Summer 2020 Internships: Grad students
Parsons Paris 2020 graduates from the MA Fashion Studies and the MA History of the Design and Curatorial Studies programs have been busy interning this summer, despite the current COVID-19 crisis. Here’s a peek at where some of them have been working and what they’re doing… Learn how students found their internships, what the interview process was like, and their advice for other students.
Clara and Nicolette, MA Fashion Studies 2020 graduates, both interned for Louboutin, known for luxury shoes and leather goods. Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer whose high-end stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature.
Clara interned 6 months during Spring 2020, and Nicolette is currently doing her 6-month internship during Summer-Fall 2020.
Clara, Marketing Assistant for Women’s Shoes, Louboutin (6 months)
How did you find and secure the internship opportunity?
I found the internship on Fashion Jobs.
What was the selection process?
They gave me a call to set up a skype interview and got back to me a week later for the positive answer.
What kind of questions did you have during the interview?
No tricky questions: what did I do before, why I was interested in the position, etc.
Was the interview online or at the office?
Online because I was in NY at the time, at Parsons/The New School for a semester abroad.
What is your position?
Marketing assistant for women’s shoes
What are your roles and responsibilities during your internship?
Select products for campaigns, work on the strategies for new launches and capsule collections, analysis of showroom sales, organisation of showroom, etc.
Are you working remotely or at the office?
As the confinement started right in the middle of my internship, I actually worked from home and at the office.
What are you hoping to learn during this time?
I am hoping to get more experience and learn the key aspects of this job
What is the coolest / most surprising / most enjoyable part of your internship?
Receiving the new collection with the team and discovering it all together
Nicolette, Sample and Showroom Assistant, Louboutin (6 months)
How did you find and secure the internship opportunity?
Recommended through a friend, applied and interviewed
What was the selection process?
I interviewed and got the job a week later
What kind of questions did you have during the interview?
Past experience, long term career goals, knowledgeability of programs and operating systems
Tell us what you are doing.
Managing all shoe and LG samples, shipping and receiving, trunk show planning, market week organization and execution, showroom merchandising
Are you working remotely?
No, I’m working at the office
What are you hoping to learn during this time?
Gain experience in a large, multi-national luxury fashion company, gain knowledge of commonly used software, logistics coordination, improve my French
What is the coolest / most surprising / most enjoyable part of your internship?
My boss is committed to providing me with a successful learning experience. My tasks are important and meaningful, unlike most experiences I have had in fashion interning
Any advice for your peers?
Don’t give up! Apply, apply, apply!
Victoria, a 2020 MA Fashion Studies graduate, is working remotely from Canada for L’Officiel Paris.
Victoria, Research Assistant at L’Officiel Paris (2 months)
Where are you interning?
L’Officiel Paris, a monthly French Fashion Magazine, which has been published since 1921, targeting upper-income
How long is your internship?
It is a 2-month unpaid internship.
How did you find and secure the internship opportunity?
I received an email from my Program Director and immediately applied.
What was the selection process?
Standard application process with CV/motivation letter
What kind of questions did you have during the interview?
I did not interview
What are your roles and responsibilities during your internship?
Researching historic L’Officiel magazines to outline themes in the publication for centennial projects next year.
Are you working remotely or at the office?
From home, in Canada.
What are you hoping to learn during this time?
How to create a content branding strategy for a fashion magazine.
What is the coolest / most surprising / most enjoyable part of your internship?
Getting to work with some incredibly important fashion icons.
Fanny, a 2020 graduate from the MA Fashion Studies program, started her 6-Month internship in February 2020 at REPOSSI, an Italian fine jewelry brand, part of the LVMH group.
Fanny, Product Manager Assistant at REPOSSI (6 months)
How did you find and secure the internship opportunity?
Spontaneous application on Linkedin
What was the selection process?
2 interviews
What kind of questions did you have during the interview?
– What are your strengths and weaknesses?
– What were your tasks in your previous internships?
– What are your skills?
– What do you know about the history of the House?
Was the interview online or at the office?
At the office
About the job description, What is your position?
Product Manager Assistant in Jewelry and High Jewelry
What are your roles and responsibilities during your internship?
My missions are in four different areas which are as follows:
1) the development: I am in charge of monitoring the development of our collections and the different stages of our prototypes;
2) the product launch, I manage the creation and development of product tools which means the product sheets, collection books, the sales pitches and collection plans;
3) the range management (meaning preparation of reports and update of the collection mappings) and the competitive intelligence (meaning update when it is necessary the competitive studies as well as updating the competition database), working on the database which means the creation and management of references (codification and prices), physical management of the prototypes stock which includes the loans, the links with production and the internal departments.
4) organisation of pack shots shootings and image database management.
5) competitors: when the House aims to launch a product, I have to do some researches about the competition to understand the positioning on the market of similar products.
Finally, I am very often in contact with different actors of the House such as the manufacturing team, the communication and the supply chain teams and also shops and corners worldwide.
Are you working remotely?
From home and at the office.
What are you hoping to learn during this time?
Develop my skills on Excel, work independently, knowledge in the jewellery sector
What is the coolest / most surprising / most enjoyable part of your internship?
See all the pieces in real and to be part of the product development
Nicolette, Assistant Community Manager at Publicis
Nicolette has found an internship during the last semester of her HDCS Master, and she got an offer at the end of her internship for a permanent position at PUBLICIS, one of the biggest advertising company in France.
Where are you interning?
I was interning at Publicis Conseil in Paris, France, but am officially starting a full time position in the next few days, right out of the completion of my internship.
What does the company do, or what are they known for?
Publicis Conseil is an advertising and marketing agency specializing in many different sectors, however I am working in Social Media marketing and advertisments
How did you find and secure the internship opportunity?
I found the job on Indeed.fr, a great job board.
What was the selection process?
I had an interview and a mock test to see if I could produce the content they were looking for.
What kind of questions did you have during the interview?
I had questions such as, “How would you describe the importance of social media in today’s world?” and “What are some accounts on social media you find use their platform in an innovative manner?”
Was the interview online or at the office?
Online
Tell us what you are doing:What is your position?
I was an assistant community manager, but now i am no longer an assistant and rather look after my brands on my own.
What are your roles and responsibilities during your internship?
My roles and responsibilities are as follows: – Produce calendars for social media content across all platforms – Generate social media activations that can further the reach of the brand and add fun events – Engage with the community through social media comments – Produce reporting on social media KPI’s – Creative direction on posts – Curatorial photo selection on UGC and phototech images.
Are you working remotely?
I actually worked from home and at the office.
What are you hoping to learn during this time?
I learned more than anything having been under the direction of a great leader, Mona Boutros. She taught me everything one needs to know about the algorithms across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
What is the coolest / most surprising / most enjoyable part of your internship?
It’s really refreshing to work on a team that is young and multicultural. Everyone speaks several languages allowing for you to embed yourself in learning French further, while making a solid community of friends!
What advice would you give to others looking for internships?
Just because the internship you find is not in the field you want, does not mean it wont help you in the long run, or that the topics that come up will not be rooted in some of your studies. Everyone starts somewhere, and in this climate, any internship is one to be proud of as all experience is vital these days.
If you have any questions or want further information, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Virginie Grillet
Director of Careers and Internships
parsonscareerservices@newschool.edu