Tips from a Seventeen Magazine Editor
BY DEVIN JOHNSON, APOLLON EDITOR FALL 2020
Meet Industry Leader, Danielle Tullo
photo from danielletullo.com
On Friday, September 25, our Editorial Staff had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Danielle Tullo, the newly hired Deputy Editor at Seventeen Magazine. It was very inspiring to hear from Danielle who has been in our same position having graduated from Fairfield University just five years ago.
At Fairfield, Danielle was an English and Journalism major similarly to many of our editors here at Apollon. Danielle also was a co-founder of Her-Campus Fairfield which helped her land internships. On the private Zoom call, Danielle gave insider tips on what she looks for when hiring employees and reviewing resumes and cover letters. In any year, applications for jobs in the publishing industry are very prestigious. However, now more than ever it is essential to stand out and be creative in your applications because of the state of the current economy.
When reading cover letters, Danielle said the first sentence can make or break her decision on whether she reads further or moves to the next applicant. Many people are afraid to step out of their boundaries and write directly about themselves in relation to their skills and assets. However, Tullo advised us to be bold when writing cover letters and tell a compelling narrative, rather than merely restate your resume. If there is a good hook you will stand out to employers.
Upon graduation Danielle landed a position as an Editorial Assistant at Cosmopolitan. Before landing this dream job, Danielle was Cosmo’s Editorial Web Intern and their Weekend Social Media Editor all while being a college student. Danielle said she worked very hard during her undergraduate years formulating and perfecting her resume and cover letters with the Career Center on campus to make them specific to each job she was applying for. She knew how to take her work history and skills to write a compelling narrative about how she would be an asset to companies.
At Cosmopolitan, Danielle utilized her writing skills as an English major to pitch and create meaningful targeted content for all of Cosmo’s social media platforms. Though it takes more than just knowing how to write and edit well to obtain a prestigious internship or job. Danielle emphasized the importance for undergraduate students to understand Google Analytics and Google Trends in association with strong oral and written communication skills as digital media has dominated the market. Regardless of what major you are, knowing how to work these platforms is helpful to add to your resume especially because many entry level publishing jobs involve social media management.
Danielle’s success at Cosmopolitan, then later as a Deputy and Senior Editor at Her Campus Media, and now as a Deputy Editor at Seventeen Magazine proves that perseverance and dedication pay off. Oftentimes, the positions that Danielle has earned at Hearst seem so competitive; but, being able to sit down with her and realize that she was in our same shoes as a Fairfield student just years ago inspired all of the Apollon Editors to work hard and strive for success.
The Apollon Team thanks Danielle for taking time out of her busy day as well as Steph Gallo in the Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences Career Office for setting up this meeting!