A Diary of my Internship with Zest Media

First, let me introduce myself, my name is Gant Chinavicharana and I am an intern at Zest Media – starting in early June 2017. My role is content generation assistant.

My internship with Zest Media came about through my university, as part of my postgraduate final project. Prior to this internship I had little to no experience working in an office, mostly working freelance, so I was very nervous when I found out I had an interview with Zest. As I leafed through the Absolutely stable of magazines I felt slightly out of place – at the time, a high-end luxury magazine publisher was not a place I could see myself working. My writing has mostly been rather informal in both style and topic – outside of university I run my own video game blog, which I felt wasn’t a natural fit for Absolutely’s magazines and web sites.

That view quickly changed when I arrive at Zest’s open plan office and seeing how relaxed the atmosphere is. Most of the employees dress informally and the enthusiasm is infectious. My interview went extremely well and a few weeks later, I officially became an intern at Zest Media.

Despite being the publisher of luxury lifestyle magazines aimed at affluent audiences, the enjoyable working environment eased off a lot of pressure that weighed on my mind. Working primarily as a content generation assistant, I added to the creation of Zest’s own content. From writing blog posts (such as this one), taking photographs, helping to conduct interviews, to even having the chance to contribute an editorial piece in the magazine – which was published and credited.

Many of the tasks I was given would see me venturing out of the office to various locations, primarily Wimbledon as I was working closely with that edition of the magazine. From fashion events, to restaurant reviews, openings, and new menu previews, there hasn’t been a week at Zest that I was in the office for the whole week. My personal favourite would have to be all the restaurant and food reviews; being a bit of a foodie, getting to try new food and write about it was a lot of fun and makes the whole internship process more interesting and dynamic.

In the office, aside from writing content, I also worked in various research task to support the senior team. Additionally I was also given access to Hubspot, the sales and marketing software with a collection of online courses to teach users about inbound sales and marketing. Completing these courses and their corresponding test would award me with certificates, strengthening my CV and professional credibility. These more corporate tasks gave me more experience with office work, helping me to grow professionally.

Interning with Zest Media is both an excellent learning opportunity, personally and professionally, as well as being one of the most interesting and fun places to work. I can say with absolute certainty that my 6 weeks at Zest has been one of the most valuable experiences in my life.

Gant Chinavicharana

If you are interested in internships at Zest Media please contact us here