In 2018, the average media maven needs to have a multi-faceted portfolio in order to make it. A flawless resume just doesn’t cut it like it used to — it’ll just get your foot in the door. Your personal branding says more about you than a one-page PDF ever could. If you’re like me, you like to plan out your whole life as soon as you can, and that means getting inspiration from every direction. If you aspire to have a career in media after graduating, these 10 inspiring women may help you get there, and you never know — they could be your future boss.
1. Kelsey Stiegman
As the Style Editor of Seventeen.com, Stiegman lives up to her title even on her days off. This new-age fashion icon brings a new meaning to the term fashion guru by proving it doesn’t have to be couture to serve a look, all while rocking a pair of tiny sunnies. She flawlessly meshes her personal style with the latest trends to create a cohesive, curated feed.
Instagram: @klstieg
What you can expect on your feed: Major street-style inspo.
2. Olivia Muenter
Muenter is the Fashion and Beauty Editor at Bustle, an online magazine for women. She’s made quite a name for herself since graduating from the University of Florida. She’s been personally styled by both Beyoncé’s stylist and Queer Eye’s Tan France, interviewed Kim Kardashian West not once, but twice, and has even met Blake Lively (the biggest deal of all). She keeps each post ‘real’ with personal accounts and struggles, to showcase more than just a ‘highlight’ reel of her life.
Instagram: @oliviamuenter
What you can expect on your feed: Body positivity and just about the coziest apartment on the Upper East Side.
3. Hannah Orenstein
Orenstein recently published her first novel, “Playing With Matches” while working full time as Elite Daily’s Dating editor (I’m tired just thinking about this). While in college, the newly published author was one of Her Campus’ first-ever interns and has made her way from editorial intern to Associate Features Editor at Seventeen.com to Dating Editor and now novelist. The kicker? She’s only 26. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.
Instagram: @hannahorens
What you can expect on your feed: “Playing With Matches” promotion, Bustle lobby selfies and her adorable cat Eloise.
4. Carina Hsieh
As the Sex & Relationships Editors at Cosmopolitan.com, Hsieh is your modern day, easy going Carrie Bradshaw (but if you ask Candace Bushnell, Hsieh is more of a Samantha). Her Twitter is comedic gold, but don’t let that distract from her actual career as a comedic writer. As if being inspiring and stunning weren’t enough to follow her, she also has the cutest dog in all of Brooklyn.
Instagram: @carinahsieh
What you can expect on your feed: Her French Bulldog Bao Bao, and the occasional selfie.
Photo credit: Ruben Chamorro/Cosmopolitan.com, as featured in “I Lived Like Carrie Bradshaw for a Week.“
5. Joanna Coles
If you’re aspiring to have a career in media, especially in the magazine industry, and you don’t know who Joanna Coles is by now, you need to fix that. Coles began her 12-year career at Hearst as Marie Claire editor-in-chief. She then made her way to Cosmopolitan, where she served as editor-in-chief for four years. After leaving Cosmopolitan in 2016, Hearst created a new position for Coles, as Chief Content Officer for all Hearst magazines, which she recently stepped down from in early August. Earlier this year, Coles was recognized for her contributions to the media industry, as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth for her ‘2018 Birthday Honours List.’ If you’re a fan of “The Bold Type,” you might be more familiar with Coles than you thought. She is an executive producer of the popular Freeform show and inspired the character of Jacqueline Carlyle, played by Melora Hardin. Coles is also known for using her iconic treadmill desk at work, even in heels.
Instagram: @joannacoles
What you can expect on your feed: A kind and inspiring version of Miranda Priestly, with plenty of career inspo in between desk-treadmill videos.
6. Jenna Rennert
If you had to picture what the typical beauty editor’s life looked like, it’d be Rennert’s Instagram account personified. The Vogue beauty editor posts insider-looks into the events some of us only dream about ever going to, like the Met Gala and Tony Awards. Her unfiltered posts about fashion and beauty products is not only informative but inspiring.
Instagram: @itsjennarennert
What you can expect on your feed: beauty products, flawless selfies and Rennert serving looks at the biggest events of the year.
7. Aya Kanai
Kanai serves as the Chief Fashion Director for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Seventeen and Women’s Health. Before the birth of her newborn daughter, Kanai was a judge on “Project Runway: Junior,” before the finale of its second season in 2017.
Instagram: @ayakanai
What you can expect on your feed: Exclusives from celebrity photoshoots, adorable baby pictures and proof that the working mom can have it all.
8. Nikki Ogunnaike
Before her reign as Style Director for Elle.com, the Nigerian-American editor got her start at Vanity Fair as a Fashion Assistant before moving onto InStyle as an Assistant Editor and then Glamour.com as Senior Digital Style Editor. Talk about climbing the ladder!
Instagram: @nikkiogun
What you can expect on your feed: Work promotion, authenticity and black-girl magic.
9. Ray Lowe
Just like her fashion sense, her ‘Gram is ever-evolving as Lowe keeps each post unique. As the Fashion Market Editor of Refinery29, everything about her account is fabulous and fresh. My personal favorite part of her whole account is how she integrates a tiny bit of Disney magic into the streets of New York with her personal style.
Instagram: @rayasunshiine
What you can expect on your feed: A little bit of travel, a little bit of Disney and a whole lot of fashion.
10. Sienna Fantozzi
Writing just about everything from table-setting to tiny Christmas trees and everything in between, as an associate editor at House Beautiful, Fantozzi’s feed looks exactly like a spread out of the magazine. I’m convinced her office is wherever her passport takes her, and honestly, she’s killing it.
Instagram: @siennaann
What you can expect on your feed: travel posts featuring gorgeous architecture, stunning interiors and gardens out of a fairytale.
Who are your must-follow editors? Let us know on Facebook and Instagram @HerCampusUFL!