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Topic: career change
| Author | Message |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/8/2007 3:13:18 PM | show profile I've recently just graduated college with a degree in marketing/communications. My passion lies in writing, but I was turned away from it after I spoke with college career counselors who all but told me not to go into the journalism. I really regret doing that and have been trying to get into the industry. I'm working right now in sales. Is there any advice that anyone can offer me? I just moved to NYC and have exceeded in sales but it seems like no one will even look at my resume. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! |
| globetrotter78 | Posted – 11/8/2007 4:05:26 PM | show profile Sometimes those who are suppose to help us, fail us. But, I think your degree will serve you well in writing. If I were you I'd start freelancing while you're working your sales job. This way you'll begin to get clips of your writing which will only help as you search for another job. One other thing. You just graduated from college so technically you're not *changing* careers. No offense, but you don't really have a "career"....yet. I can remember being in your same position after I graduated. I was working in banking and felt like I was totally doomed. But I started to create my own opportunities by freelance writing. Good luck! http://www.careerinspirationsonline.typepad.com |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/8/2007 6:00:22 PM | show profile What does ... "exceeded in sales" mean?? |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/8/2007 8:57:58 PM | show profile I just meant that I've exceeded the sales goals and quotas that have been set by my company. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/8/2007 10:35:52 PM | show profile Career Girl ... ...one of the problems here is that you've moved to New York City, which is not the place to START any journalism career. Which industry specifically are you looking to break into? |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/9/2007 9:43:31 AM | show profile I would like to get into magazine writing, but I would actually be happy doing anything that involves writing articles. I do agree with what you said about NYC. I moved here on the notion that this would be the place to "make things happen," so to speak. I knew it would be difficult and I don't regret the move, but I really want to figure out how exactly to go about it ... |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/9/2007 2:40:40 PM | show profile Well .... magazine writing isn't my specialty, so I'll leave it to those more experienced in that field to answer your specific questions. But based on my interactions with the print world, I can tell you that someone with zero experience putting themselves in a market with THE most talented and experienced writers and editors makes for a nearly impossible struggle. |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/9/2007 3:56:51 PM | show profile I really don't believe so, even though I can see how it would maybe seem that way to someone. I know that I have a lot to learn, but I don't think that I'm completely incapable of coming up with good ideas for articles or incapable of learning what I need to. Everyone has to be taught something in their careers. If I'm starting later, so what? I realize that the market here is very competetive, but I'm driven enough that I will do whatever it takes. If that means classes, fine...whatever it is I'll do it. I would much rather do something I enjoy than be stuck doing something I don't just because I mistakely let someone mislead me when I was eighteen years old. When I made my original post, I was hoping people would remember that they too have probably been given advice that has helped their career along and would want to do the same for someone else. I do appreciate your input! |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/9/2007 4:13:57 PM | show profile What do you mean by "starting later"? I thought you said you "recently just graduated college". |
| UnemployedNNJ | Posted – 11/9/2007 4:55:29 PM | show profile Starting later could mean she was older than 21 when she graduated college. |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/9/2007 9:57:18 PM | show profile I meant that I have limited experience in ANY industry since I have only been working for a year and a half. When I said "start later" I meant that I didn't go to school for journalism in the first place and I started working in another field. Why are you replying to this if all you would like to do is pick apart a simple bulletin asking for suggestions? |
| careergirl | Posted – 11/9/2007 10:07:07 PM | show profile Honestly, I think someone can also get the general picture of what "exceeded in sales" means. If you have nothing constructive to say I would appreciate it if you didn't reply. As I stated before, this is a simple bulletin. I really don't see any need or point to clarify everything that I have said. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/10/2007 5:10:40 AM | show profile The point is, Careergirl ... ...that your WRITING isn't very clear in this post. Pretty salient point for someone who wants a career in WRITING, no? |
| WordyBird | Posted – 11/10/2007 10:40:37 AM | show profile You know, everyone here in New York is very fond of saying the writers and editors here are the best. Sorry, but I'm an editor, and I've seen some real CRAP come across my desk from ALL over the country, including--perhaps even especially--from New York. If not for editors such as myself, who can take this CRAP that our superiors accept and turn it into something a reader can understand, there would be a helluva lot more starving and unemployed writers. I would LOVE to edit the work of writers who understand and actually use noun-verb agreement, regard passive voice with the same affection they would a glowing green biohazard, and refrain from covering the page with unnecessary and irrelevant punctuation as though rolling an ice cream cone in sprinkles. The truth is that writing takes a certain amount of talent AND the audacity to promote yourself as though you are the greatest invention since the pickle-slicer. Do you have guts? Do you have talent? Then please, for the love of heaven, SAVE THE PROFESSION FROM THOSE WOULD WOULD PRETEND TO PRACTICE IT! |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/10/2007 4:26:12 PM | show profile That is, rolling an ice cream cone ... ... THROUGH sprinkles. An even better way to write the metaphor would be "sprinkling punctuation through sentences like jimmies on an ice cream cone." I guess even fancy New York editors could use some editing. |
| Rulebook2 | Posted – 11/10/2007 6:37:19 PM | show profile Matt, stop being a bitch. |
| spring2007 | Posted – 11/11/2007 3:19:32 PM | show profile | email poster Don't Mind Matt, careergirl ...he doesn't like young 'uns. I'm a newbie to the industry -and NYC- myself (though I have by choice veered away from magazines), so its kind of like the blind leading the blind here, but it seems like the key to the mint lies in an internship. Have you had one or considered one? They're a little more difficult to get after graduation, though. |
| bensfeatures | Posted – 11/11/2007 3:21:49 PM | show profile career change Hello Career Girl. I would suggest looking into some of the smaller markets in the New York area. You may have to commute to the suburbs for work, but I think it will be worth the hassle. I interned at a 25,000 circulation paper in Ohio where I learned a ton and was put on some pretty big stories after about a month of putting my time in covering bake sales and high school graduations. It?s really about getting your foot in the door and treating every assignment like an important one. You?ll have a lot of freedom working for a smaller paper where the chain of command is familiar with you. It is also easier to earn the respect and attention of editors when you are not one of 100 writers in a newsroom. If magazine writing is your specialty, I suggest getting in at a small daily. It will increase your stamina and teach you some important lessons about writing with clarity and style. You?ll also develop some important contacts, which make or break your publishing chances in the freelance world. Don't let the rantings of failing writers bring you down. It's about work ethic. |
| shatteredmindofbob | Posted – 11/12/2007 3:06:42 AM | show profile man, oh man, do I know where you're coming from. I received my journalism diploma, man, a year and a half ago. I spent my first few weeks out stuffing envelopes with resumes, cover letters and clippings and sending them all of...and hearing nothing. I finally took a job in a call centre just to pay the rent. Like others have said, do the freelance thing for now and remember: it's all about good story ideas. A friend of mine whose a very successful reporter told me my mistake is sending resumes instead of sending stories. I've been freelancing for a little while now to keep my sanity and the extra money is nice, too. Plus I have enough regular work to cut my hours wearing a head-set down to part-time. Also, start a blog. If anything, it'll keep you writing. I think my mother is the only one who reads mine, but it's mostly for me to get some writing out when I don't have an assignment. Good luck. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 11/12/2007 2:05:41 PM | show profile Careergirl, you will want to work on getting a thicker skin. Matt's point about "exceeded in sales" is legitimate. If I was a hiring editor and I saw that in a cover letter, I'd toss it out. Keep your language simple enough that you know what you're saying and others do, too. People go overboard critiquing posts on this casual and anonymous forum, but I agree with his point which was for your purposes, don't invent new word usages -- and stick with "exceeded expectations" or something like that. And when he said "someone with zero experience putting themselves in a market with THE most talented and experienced writers and editors makes for a nearly impossible struggle" he wasn't slighting your ability to come up with an idea. It's just that starting in a smaller pond is reported to be a good thing. I've never tried to make it in New York, but I've heard many people debate this on MB, and you might look up old posts. An ambitious small daily somewhere out in America is an excellent place to hone writing skills -- because they'll need you to write a LOT. Regional magazines are another possibility. Since you don't have a j degree, I'd think most of the kinds of publications you'd want to end up at would expect at least several years experience writing for the above sorts of publications. I agree with you that just because you followed some advice you regret, you're not completely screwed. You're still young, you're really at the beginning of your career. It's the perfect time to make a change. I was late 20s with two kids when I made the leap, and I've never been sorry that I did. The most valuable thing for me was writing for a mid-sized daily, because I was allowed to write my heart out and take on all kinds of challenges. I was very ambitious, and got to do all kinds of projects because of that. Editing for a small daily led to being ME of a great little weekly, which I loved. Doing well at all those things and demonstrating the ability to start publications led to being EIC of a regional magazine group. Now I freelance full-time and write books. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 11/12/2007 2:17:46 PM | show profile The poster who said to send stories, not just resumes is onto something. In many fields, you get an opportunity to start a job without any past experience. However, editors are looking for someone who can write. Really write -- not just a resume. Without published articles (see above advice for freelancing to get clips) you won't get the time of day anywhere but in some tiny town with a desperate editor. Even to get in at a small daily, you will need to have a clip or two. A lot of people start with their clips from their school paper. Coming to the table after college, you will need to get some freelance experience. And when some editor who gives you a shot criticizes you for using "exceeded" without specifying what you exceeded, do what the rest of us did and say "Thanks" and don't repeat the mistake. There have been other posts about where to get freelance experience. I personally have observed writers getting a foot in the door by proposing a sure-thing human interest story they have a connection on to a small town paper for not much money -- and then working hard to make sure it's done well. Meeting coverage can be another way in -- but be sure you know what you're doing. That means -- take perfect notes, understand the issues, spell everyone's name right, get the details straight. Having edited small publications, I've been disappointed by freelancers and full-time staffers alike on meeting coverage. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 11/12/2007 3:22:38 PM | show profile Matt, check your grammar books. I'm not wrong. And "jimmies" is a regional term, so YOU, my dear, are in the wrong. Again. Life. Get one. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/12/2007 3:34:43 PM | show profile Aratinga ... "through" is the more accurate preposiition than "in" in this specific case. It's OK to admit you made a mistake, dear. |
| foodlit | Posted – 11/12/2007 3:53:26 PM | show profile Actually Matt, I think you're off base on this one. I most definitely would roll my ice cream cone IN the jimmies or sprinkles. Though either way is probably fine. And to those who are quick to criticize the original poster for saying 'exceeded in sales', remember that this is just a bulletin board, not a formal cover letter, and there's no edit function here. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt that they'll catch these minor nits in their actual letters. |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 11/12/2007 4:13:20 PM | show profile I too would say rolled in sprinkles. But honestly, careergirl, when I read your first post saying you "exceeded" in sales, I thought it was a typo with a misused word- I thought you had meant to say "succeeded" in sales. |
