Jamie Munro, Editor & Client Relations at Trend Hunter (INTERVIEW)

A theatre fanatic, beer enthusiast and a piano pro, Jamie Munro is full of surprises. Her competitive drive led her to become a force to be reckoned with during her internship round. She absorbed seminar information and mastered the art of writing with zest and speed and thus, got to take on a variety of extra projects during her four months in the Internship Academy. Now Jamie is a proud member of Trend Hunter's full-time team.

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After developing some mad writing skills at university, I was pondering my first career move in the real world. You could say I’m a bit of a partier, and like a healthy brew-ha-ha every now and then, so I was naturally looking for a setting to let my smarts and fun-loving antics blossom. Luckily, while scouring the interwebs on a late night essay session in the library, I stumbled across the Trend Hunter internship page. I thought I’d test things out, so went to the submission panel, which read in big, block letters: "YOU ROCK: Thanks for being on the cutting edge of cool." I thought about this statement for a second and thought, "Why yes, yes I do rock. You’re not so bad yourself." Thus, began my love of Trend Hunter.

After applying for the internship, I buckled down and built my portfolio with as many trends as possible to help stand out from the crowd. This hard work paid off, and a week after finishing my last undergrad exam, I found out I was one of the lucky nine picked out of over 100 applicants. At around the same time, Trend Hunter was featured in the Wall Street Journal Workplace of the Day with an article titled, ‘An Office as Hip as its Occupants.’ The mention of a beer fridge and British phone booth inside this trendy space was the icing on the cake, and I left for Toronto ready to start my summer internship.

Within my first week I learnt the true meaning of the mantra, "Work hard, play hard." My days consisted of engaging seminars to become familiar with the curriculum, and my first Friday was spent at the Trend Hunter Half-Billion Views Party. Not only was I learning the secrets of the Internet, but I was also having a blast.

My first month involved mastering the art of trend hunting, and I loved the fact that I was able to constantly stay in the know on current products and ideas. After spending four years producing essay after essay, it was a pleasure to inject a certain personality and flair into my writing. This personal pizzazz paid off, and within a month I moved onto my first project: recruiting.

Recruiting was another amazing learning experience, as I was able to understand what it takes to stand out on a piece of paper. If I could give any advice for people applying, it would be to double and triple check your CV for any grammatical errors. Also, make sure you’re consistent with punctuation, because there is nothing worse than seeing inconsistent periods placed all over a page. After hiring the next round of interns, I thought that was it for projects, but the fun didn’t stop there. Next challenge: editing.

I spent the rest of my internship going through trends with a fine-toothed grammar comb, and was provided with constant feedback from the other editors. The great part about Trend Hunter is the amount of support you receive. Everyone is extremely approachable, and they are always ready to give you advice.

By the time my summer internship was over, I was hired on as a full-time editor and head of client relations. Now, I am the Brand Manager of TrendReports.com, and am thrilled to have found a place where I can put my creative skills and outgoing personality to good use. However, getting to where I am today was not a walk in the park. My advice? As an intern, you have a lot of tasks laid out for you. Your job is to execute these tasks, but the top interns push themselves to the limit. If you have a goal of ten trends to hit in one day, aim for fifteen. If you are given a project, think of ways to make things run with ease. This will help you stand out and get the most out of your internship.

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