How to Get a Job With Me

Born in El Salvador, and raised in Miami, Carmen Borgonovo spent 10 years in New York working at Vogue and WWD before heading over to Europe for roles at Hogan, Harper's Bazaar, and now, MyWardrobe.com, the London-based e-commerce site that bills itself as "everyday luxury." After a decade in the biz, Borgonovo knows a thing are two about what makes a good intern, a good hire, and how to impress a boss.

KCD president Ed Filipowski is one of the most influential—and intimidating—execs in the fashion business. As the head of public relations for KCD, he works with a wide range of prestigious clients, from Givenchy and Swarovski to Marc Jacobs and Victoria's Secret. Filipowski is also revered for nurturing—and holding onto—talent. While public relations is known for its fast turnover, the publicist—an employee at KCD since the 1980s, an owner nearly as long—has been able to keep his staff close. Currently, the average tenure for a senior-level publicist is 9.5 years. (And a KCD publicist pretty much never defects to another agency, which is also rare.) I spoke with Filipowski last week about how he got his job at KCD—and what he looks for when he's interviewing both senior publicists and interns.