Reading List, Nov. 28

A weekly roundup of job-hunting tips, career advice and interesting articles relevant to the magazine industry and being an editor. 

• "Women Journalists Confront Harassment, Sexism When Using Social Media" by Jeff Sonderman on Poynter. Ladies, you don't need to grin and bear those nasty, or even slightly uncomfortable comments left on your online work. Take action.

• The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks by Bethany Keeley. Check out the sidebar for additional amusing blogs.

• "How Do You Deal With Having to Fire Someone?" by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. Getting fired is no fun, but neither is having to fire someone, and there's usually a lot less advice about it. Here's a little.

• "Famous Magazines' First Covers" by Judy Berman on Flavorwire.

Reading List, Oct. 24

A weekly roundup of job-hunting tips, career advice and interesting articles relevant to the magazine industry and being an editor.


• "How to Manage a Perfectionist" by Amy Gallo on Harvard Business Review. If you have a perfectionist on your team, their attention to detail may slow down everyone else. Some good suggestions here. (It's also a good read if you're a perfectionist yourself."


• "Treat Your Employees like Neighbors" by Art Markman on Harvard Business review. If you create a community within your company and everyone pitches in, your employees and your magazine will do better.


• "What Every Magazine Media Company Needs: A Chief Dream Officer" by Samir Husni on Mr. Magazine. Chief Dream Officer = my dream job. Anyone want to hire me?

the life-work balance: unlimited vacation time at techtarget

What a wonderful world it would be if more companies treated their employees like the adults they are. As reported by Matt Kinsman in his blog for Folio:, tech publisher TechTarget allows its staff unlimited sick, personal and vacation days. In a results-based industry like publishing, it makes sense to trust that your employees are going to take off only the amount of time that they feel they can handle while still getting their jobs done. If they've done their work, the issue gets published. I would think that this policy would automatically benefit the most talented, hardest workers even further, as they would be able to take more time off and still produce stellar magazines. It's a far cry from one place I worked, where staff had to keep time sheets and weren't allowed to work from home because it was assumed they were just playing hooky.

can awards be part of you HR strategy?

With the American National Magazine Awards just behind us and the Canadian NMAs approaching, winning big is on everyone's mind. Since there's some question as to the value of an award – does it help increase ad sales? do readers care? – it may make the most sense to look at industry awards as part of your HR strategy. What better way to show your staff and contributors that you you think they're doing a good job than by entering their work into consideration for an award? Studies have shown employees who feel appreciated are happier in their jobs and more loyal, and recognition by their peers is certain to boost their satisfaction – hey, they get to gloat in front of everyone!

who should I send my resume to?

Resumes should go to both HR and whoever is doing the hiring, usually the managing editor. If you're not sure who's in charge, call the publication and ask (usually it's best to speak with the editorial assistant).

being a better boss

I've had my fair share of good and bad bosses, both in and out of the industry, as I'm sure you all have. On the Folio: site, editor Mark Newman blogs about taking care of his staff.