Goodbye

Well, this is it. My last post for Dream Job TK. It's been nearly five years, and it's been a trip.

Before I sign off, I'd like to share two things I've learned so far in my magazine editing career. Now, they're not the only things that matter, and they may not even be the most important, but you can't forget them in the pursuit of your dream job:

1. Trust your gut.
If you find yourself asking yourself whether your next career move is the right one for you, maybe it's not.

Excited and giddy about the possibilities of a new gig or assignment? Can't wait to tell everyone? Can you picture yourself doing the job? Jump right in.

Debating the merits of the offer over and over? Making a pros and cons list? Asking everyone you know if you should take it? You might be looking for permission or validation because something in your gut is telling you that it's not for you.

2. Make friends.
Some people might call this networking, but that word doesn't express the true nature of the relationships you can build in this industry. It's a community filled with wonderful people. Get to know them and they will help you over and over again in your career. You will find confidantes, mentors and many, many very good friends, and even some excellent acquaintances. When you're stuck in your career or have an editing problem to solve, nothing is more valuable than having someone (or a few someones) who know what it's like to be an editor to talk to about it.

Thank you all so much for reading Dream Job TK, and for your comments and questions over the years. It truly has been an honour sharing with you.

Wishing each and every one of you all the best in your careers. I hope you find your Dream Job.
Corinna

PS – The Dream Job TK archives will remain online for you peruse anytime you need a little career advice. And you can find me online on Twitter @vangerwen or at my website, corinnavangerwen.com.

Make the Best of a Bad Job

At one time, if you hated your job it was easy to say, "I can always leave whenever I want; I'll just get another job." These days, though, you may feel stuck in a job you don't like because finding a new job seems tougher than it used to be.

Instead of wallowing in your misery, it would do you some good to change your attitude. Don't stop looking for your dream job, but in the meantime (until more opportunities are available), also get what you can out of your current position. Identify what you'd like to do next, determine what skills you'll need or could improve on, and then try to develop those skills in your current position.

How's Megan Lane Patrick on Her New Job Title

"When I became editor of HOW in May, it was clear that the title of editor-in-chief was no longer appropriate for the position. What do you call a person who's responsible for a magazine, website, blog, book line, and roster of events and competitions? 

I decided Content Director was the right title for me now and for what I will be doing long into the future."

– Megan Lane Patrick, Content Director, How, in her editor's letter of the September 2011 issue

Reading List, Aug. 22

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

• "5 Ways to Save Your Writing Clips From Oblivion" by Susan Johnston on The Urban Muse. Practical tips on how to keep your digital clippings.

• "One Mentor’s 10-Step Job Interview Process: Where do You Fall Out?" by Todd Herschberg on YouTern's The Savvy Intern blog. The inside scoop on how one employer weeds out job candidates.

• "Boston Globe Creates a Twitter Board for the Newsroom" by Justin Ellis on the Nieman Journalism Lab. If you want staff from all departments to get more involved in social media, increasing awareness about what your brand is doing may be the ticket.

• "How Journalists See Each Other" on DigiDave.

• "Making the Leap from Editor to Content Strategist" by Sara Zailskas on the American Society of Business Publication Editors blog (via WordCount). Lost your job as an editor or just tired of magazine publishing? "Content Strategist" could be your next career move.

6 Value-Added Skills For Every Editor

Being an editor these days is no longer just about editing and writing print copy. Now you have to blog, make presentations and appear in videos, among other "additional duties as required." In order to rocket to the top of the industry and stay ahead of your class, honing your skills in these areas will help make you stand out.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA, CMS, HTML, CSS & ALL THINGS DIGITAL
As an editor, you are responsible for the content for your brand, not just the ink-on-paper version of it. You will be asked to blog, tweet and write for the web. If you don't know how (or if you do it badly), you will get left behind. Bonus: advanced knowledge in the digital arena makes you a candidate for web editing jobs – practically the only area of magazines that is growing right now.

2. PHOTOGRAPHY
That blog you're writing? If you can do the photography for it, you're worth more. More photos make for better blogs, especially when there's variety other than just product shots supplied by PR people and the quality is better than a basic snapshot. (Yes, I acknowledge the fact that I rarely post photos on this blog.)

3. GRAPHIC DESIGN

Know photoshop? Now you can resize and edit those photos for your blog without bugging the art department. Understanding the basics of design will also help you better communicate with the art department (just remember: they still know more than you – respect their expertise). Plus, being able to think visually and explain it will help you develop and execute editorial packaging concepts, which depend on a successful marriage of text and images/layout.

4. COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS
If you can troubleshoot email problems and get the AV equipment running at a meeting, you portray an overall air of capability. Plus, you don't have to bug IT as often. (But again, respect their expertise.)

5. PUBLIC SPEAKING
Editors are brand ambassadors and one of the more powerful tools in a magazine's marketing arsenal. Excel at making presentations (at a consumer show, for example) or doing demonstrations (for that web video, say) and you may find yourself one of the public faces for your magazine.

6. SPECIALIZATION
You do risk pigeonholing yourself, but being an expert in a particular area, for example beauty or environment, will make you a top candidate for positions requiring knowledge of that subject.

Any other skills you would add to this list?

Archiving Your Career

I'm going through the dual process right now of building a portfolio website for myself, as well as rearranging my office – both of which require me to go through my archives. It seems to be an apt time of year to engage in self-reflective activities, you know, as everyone is in the mood to look back at the year that was.

I have rediscovered that I tend to keep multiple copies (as much as seven!) of each issue that I've worked on. And I'm inclined to think that I'm not the only one.

I'm curious: how do you track and archive your past work? Do you keep every issue? Do you tear out or scan just the stories that you've written? Do you keep a list of everything you've ever worked on? Do you keep only the work of which you are most proud? Do you organize it by subject, year or publication? What about those of you with 20+ years in the biz? Have you changed what you choose to keep?

I'm interested in the nitty-gritty details. Please share!

take a step back to find the right career path

A recent article in the New York Times points out that the career ladder doesn't always go straight up. "The idea of a lattice describes modern career growth more aptly," according to one expert. So when might you want to go backwards, or even accept a pay cut?


• To move to a bigger company, you may have to accept a lower position. It's not uncommon for an editor-in-chief of a local alternative magazine to take a senior editor or even associate editor position at a larger consumer title.


• To move quickly to a higher-level position, try a smaller company, but be prepared for a pay cut. Because smaller magazines usually have smaller budgets to match, they they can't always attract the more seasoned professionals. This means they're often great training grounds for eager young things looking to punch above their weight, or experience level.


• To gain new skills for the future, you may need to take a lower position. Are you a senior editor on the print side with the desire to work on the web team but have no on-the-job web editing experience? You'll have a tough go of it if you aim for a senior web editor position, but associate web editor may be within your grasp.


The overall lesson is to take a look at where you want to be down the road and equip yourself with the skills and experience that will get you there.


Related post: When Taking a Step Backwards or Sideways in Your Career is the Right Move

getting to know yourself

Every job you have is going to teach you a little bit more about yourself — about how you like to work and what you want out of a job. You discover more about your preferences, like how you can best keep yourself organized, the types of coworkers you dislike and your strategies for dealing with them, and whether you prefer communicating by email, instant message or by phone with the person in the next cubicle (personally, I don't understand the urge to pick up the phone and call someone sitting six feet from you).

Knowing these things about yourself will likely help you navigate the work environment, help you figure out how to either adapt to systems or introduce "your way" of doing things to make improvements for everyone.

Side note: I wonder, how much do your first "real" job experiences affect those preferences? Is one inclined to think the "right" way to do something is the first way s/he learned how?

no mag experience? no problem

Intern. Editorial assistant. Assistant editor. Associate editor. Etc. It's a clear path, but not one you necessarily have to take. As the examples in this Ed2010 article show, if you have experience in another field and want to get into magazines, you can. The trick is to communicate how your skills are transferable and that you "get" magazines. And perhaps your non-magazine experience is a bonus that will make you stand out among all the other applicants.

create your own job

There's a lot of chatter these days about the the death of the current publishing model. Recent grads are looking for jobs in an industry landscape that's very different from when they entered school four or so years ago, and veterans are clamouring to keep on top of the sea change.

Some of the more entrepreneurial types are saying screw pounding the pavement, I'm making up my own job and launching my own site. (Ok, most of them aren't giving up their day jobs, but they're not relying on climbing the career ladder to get to the top, either.)

Mashable talked to five ink-on-paper pros who have gone digital and compiled their tips for creating a startup journalism site. They cover startup costs, advertising and sponsorship, tech and design, and audience development. So, if you're eager for the next entry on your resumé to be publisher/editor/writer/designer/ad manager/tech support, you might find some useful tidbits in How To Launch Your Own Indie Journalism Site.

finding opportunities outside of Toronto

In my last post, I promised to address the question of whether not being in Toronto limits your career opportunities.

First, don't let your home base discourage you. Yes, there are more English-language magazines published out of Toronto than any other place in Canada, but there are also more people competing for the jobs at those magazines.

Research what opportunities are available in your home town by checking job boards and the member lists of publishing associations like Magazines Canada, the Canadian Business Press, the Atlantic Magazines Association and the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers.

Make connections with other editors through local chapters of industry associations like the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

And don't be shy about calling up other editors and offering to take them out to lunch, just to meet them and chat about the industry. I occasionally get together for brunch with magazine peeps in my hood, outside of any organized association, and it's great to just talk about anything magazine related that's on our minds. Making and maintaining friendships in the industry is important because people who aren't in it can't fully understand it, and you need those people who get it to offer advice throughout your career.

reader's question: how do I make a mid-life career transition into magazines?

Q. What advice would you give to an experienced corporate/industry writer who wants to jump the fence into a magazine career?

My challenges are:
(1) I'm not a student, nor am I a "young whippersnapper," so the internship route may not be possible for me (although I would certainly jump at the opportunity).
(2) I don't live in Toronto, but in Ottawa, so opportunities are further limited.

A. I have no experience in it, but I can't imagine changing your career track is at all easy.

If you're looking to become a freelance magazine writer, the transition shouldn't be too difficult. You might be able to find work writing for trade publications, particularly those that cover the industries you've previously worked for. Like any writer trying to break in, you'll have to slowly build your portfolio with clippings from smaller local and regional magazines and work your way up to larger titles. You'll definitely need to do this to make your way into larger consumer titles. (Some veteran freelancers might advise you to keep your corporate gigs to supplement any income made from magazines.)

If you're looking to land an on-staff gig as an editor, your path will be a little longer and harder. First, don't discount internships. I once worked with an intern who was returning to the workforce after staying home to raise her kids for 12 years. Her career previous to having children wasn't in magazines, and she was willing to start at the bottom, as you are. Call up managing editors at places you'd like to intern and talk to them about whether they'd be willing to take you on. Check out my earlier post on How Old is Too Old to Intern? for more on this.

There's a little bit of a chance that you may be able to land a position without doing an internship. The key will be to prove that you "get it" and that you're capable of doing the job. You'll have to work harder than applicants with magazine experience to convey this in your cover letter and clippings. Figure out what your transferable skills are, why they make you valuable, and how they would benefit the magazine.

To help you from this angle, you may want to consider the information meeting. Talking to an editor in a senior position will help you determine if you do in fact get it and help pinpoint where your magazine skills are strong or lacking.

As for your question about opportunities given your location, I'm going to tackle this in another post. Watch for it.

the secret to success

Two videos from Richard St. John on success. The takeaway: even if you reach your dream job, you can't stop striving to be the best.

8 Secrets of Success:



Success is a Continuous Journey:

manage your career trajectory

At several points in your career, you'll have to figure out what path you want to take. You may have to decide whether to accept a job offer, or even whether you should apply for a job.

Recently I was talking with a young editor who was wise enough to recognize that a certain opportunity just wasn't right for him. Having just completed school, it would be the first experience on his resumé, and would likely colour all future opportunities, possibly pigeon-holing him as a certain type of editor. And it wasn't the type of editing he wants to do. (Sorry I'm being vague; I'm trying to avoid any identifying details.)

Fortunately this recent grad has the luxury of waiting it out to look for work that's better suited to him and his talents, and I recommend that you use the same discretion, too, when possible. Will your next job give you additional skills above and beyond what you already have (i.e. will you develop and grow as an editor)? Will it provide you with the experience you need to then take the next step? Is it a good building block? Or will it take you away from your eventual goals? For example, if you dream of being a beauty editor, a position at a women's mag (even if you're not handling beauty stories) will get you closer to your goal than a gig at a literary journal. Look for work in the arena you wish to be in and think twice about opportunities that may lead you astray. Being an editorial assistant at the latter is not the same as being an editorial assistant at the former.

Of course, this is all moot if you're just trying to find something to pay the bills. But when you can, consider where your next job might take you.

what to do if you're laid off

Some practical advice on what to do if you find yourself being laid off, from Time:

Don't sign anything right away, ask a lot of questions and write everything the person firing you says.

Doing this could give you ammunition to negotiate a better severance package or file for wrongful dismissal. For the entire piece, go to Time. Found through Save the Assistants.

reader's question: can I accept a new job if I just started this one?

Q. I just started a job about a month ago. The people are nice and there is good job security, but I don't particularly enjoy the day-to-day work and I don't feel like I fit here that well.

I've been asked to interview for another job that's not quite up to par with my experience, and as thus, it pays a bit less, but it's back in publishing doing what I love, and the commute is better. There was also talk about another position that interests me opening in a few months, so there's a chance I might be able to talk them into hiring me now to fill both positions and paying me a bit more but saving on a salary in a couple of months.

Am I totally screwing up my reputation/career/resume by leaving a company so quickly after joining with them?

How do I explain why I would leave this job after a month without scaring the new employer off? Do I tell them that it's a temp position or something?

How do I deal with taxing my references again? They just received phone calls from my current company less than two months ago. I'd hate to wear them out!

A. Seems like you are in a bit of an awkward situation, but the thing to keep first and foremost in mind is to do what's right for you and your career, and to be honest.

A month may be too little time to truly determine whether your current job is a good fit, but there's no harm in talking to another company to figure out if it's where you'd rather be. If you feel you can negotiate and convince them to hire you to fill both positions, and if it is your dream job, then go for it.

Don't worry about screwing up your career: just be honest and sincere about why you're leaving, and be considerate. If you are offered and decide to take the new job, explain to your current employer that it's an opportunity you just cant give up. Acknowledge that you're putting them in a tough spot of having to look for someone again, and say that you'll try to make the transition as smooth as possible. Do not mention that you're not happy where you are. Every conversation – with your current employer and all future employers – needs to be about how good the new job is. In your interview, stick to the story that you're really excited about the opportunity – it will only flatter the hopefully new boss.

When it comes to references, same thing: be honest. Explain the situation, acknowledge that you're asking a lot of them, and say that you understand if they'd rather opt out of vouching for you this time around.

As for your resumé, there's no rule that you have to list every job you've ever had, so you can just leave off your current gig (a month of not working won't ring any bells for people looking at your resumé in the future).

*Question is edited for length and identifying details.

working hard or hardly working?

With layoffs galore and companies asking staff to take unpaid vacations or cut down to four-day workweeks, a lot of editors are likely wondering how to get everything done with fewer people in less time. (Maybe next week I'll blog about how to go about doing that...)

So it struck me as a little funny to be reading an article in the New York Times about occupying yourself with busywork in the hope you won't get sacked.

"[W]hen business is verrry slow and the possibility of layoffs icily real, looking busy is no joke. In retail and real estate, restaurants and law offices, many workers are working hard to look necessary — even when they don’t have all that much to do."

It makes sense that this habit would evolve in industries where business has slowed down – where customers and clients are quickly becoming scarce – but in magazines, even when ad pages are down, you still have to put out the issue. I would think the challenge for us is how to manage an increasing workload; am I wrong? Is anyone out there mastering the art of killing time?

Regardless, everyone is working harder to keep their jobs. Just try not to be obvious about it.

"Experts on workplace behavior say that mustering a token show for the boss can backfire. If a worker isn’t already regarded as diligent, 'This is a bad time to manage the impression that you’re a hard worker,' said Robert Giacalone, a business school professor at Temple University. 'There’s fear out there, and that fear generates suspicion among people in power that workers are trying to manipulate their images because they’re afraid.'"

to be or not to be: specialist vs jack of all trades

A reader on PoyterOnline's Ask the Recruiter wondering about the pros and cons of specializing in one area got me thinking about developing your niche.

Eventually, most editors and writers develop their own specialty, whether it be a preferred topic or format (say service or profile pieces). On one hand, it's terribly important to be adaptable, especially at times like these when jobs seem more scarce – the more you can do, the more options you have. But the flip side is that becoming an expert at something can make you extremely desirable for jobs requiring those skills and knowledge, which could give you the edge over any competition.

The solution is to find a balance: develop a niche that you're passionate about. You'll become a sought-after expert while doing something that stokes your fire. Meanwhile, make sure that the skills you acquire while building your knowledge are ones that are transferable. For example, fashion may be your love, but mastering the art of writing those short, snappy pieces of copy describing product (how many ways are there to say stylish?) will serve you in most women's and service mags.

strategies for holding on to your job

The most recent ezine of The Creative Group features two articles on what you can do to remain a valuable employee.

are you sabotaging your career?
Though not every question is relevant, this quiz will help you figure out if your reaction to certain work situations is keeping you from getting ahead. Can you do a better job of preparing for your performance review, do you recognize and seize opportunities, how do you handle hostile coworkers?

how to manage an increased workload
Magazines have been doing more with less long before the economy hit the skids. To stay sane when your boss piles on more work, try some of these strategies, like learn more details about the project, prioritize and ask for help.

brand you

Here's are a few tips on building your personal brand and making yourself invaluable so your name doesn't become one on the layoff roster. For specifics on how to use social media to do this, read Dan Schawbel's full article on Mashable.

• The first people who get laid off are the ones that are not needed for business to be conducted. If the business depends on your services and expertise, then you will, more than likely, remain in your current position, despite the economic climate.

• When it comes to branding, you want to own a word or phrase in the minds of others. It’s also beneficial to be someone that gets called upon when a specific need arises.

• Those who are confident in their own abilities, skills, internal network and the future, will survive and thrive during a period of economic struggle. If you see an opportunity, go and grab it. You need to be branded as a go-getter so people trust you with more work and are assured of the outcome.

• If you have a loud enough voice and take a stand on a topic, you can be a brand that is spoken about by people you may not even know. These individuals might actually be able to pull you into a new opportunity at some point.

• Collect endorsements throughout your life like you would collect baseball cards. You are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, but what others say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself.