Interning for the ‘Devil’ was a valuable career lesson
We all shudder in terror when reflecting on our intern days. Days filled with running coffee orders and practically living in the office.
But none of us had it nearly as bad as Andy, the fresh-out-of-college intern at Runway Magazine. We totally felt for her in Lauren Weisberger's book The Devil Wears Prada.
The book and film adaptation follows the story of a newly hired personal assistant for an editor at a fashion magazine.
According to Harper's Bazaar, Lauren admitted that the book was based on her own experience as an intern at Vogue. The character Miranda, her boss in the book, was inspired by Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
(Yes, Miranda really exists!)
The story follows Lauren’s experience working as Anna’s personal assistant and what life was like working for the magazine.
And we just love Meryl Streep's interpretation of her!
Obviously, she said at the Hearst Big Book Festival, her novel was a dramatised version of her real experience.
So, it took us by surprise when the author recently revealed that she does not regret working for the ‘devil’ in Prada, despite how difficult her job was.
Say what? We know Miranda slays, but nobody would want to work for her! The intimidating editor has no patience for her assistant and sends her on ridiculous errands like fetching an original manuscript of Harry Potter for the editor's daughter.
And for those of you who haven’t seen the film, then clear your weekend schedule. It’s sasstastic!
Despite the job's hardships, Lauren confessed: “I don't think I could've had a better experience in terms of my career.”
She learned so much during her intern job and relished the opportunity to see how the magazine ran everything so efficiently.
Her flair for fashion, no doubt, was probably a major factor in her motivation to stick through her nightmarish boss’ demands.
However, Lauren does admit she complained throughout the duration of her job. “I did a lot of complaining. [..] But I absolutely loved it. Looking back at that time, it was one of the most valuable times of my career.”
Although the book is filled with horror stories of her demanding boss and her constant scrambling to please her, humour weaves the plot together in a must-see manner.
Working can be difficult when it’s long hours, and let's admit it, we all have had a boss we wanted to scream at.
But, like Lauren, if you surround yourself with the best people in the biz, then it’s worth the bottom-of-the-food-chain treatment. One day, you will earn your spot up top and be able to use everything you’ve learned in the process.
