Conner Carey (pictured center) graduated from MIU in the summer of 2015 with a major in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Not long after, she became an intern – and, soon, employee! – at the wildly successful iPhone Life magazine. In this interview, Conner talks about how she succeeded in finding a job in her area and gives advice to those who haven’t yet graduated from MIU:
Q: How soon after graduating did you find your current job?
A: I started my internship in August and the official job in September, so about four months.
Q: What is it like to work at iPhoneLife?
A: It’s awesome and challenging. I’ve felt really grateful to have many responsibilities given to me quickly, and I’ve learned a lot about publishing off and online already. Also, the people I work with are great; we have a lot of fun.
Q: What would you say the company atmosphere is there?
A: There’s a strong focus on balancing work and personal life. As well as general laughter and friendship all around. I secretly love meetings because amongst the business are constant jokes and jabs.
Q: Did you have your internship set up before or after you graduated?
A: After.
Q: What have you learned about the workplace now that you’re out in it?
A: It’s intense and rewarding. Also, working 8-5 isn’t bad when you enjoy those hours.
Q: What skills do you think an MIU education helped you gain that are useful in the workplace?
A: Specifically, my writing classes with Nynke. I used to dread editing and she would always push me to do more. Now I edit my work everyday! Generally, I strengthened my ability to listen to myself. I spent my time at MIU really posing questions to life and pondering who I wanted to become. I also had quite a few bumps in my road on the way to graduation and the journey through that prepared me more than anything.
Q: What type of work does your current job entail?
A: My title is Feature Web Writer which means I write a lot of content everyday, seven posts to be exact. I recently started editing my posts and publishing them, with my editor reviewing later on for continued learning. This week, I participated in the iPhoneLife podcast; that was a lot of fun.
Q: Do you have a five year plan career wise? If so, what is it?
A: What is this plan you speak of? Ha! Yeah, I have aspirations. I definitely want to go to Graduate school in the next five years. Beyond that, I’d like to travel to Paris and see how it unfolds. Oh, I want to finish and publish my book. That too.
Q: Any advice to future MIU graduates?
A: Yes! First, enjoy your time there; relax and do what you want. Figure out how it feels to do what you want to do after graduation and live in that feeling. It’s not far away.