Rylee Johnston spends her day-to-day discussing trends, outdated clothes and timeless pieces with stylists featured in her fashion-forward, fun and informational stories. 

Johnston works as a News and Deals Shopping writer for People, Inc. where she covers a wide range of lifestyle topics including fashion, brands and celebrity content. 

“My job is finding ways to turn products into a journalistic story,” Johnston said. “I combine reporting with shoppable links.”

Being a shopping writer falls under the category of service-journalism as Johnston’s content provides readers with information they can use. For example, what products they should purchase and which products they could pass on. 

Johnston’s employee biography on People’s website reads, “[Johnston] covers the items you’ll want to reach for on repeat from skin-brightening vitamin C serums to comfy matching sets that are trendy enough to leave the house in. Her pop culture expertise keeps her up to date on the latest celeb-used products and collaborations, and [it] has led to more than a dozen celebrity interviews.”

Her favorite aspect of the job is interviewing prominent individuals and experiencing lively opportunities. 

Through her career at People, Johnston has met supportive peers who encourage her to produce strong articles.

“Sometimes at school, post-grad life can be really daunting,” Johnston said. “I feel like even though [journalism] is a competitive field, you’d be so surprised [about] how supportive people are in the industry.”

Johnston started networking during her time at Hofstra University. She encouraged conversations to develop connections and expand her network.

“People want to help and that’s something you forget about,” Johnston said. “As much as it is a competitive landscape, we often forget that people are helpful and do feel for you.”

For those entering the workforce, Johnston says reaching out to employers and alumni is a positive way to begin career development. 

Johnston graduated from Hofstra in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minors in international affairs and European studies.

To prepare for her future career, Johnston took advantage of many club opportunities, including but is not limited to, meeting speakers, making connections and researching internships. 

“The [Lawrence Herbert School of Communication] is well-integrated through media,” Johnston said. “If you take advantage of all the clubs offered, it will prepare you even more.” 

Johnston was involved in Her Campus Magazine, Zeta Phi Eta, Model UN, Entertainment Unlimited and Alpha Epsilon Phi. 

In her classes, Johnston found that there wasn’t a large concentration in magazine journalism, but rather a push towards television and broadcast journalism. Through clubs and internships, she was able to explore all areas of journalism. 

As a junior, Johnston started her internship journey at American Spa Magazine. There, Johnston produced beauty and spa features, wrote news content, conducted research and supported the editorial team by assisting in planning the annual Women in Wellness Conference.

She followed this opportunity as an editorial intern with PSFK, an American business media company, where she researched and wrote articles about the leading brands in retail.

Her last internship during her undergraduate years was with NBC Universal as a digital editorial intern for the Today Show. 

Johnston’s internship exposure gave her the hands-on experience in lifestyle journalism that her classes were not necessarily providing her. However, she heard sound advice from her professors about the industry as a whole:

“There are still some professors working in media, so they can give you good advice on the media industry right now,” Johnston said. 

Not only did Johnston utilize her professors’ knowledge, but she also took advantage of the Center for Career Design & Development and her preprofessional fraternity to guide her professionally. 

The Career Center operated as a powerful tool for resume building and meeting new people, whereas Zeta Phi Eta gave her a space to shadow older peers as they applied for jobs and performed other “adult tasks.”

Johnston found joining clubs was a powerful way to take advantage of her undergraduate years, especially being involved in clubs outside of the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. 

“When you are in the school of communication, you have tunnel vision,” Johnston said. “More clubs means more connections.”

Johnston’s advice: diversify what you’re involved in and reach out to employers.