4 career tips for young women from Lucky magazine chief Eva Chen

Eva Chen arrived fashionably late to a convention panel about women leaders in the newsroom on Thursday afternoon. (Her Twitter followers will know she went to another similarly named hotel.) But all heads perked up as she took her place at the table in the front of the room.

Chen recently celebrated her one-year anniversary as editor-in-chief of Conde Nast’s Lucky magazine. At 34, she’s one of the youngest people and one of the only Asian Americans at the helm of a major fashion magazine. She boasts 222,142 followers on Instagram and more than 77,000 on Twitter. Fashionista.com called her “the first editor-in-chief of our generation.”

Chen took an unconventional path to fashion. She began as a pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University before taking an internship at Harper’s Bazaar between her junior and senior years of college.

Chen’s background, youth and social media savvy give her a unique perspective on the future of fashion journalism. Here’s her advice for young women trying to break in:

Be confident.

Chen said confidence is key for women getting ahead in the newsroom.

“For me, it took time to grow into confidence,” she said. “I wish when I was in my 20s I had the confidence to ask for what I wanted.”

Chen advised young women to have the same confidence in the office that they do with people they are comfortable with.

Be open about who you are.

Chen said she has seen an increase in the number of Asian Americans in fashion since she began in the industry.

“When I started, there were two Asian models,” she said. “It has gotten easier.”

Chen said she is a proud Asian American and encouraged others not to hide their background if it is important to them.

“I try to live by example,” she said. “I’m very vocal on social media about being Chinese American.”

Pay your dues, but know when to ask for what you want.

Chen said that although the fashion industry requires everyone to pay their dues, it is important to know when to speak up.

“You are going to encounter people saying we need an [unpaid] intern or freelancer,” she said. “Be aware when you are being taken advantage of.”

Let relationships with mentors develop organically.

Chen spoke of the importance of mentors and cited Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as one of hers.

But relationships with mentors must be natural and a two-way street, Chen said. She said she finds it weird when she receives emails from young women she has never met asking her to be their mentor.

“Don’t just cold-email people to be your mentor,” she said.

Follow @neha_ramani on Twitter.