Vogue Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for the Beauty Writer role, and ended up being offered an internship in the lifestyle section. The pay for interns is really low, way below the market rate for such a large company. It's not even a livable wage. They didn't provide the specific office number or floor, just the building address, and it was confusing because the company's name wasn't obvious, it's under another media company. I had to ask for the details, which they should have given upfront. Once I arrived, the staff ignored me and I was met by a woman who was curt and didn't direct me to the interview. The interview itself was pretty relaxed, more of a conversation about who I am and my experiences. I also had to do a writing test, but they didn't provide a private space for it, doing it in the main workspace with colleagues gossiping around me, which felt unprofessional. They didn't check on me after the test, and I had to tell them I was finished and leaving. There's a concerning lack of care for new hires, and I think they should treat potential hires with more dignity and respect, considering the time and effort we put into interviewing.

I only made it to the second round of interviews for the Digital Team, which was really unorganized and unprofessional. The hiring manager was on maternity leave, so there was no Sr. Design Leadership present during the interviews. In the second round, I met with the VP of Product and Sr. VP of Product and Design. They seemed biased and lacked objectivity or understanding of what's needed to lead design teams and balance business needs. Many questions were combined, making it hard to give a proper answer. They seemed more focused on their own perception within the business rather than user needs, completely disregarding UX best practices and obvious gaps. It was disorganized, they contradicted themselves, and they were clearly looking for people who would blindly agree with them. I've heard that Ann Winter had to intervene to stop abusive interview tactics by the Digital Technology group.

I applied online and then got contacted to schedule a phone interview with HR. They said I was overqualified for the job. After that, I had four in-person interviews before meeting with the Publisher, who apparently checks out all candidates. The first interview was with HR. Then a few days later, I met the team lead. A week after that, I met with different team members and directors until the last round. I had to prepare and give a presentation answering questions about an existing campaign. I was told it was the final round twice and that I was the main candidate before meeting the publisher. The HR person told me I had the job and that meeting the Publisher was just to get acquainted. But in our five-minute meeting, the Publisher didn't seem to like me, because three hours later HR called to say I wasn't a "cultural fit."

When I was an undergrad in NYC, I applied for an internship in Vogue's accessories department. The hiring process was pretty basic: I sent in my resume and then had a quick 20-minute chat where they asked about my past fashion industry experience. I mentioned I was keen to learn about the editorial and press side of things, and they offered me a spot for the spring semester of my junior year.