sarah fulford on getting your dream job and being a good editor

Thanks to everyone who made it out last night to hear Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief of Toronto Life, as part of Ed2010 Toronto's speaker series. For the rest of you, here's a taste of what you missed out on:

All editors need to write at some point in their career in order to exercise their "empathy muscle" says Sarah. To get a good idea of what writers go through on a piece, you need to experience it yourself, because the better you understand what a writer needs, the better an editor you can be.

Have a mentor. Or many, many mentors. Sarah surrounded herself with people she could learn from, and especially recommends newbie editors key in changes and read notes made by more experienced editors on stories. You'll get a sense of how their minds work and what they look for.

The most attractive qualities in an applicant (even more important than experience): Passion, enthusiasm and commitment. And you have to have good ideas. Lots of them.

Two questions you must know the answers to when you go into a job interview: What are your favourite magazines? What would you do to make [magazine you're applying to] better?