On Thursday I was able to see Tracy Perez, beauty director of American Baby and Parents magazines. Perez is an alum of the Newhouse Magazine program and she introduced to us “The Keys to Building Your Future.” After graduating, Perez worked as assistant editors for two magazines, one in the beauty section. It was there that she realized how much she really liked working with the beauty section. Her enthusiasm showed and her boss allowed her to write a few articles here and there, allowing her to work more hands-on with how the business works.
After hopping around from magazine to magazine a bit, Perez worked as a freelance writer, writing and publicizing for all different kinds of magazines. She said that she enjoyed working as a freelance writer (even though she could never do it for a long living) because it allowed her to work with various types of editors, different genres, and publications. This variety helped her transition into the worker she is today. They all helped her grow and mold into what publications need, while still doing what she enjoys.
After a while, she found a position at First for Women in New Jersey, in which she worked for a year. From there, she found comfort at Parents and has worked there since. Perez explained that a lot of brands send her products, and she tests each out and later decides her opinion on them, eventually choosing a few to go in the magazine to discuss. Her job is not a typical desk job because she attends events and press-launches, and later meets with the editors and come up with ideas for the next issue.
Perez helped the audience with loads of tips on those who are interested in the magazine or PR business, since both are synergistic with each other, as she explained. One is to understand the mission of your magazine. Parents magazine’s is, “Women don’t give up on looking great when they have kids…every beauty page in every issue focuses on finding fast, easy, new ways to get ot the end goal: gorgeous.” She elaborated by saying, “Moms are time-pressed, but don’t want to sacrifice beauty.” So Parents magazine always starts with a section about the mom herself, not the kids.
Perez’s list of applicable advice for graduating students includes the following: “-Get as much relevant experience as you can before you graduate.
-Network in and outside your SU community (take advantage of social media)
-Look to helpful resources such as Ed2010.com
-Be realistic about what your first job in beauty and fashion will be (request products, unpack products, help set up the run-thrus)
-show enthusiasm, show good visual eye, show passion”
What I liked about Perez was that everything she discussed really seemed achievable while still doing exactly what you want to do. She’s made a great career for herself. She knows her time at Parents and American Baby isn’t forever, but she knows that she’ll be able to keep stepping up in and out of the magazine world.