La vie de stagiaire: my internship at MyFrenchLife™ – Lauren Smith

As I came to the end of my degree in 2018, I wanted to use the opportunity to get some concrete experience under my belt. As I was planning my move back to Paris, I was also looking for internships with a journalism and publishing focus. Luckily, I found MyFrenchLife™.

Finishing my French and philosophy degree was honestly quite terrifying. Four years of my life were coming to an end. I didn’t know what to do next, except that I was set on moving back to Paris, where I had spent my year abroad.

A simple google search – something along the lines of ‘publishing internships France’ – lead me to MyFrenchLife™. I was instantly attracted by the focus on French culture. It ranged from history to food and even book clubs. As I read the description for the internship, it seemed perfect.

I could:
– work remotely – meaning I could be based in Paris
– work in my own hours
– develop editing and writing skills
– get to know WordPress with a mentor

My internship and learning experience

In my experience, I had to learn two different things: the actual work and time management.

The actual work was actually quite difficult!

I remember spending hours at my desk learning how to format and change image sizes. In the end, however, I could do this in minutes. And Judy was always there to help.

Time management is an invaluable skill.

Sometimes it was difficult to push myself to do extra work at the end of the day. Especially when I was on the other side of the world from most of the team! But the experience was worth it.

I appreciated needing to be organised and adhere to personal deadlines.

I loved being able to develop my skills in areas such as translation, writing, and editing.

Without this internship, I may not have continued to work on and practice these skills.

What the internship taught me

Beyond the practical skills, the internship taught me many life lessons.

First, it taught me the importance of communication in a work setting. Not only for deadlines,but also regarding specific texts or projects that more than one of us may be working on. Communication is key more than I knew!

Second, it taught me to value constructive criticism in a work environment. Of course, I received this type of feedback at university, but it is a new experience for me between colleagues.

It is extremely helpful and helped me improve constantly throughout the internship.

What am I doing post-internship?

I completed a 12-month internship whilst also working as a manager in a vegan restaurant in Paris. MyFrenchLife™ gave me the opportunity to gain a completely different type of work experience while I settled into the French language again with my main job.

Publishing and editing are two fields I am sure to come back to later in life, and I am glad to have had such great experience early on.

Currently, I am doing my master’s degree in National and Transnational studies at a university in Germany. I am grateful to have continued my writing and editing skills on the year off between bachelor’s and Master’s, otherwise the return to studies may have been much more difficult!

My internship has been a great addition to my CV.

I even got a part-time job at the university as a Research Assistant for a Ph.D. student. The skills learned during my internship helped me secure the job and will continue to help during the position.

I would recommend this internship to anyone looking for experience in publishing and editorial work or aiming for a career in journalism. It’s an extra bonus if you love French culture and need flexible hours!

Most of all, you will be guided by a fantastic team who will challenge and support you every step of the way.

Are you our next potential intern? – we are currently looking for another Lauren – is that you? Click here to kickstart your dream career and learn more about working with us. Or read about the experiences of other former editorial interns here. And email Judy MacMahon here now: info@myfrenchlife.org