Johanna Cox is Elle magazine's newest Junior Editor. She has a one year contract with Elle, an apartment in NYC, and a shopping allowance at H&M. Ah, the sweet life.
How did Cox win the coveted position at Elle? Reality TV, of course, where all nobody's get their beginning. She recently beat out other, more qualified candidates on the CW's reality show, Stylista.
Cox took a leave of absence from her Chinese military analyst job to pursue her passion for fashion and creative writing. Cox was put down for over-intellectualizing certain story lines and concepts at Elle. I guess Anne Slowey, fashion news editor at Elle, doesn't think the average Elle girl should have to think too hard or read too many words. Better that our heels work harder than our brains, hmm?
Personally, I believe that second runner up Megan Johnson should have won. The single reason she didn't, in my opinion, is because she sent her interview with Elle's Editor in Chief, Robbie Myers, straight to hell in a designer handbasket.
Mistake #1: She said she had become bored with her owning and operating her boutique, Addict. So she sold it.
Mistake #2 and the nail in her stylista coffin: She didn't have any questions for Myers at the end of her interview. Tisk tisk. Every interviewee knows to ask a few questions when the interviewer turns to them and asks, "So, do you have any questions for me?"
Dear Megan,
Careerbuilder.com Editor Kate Lorenz suggests asking,
What do you see ahead for your company in the next five years?
How do you see the future for this industry?
What do you consider to be your firm's most important assets?
What can you tell me about your new product or plans for growth?
How do you rate your competition?
What happened to the last person who held this job?
What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the last person who held this job?
What types of skills do you NOT already have onboard that you're looking to fill with a new hire?
What is the overall structure of the company and how does your department fit the structure?
What are the career paths in this department?
What have been the department's successes in the last couple of years?
How do you view your group/division/department?
What would you consider to be the most important aspects of this job?
What are the skills and attributes you value most for someone being hired for this position?
Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to within the company?
Could you describe a typical day or week in this position? The typical client or customer I would be dealing with?
What are the most immediate challenges of the position that need to be addressed in the first three months?
What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?
How will I be evaluated at XYZ company, and how often?
What are the next steps in the interview process?
What do you see ahead for your company in the next five years?
How do you see the future for this industry?
What do you consider to be your firm's most important assets?
What can you tell me about your new product or plans for growth?
How do you rate your competition?
What happened to the last person who held this job?
What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the last person who held this job?
What types of skills do you NOT already have onboard that you're looking to fill with a new hire?
What is the overall structure of the company and how does your department fit the structure?
What are the career paths in this department?
What have been the department's successes in the last couple of years?
How do you view your group/division/department?
What would you consider to be the most important aspects of this job?
What are the skills and attributes you value most for someone being hired for this position?
Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to within the company?
Could you describe a typical day or week in this position? The typical client or customer I would be dealing with?
What are the most immediate challenges of the position that need to be addressed in the first three months?
What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?
How will I be evaluated at XYZ company, and how often?
What are the next steps in the interview process?
So that's covered. Rest assured Stella Stylista will never answer, "Nope, I think I'm good" when an interviewer asks her if she has any questions. And I'm sure Megan has learned her lesson.
Happy styling,
Stella Stylista
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