Emily Charlton said it perfectly in the timeless 2006 movie, The Devil Wears Prada, “A million girls would kill for this job”––Claire has that job.
P. Claire Dodson, senior culture editor for Teen Vogue since 2018, loved The Devil Wears Prada when it came out but never imagined she would come quite so close to having that fantasy job, and after years of hard work, she made it there at only 28.
Dodson’s original interest in the field sparked from watching her dad write and edit for their hometown newspaper, she got to grow up in the newsroom with him and get a taste of the publishing world. “It made seeing a career in journalism as achievable on some level, although I never had any illusions about it paying well,” Dodson says. Unless you’re starting out in a high-paying job right out of the gates, it may take multiple jobs or freelancing to make enough money for a comfortable income.
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However, doing freelance work on the side not only helped hone her skills but also gave her more experience that she uses today. Dodson initially started her work in journalism at her college newspaper at the University of Tennessee. She then started freelancing in her junior year. One of the business publications she wrote for, a business magazine called Fast Company, turned into a full-time opportunity right after she graduated. Dodson planned to intern in Los Angeles, but when the Teen Vogue job came up she immediately packed up for New York instead.
Getting the Teen Vogue job
Three years later, Dodson made the move to Teen Vogue. “I remember when they offered me the job, I started crying,” she says, “It was very much a dream job at the time I think. It was very weird to see people like Anna Wintour in the office, it was a very surreal experience.”
While she dreamt of a job like this as a teenager in Tennessee, the reality was overwhelming. It was one thing to imagine it as a young adult versus staring it right in the face.
Joining a team with people who have already established a name for themselves was intimidating. Dodson would be working alongside Elaine Welteroth and Philip Picardi as well as others who brought Teen Vogue into political-leaning journalism just a few years prior.
She began working at Teen Vogue as an Entertainment News editor and worked in that position for around three years (with some overlap) mostly editing aggregated blogs while also doing some writing of her own.
It took time for Dodson to feel empowered enough to take on more and move up––it’s all a learning experience to gain more ability and knowledge. “It probably took me a year to even feel comfortable in that role,” she says.
“I had a new boss at the time, who is still my boss actually,” she says, “as well as a new editor at the time who got us thinking about those next steps.” It was the people around her who really pushed her to see herself doing more––eventually landing her in a leadership position.
Day in the life
Dodson now runs the culture section with the current Entertainment News editor Kaitlyn McNab. They do installments on music, TV, celebrities, and books. Mcnab Starts the day by giving a news lineup to Dodson for her sign-off before starting on feature edits for the day. Another part of the job for her is also planning covers and larger franchise moments. As a section head, she has a never-ending amount of work but there are definitely plenty of great perks that come along with it. “There’s all the fun editor things like going to events and screenings, getting lunch or drinks with PR people, and doing the networking side of the job.”
“Running the magazine is such a fun but sometimes silly job,” she says. “It’s very cliché, but no day is really the same, which is fun––I’m very lucky to get to do this as a job.”
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While running a teen magazine can be fun and lighthearted, it’s also a provocative publication. Dodson has a deep care for the work that she does and its importance within our culture. “Writing about politics and pop culture in a way that’s respectful and provides insight beyond just tabloid coverage or exploitative writing––it’s important to talk to young people in that way,” says Dodson.
Favorite project
One of Dodson’s favorite projects is Teen Vogue’s “New Hollywood” series featuring new and upcoming celebrities. Recently, Dodson has played more of a leadership role within the project. “The past couple of years have been my first time helping shape who is on the cover or shape the overall arc of it,” she says. “[I’ve been] working with our design director Emily Zirimis, who is really great at figuring out what it should look like and really selling the concept to our editor-in-chief or talking to the sales team about brand stuff.”
Dodson loves working across different areas––collaborating with different directors and trying new things. Getting to see the result of a project like this ends with an exclusive package full of passion from various angles and interesting people all pulled together.
Biggest accomplishment
Last year they did Teen Vogue superlatives and she received “The Coach” as hers.
“I was really touched by that. I think I’m proud of the fact that my co-workers can come to me with any problems and that I’m trustworthy to them,” she says.
As Dodson thinks about her next steps, she wants to continue to be an encouraging leader and think about everyone’s path to growth––not perpetuating toxic work environments like the sometimes cliquey New York culture within the field. Having a positive and productive work environment remains an important aspect of her job.
“I think I’m most proud of earning the respect and trust of my coworkers.” Dodson says, “That’s my cheesy ‘Miss America’ answer.”
Having a role model
There’s this concept that you have one single role model to help you get to who you are but even Andy from The Devil Wears Prada had multiple mentor-type people: Emily Charlton, Nigel, and (whether we hate her methods or not) Miranda Priestly. Dodson has had multiple bosses, her direct manager, and colleagues who have felt like mini mentors. Even her college mentor, Pete Finch, who was an editor at Golf Digest, had a classic magazine editor vibe that gave her the perspective she needed to be a leader. Dodson has also learned a lot from Gen Z. “I’m a young millennial, but I like seeing Gen Z come in and really not take any shit from people,” she says, “I’ve definitely learned from that. There’s no need to let people walk all over you and everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work.”
Having those people to learn from and go to when little drama inevitably comes up at work or problems come up in her career is what has helped her in her position and earned her the title of “The Coach”.
Getting into the industry
Dodson’s biggest piece of advice for getting into publishing or writing: be delusional. There’s so much that goes into getting into this field: finances and access difficulty; to go into a job like this (or any in writing, honestly) it takes a leap of faith. Pretending that those barriers don’t exist is the key.
“You just have to make it work. I think it takes a certain level of delusion to put yourself out there,” she says, “Especially when you’re young, you’re just as good as anyone out there.” There are always going to be systemic barriers and financial realities––which shouldn’t be ignored. But personal confidence should be something everyone has access to. No matter who you are, if you want to write, you should write.
She receives many pitches from young people and college students When she flips through pitches, it’s the people who write clearly with minimal copy errors, who are willing to workshop a piece, and have excitement for their writing––those people really stand out.
Dodson says, “Except for the few amazing amazing people, you’re all kind of at the same level. It takes so little to stand out sometimes.”
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There are also so many other ways to get to work for the magazine. She’s seen people go through the PR side, the talent booking side and transferring over, and some who start higher up based on their past work.
“I applied to something like 150 internships and got rejected from basically all of them,” she says, “but these are places that now I’ve written for or have worked for. The internship process is so competitive but not always accurate and people will weed out over time.” She also emphasizes your first job doesn’t need to be at a magazine. “Life is short, but it’s also long,” Dodson says. Don’t get discouraged. “You have time to build your skills and get where you want to be. You don’t have to be in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.”