hush Sound and Say Anything.
After reviewing for Driven Far Off for three years, Metzger looked for new opportunities in coming to the University of Iowa and found a position with online editorial JAYE Magazine. Beginning as just a writer, Metzger rose through the ranks and is now JAYE’s executive articles editor.
Although she’s always had a passion for editorial, Metzger’s internship with Cosmo clearly solidified the career path she wants to take.
“I want to show up to work and not know when I’m going to leave because I have so many things to do,” Metzger said. “I want to live in New York, bed bugs and all.”
So Chloe Metzger’s advice on how to land the fabulous, or sometimes not-so-fabulous, life of a magazine editor? Start now.
“The people who are out getting internships at Cosmopolitan and the places you want to work are not fun people. They’re not going out on Friday, Saturday nights thinking, ‘I’ll figure out my future tomorrow,’” Metzger said. “They’re people who stay at home and scour the internet looking for new internships. You can’t wait because there are people who started their future years ago.”