Hot English Magazine

General Internships

Interns at Hot English get involved in a wide range of tasks. On a day-to-day basis it can be anything from database work to calling clients in Spanish and from making a trip to the bank to helping out our subscriptions manager. Tasks really do vary and it’s often a surprise what you’re working on for the day: you could help send out the newest issue of Hot English Magazine to hundreds of subscribers; grade the exams of English students; organise promotional materials for potential clients or write articles.

At Hot English, interns get to see exactly how a dynamic business runs, having daily contact with both staff and directors from all the different departments. Our interns come to us from all over the world, generally studying related university degrees.

In the company, we use English in the office, but the majority of our clients and suppliers are Spanish, so interns can get to use both. For those that speak more Spanish, there are plenty of Spanish speaking tasks but for those with less, that's not a problem either.

The competence and initiation put forth by our interns also help to determine the type and quality of tasks given. From our experience, we have seen that the more you put into the internship with Hot English the more you will get out of the experience. The office atmosphere is relaxed and everyone is friendly, so if you have questions you shouldn't be afraid to ask.

We will always try to explain what we are doing and why. At the end of your time with Hot English Publishing we hope you will have enjoyed your time here, and have a valuable insight into the world of business, which will help you in your future career. We welcome all ideas and suggestions, on the business, content or promotional side and want you to feel you have made an important contribution. Whichever department you are working in, and whatever tasks you are involved in, there will be times when your assistance is required in other departments. Your flexibility to apply yourself equally in all areas and in any tasks required by managers is vital.

For more details about doing an internship with Hot English please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; tel- 0034 91 549 8523; skype-hotenglishmagazine2010.

Editorial Internships

Do you want experience working in an exciting magazine office?

We often have positions available for people who are seriously interested in learning about the process of producing educational products (magazines, online resources, course books, etc.). We can offer a number of interesting tasks. Below are some details of the program. As part of the program, you will be principally doing writing tasks. We will assist you and give you feedback as and when we have time to do so. This is principally a writing-based internship and best suits those who

a) have shown a real interest in writing and the art of creating interesting text;
b) seriously wish to develop their writing skills (particularly writing for an educational publication) and who wish to learn how to write for an established readership.

Tasks & Useful Editorial Experience

We’ll try to vary the type of tasks you are working on. You will be assisting on the following products:

• Hot English Magazine (a magazine sold all over the world for learners of English)
• Material for teenagers (we produce articles / listenings for teenage learners (secondary school learners) of English)
• Material for children (we produce articles / listenings for infants and Primary-school learners of English)
• The Skills Booklets (we produce grammar- and vocabulary-based articles / exercises / activities as part of our method, The Hot English Method)

This should give you a range of experience with a variety of tasks. These will include:

• Writing articles.
• Writing exercises.
• Editing other people’s work.
• Creating and generating general ideas.
• Thinking up ideas for a specific task.
• Assisting with the editing process.
• Liaising with the designer.
• Proof reading.
• Recording for our CD.
• Recording for our mini video clips.

Other information

For any articles you write, we’ll put your name on them and then give you copies. If you aren’t here when the magazine is published, we’ll send these onto you if you provide us with a fixed address somewhere.

Most internships last for 3 months. Interns must do at least 6 hours a week, and no more than 20 hours a week. Writing work may need to be completed outside the office. Interns are expected to have their own computer. You will be responsible for your own social security/health cover arrangements. Please note that it would be an unpaid, non-remunerated internship. There are no expenses (no travel, no food, etc.).

As part of the internship, there will also be administrative duties to do, and you may also have to assist in other departments within the company (admin, marketing, sales, etc.) if and when this should be required.

Testimonial from Louise Baker:

I worked in the editorial department with Hot English Magazine for about three months in 2010. It would be difficult to find an internship in this field which gives so many opportunities for personal input and initiative: I left Hot English Magazine feeling that I had been a real part of the team. The working atmosphere is friendly and encouraging, and, as with the majority of internships, the more work you put in, the more opportunities arise for really interesting work. You are assigned tasks by email in order of importance, usually with deadlines, and you then have a lot of freedom to handle and organise your workload yourself, which is a very useful skill to gain in any working environment. 

Other skills you are bound to develop during an editorial internship with Hot English Magazine include attention to detail, research ability, and a good grounding in clear and concise writing, whether or not you already have a study background in journalism. Writing for non-native-English speakers is not easier than writing for natives. In fact, you will find that writing engagingly in a simplified-yet adult-form of English is quite a challenge and will help you to develop your creativity in expression: you learn how to write something interesting without relying on complex vocabulary and structures. You will have to have a sound knowledge of the technicalities of English grammar, as writing exercises for the Hot English Skills Booklets is a key part of the internship. 

I can recommend the experience highly: it has been a great insight into how an editorial department is run. Tasks vary enormously, from grammar exercise writing, proofreading and fact-checking to research and writing in a surprisingly broad selection of areas for articles (I know more now about strange museums, bizarre business projects, Wall Street trading and new cars than I ever thought I would!). I even got to participate in creating the CD and the website videos - as well as learning the basics of studio lighting along the way! It is an internship which will teach you a lot, and which, fundamentally, is also enjoyable.

Testimonial from Ellen Digby:

I worked at Hot English for 5 months in 2011, as a general intern. I worked mainly with the admin side of the company, and worked closely with the teacher coordinator, accounts manager and subscriptions manager. Something which really stood out to me while I was there was how useful I felt. I felt like I was a really valued member of the team and helped out with a great variety of tasks. Further to this, I was trusted to run various projects myself, from the beginning stages until I left, and could teach it to the following interns. The placement gave me really great opportunities like these, including the chance to practise my Spanish with clients. Despite being a general intern, I also worked with the editorial team, who offered tasks with more involvement in the production of the magazine, such as writing articles, researching, or recording for the CD.

Some of the tasks that I worked on while I was at Hot English included:

• calling subscribers to chase up/collect payments;
• sending out promotional magazines or preparing monthly subscription sends;
• updating the subscriptions database;
• running errands such as going to the post office, the bank, the photocopy shop or buying office materials;
• speaking to the students to get feedback, grading level tests and exams, updating the database, preparing client reports – attendance, billing, filing paperwork;
• filing class timesheets, filing teacher paperwork, updating the database, speaking and updating the teachers/clients, preparing material for teachers or seminars, processing teacher hours and payments;
• updating the database, organizing office materials, calling clients for any issues that arise, keeping the office in order;
• preparing marketing material, marketing telephone calls or mailings, updating the databases, setting up interviews.

Overall I would say that this was a brilliant experience for me, not only getting used to a working environment, but getting to know the friendly team, working on a variety of tasks, and practising my Spanish.  I would definitely recommend an internship at Hot English to anyone looking at getting practical work experience in a foreign country.

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