Work Experience at Conde Nast

Apologies for my Blog Silence for the past week or so, but I have been doing work experience in Conde Nast Traveller magazine's advertising department! I did work experience in their editorial department back in 2010 and I've managed to keep in touch with one of the top dogs on the mag, so when a work experience girl dropped out before her last week was completed in the advertising offices, he mentioned it to me. Like everybody else, I had to send my CV in and wait. Thankfully though, my wait wasn't too long and within a day I was hunting for London accommodation and booking my trains. 

*The Conde Nast Traveller corridor in Vogue (yes, VOGUE) House on Hanover Square just off Oxford Street*

The snow very nearly cancelled my train down to London, but luckily I just ended up with some slight delays. I travelled down to Watford on Monday evening and was picked up at the station by my lovely Uncle Norman, as I would be staying with him my Auntie Jan (who fed me so well whilst I was with them that I am SO craving her spaghetti bolognese even as I type).

*This was a gorgeous Italian fish dish which my Auntie prepared on my second night staying with them... it had olives and cherry tomatoes and potato in it. Just beautiful*

For those of you who don't know, Conde Nast is basically the most well-respected publishing house in the world. Titles such as Vogue, Tatler, Vanity Fair, Glamour and GQ are published by Conde Nast (amongst others) and the offices share a building with the Traveller magazine. So it is a pretty big deal that I got to work there for the week!

*Traveller carpet!*

The advertising department are responsible for negotiating prices with luxury brands to be put in the magazine. They also commission freelance writers to jot the promotions which you usually find towards the back of the magazine. It sounds pretty straight forward, but trust me, it is not! My job was to help them to complete databases which they need so that they can review their progress. I had to go through each of the magazines since September and log into a spreadsheet how many times, and on which pages, hotels, tour providers, airlines, restaurants, spas and so on, have been mentioned. I was also responsible for updating the contacts spreadsheet, but sadly, although I worked on it for a whole day, my computer experienced a TOTAL DISASTER and deleted all of my work :( This was because the spreadsheet was started in a PC and I was working on it in a MAC. Everyone was really nice about it, whilst I just felt like the idiot who looks like she didn't save her work EVEN THOUGH I DID every half hour. GRRRR.

*This was my outfit of the day on my final day with Traveller. The dress code is really quite casual, although I would never wear jeans and Converse...*

Another part of my job was post. This meant I had to go and collect the post from the mail-room and drop it off when the advertising staff needed me to. A couple of days I had to actually hand-deliver post to Conde Nast's other offices on Old Bond Street. Although the weather wasn't great I loved walking to the other offices because the shops on New Bond Street and Old are so beautiful! Check out some of the pictures I took on my travels... 

*The London map which ensured I didn't get too lost!*

*Tiffany & Co!*

*Even the outsite of Chanel looks gorgeous, never mind the inside!*

*Louis Vuitton is designed in such a unique way! Isn't it gorgeous?*

*Victoria's Secret! Eeeeeeeeeeep!*

*In the window of Victoria's Secret, there are costumes which the Victoria's Secret Angels have worn in the past... I love the bottle green of this one...*

*This one reminds me of some kind of circus-inspired piece... So beautiful*

*This little 'outfit' epitomises the Victoria's Secret Angels to me! So delicate but sexy. I would love it for myself*

As well as work, there was also play! Whilst I was in London I was able to meet up with my two friends, Louise (who I met whilst I was working in Disney World in the summer of 2011) and Jayne (who I met on my USA Road Trip Adventure in the summer of 2012). I actually stayed with Louise on Wednesday night in her Essex-abode and we went for a mooch around the Stratford Westfield Shopping Centre. I didn't buy anything, but I did enjoy this amazing Caribbean meal from one of the little fast-food outlets...

*I had a jerk chicken burger with rice, peas and friend plantain. NOM*

I managed to grab lunch with Jayne on Friday and as she works near to my work, we decided to go to Itsu japanese restaurant next door to Vogue House. They were giving out free samples of chicken curry and rice and it was so delicious that we both decided to buy it, except Jayne had noodles in hers. 

*It is so rare for me that I actually like the chicken they use in these kinds of places, but there was no skin or fat or gristle in the whole thing. Just so yummy! And because it had spinach, mushrooms and green beans in it, I felt like it was a healthy choice.*

So now that we are all up to speed, let the blogging recommence!

What would be your dream magazine to work on? What are your favorite fast-food outlets? Did the snow affect you this last week?

Love and snuggles

GabriellaSofia

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