Working in fashion: interview with an intern

Taking that first step onto the career ladder can be tough, especially in a really competitive industry like fashion. But there are things that you can do to gain valuable experience and boost your CV, including an internship. We caught up with Bradie Beseda, a fashion and marketing intern at Urban Outfitters, to find out more…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m 21 and graduated from school in the USA early so that I could enrol in a community college, where I took several art and design classes before coming to university in London.

I did an international preparation for fashion foundation (FdA) course in my first year at the London College of Fashion and I am now studying for a BA (Hons) in fashion design and development.

What are your career aspirations? Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully I will still be living in London, settled into a job working for a company I love and can progress in.

Why did you decide to do the internship?

It’s a great opportunity to work for a brand that I love and I was thrilled about all of the experience I will gain from working here. I was really looking to expand my knowledge about marketing.

When did you start and how long is your internship?

I started in July and my internship is for six months, although I would be happy to stay forever.

What sort of tasks are you doing and how are you finding it?

I’m working within the marketing team where I’m splitting my time between the affiliate’s team and the search marketing team.

I work on various projects, from collating coverage from competitions and bloggers as well as working with the winners on their orders. I also monitor the traffic coming to the website and have been working on a competitor research search project. 

One day a week I also go and help out at the photography studio where everything is shot for the website. 

What is the best thing about the internship?

The people and experience are what makes this internship incredible. I am learning so much, about things I never even dreamed of or knew existed. It has really opened my eyes to a completely different side of the business.

Is there any advice you’d give to other young people about finding internships? 

Stay open minded because you never know when that opportunity will present itself. Anything you do will be a learning experience that will help you in the future – even if you don’t understand how yet. Social media is a great resource to find internships so keep an eye out!

If you’re interested in a fashion internship check out Urban Outfitters internships page here. Don’t forget to check out our fashion career zone too and have a look at our work experience listings.