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Land Your First Editorial Job

A panel discussion featuring top magazine editors and writers

PRICE
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SYNOPSIS
Getting an editorial job is harder than ever, as magazines fold and competition grows even fiercer. Having a passion for writing is a start, but how do you get your foot in the door and start climbing the masthead? And with the economy in such flux, how can you compete when staff jobs are disappearing every day?

In this panel, editors from top magazines discuss what it takes to land your first edit job. How important is an internship? Should you go to J-school? Is it better to be an editor at a small magazine or an assistant at a national glossy? What kind of pay can you expect? Just who do you have to know to make it in magazines in this town?

DURATION/TIME
6 videos
1 hour, 30 minutes total running time

DATE OF PANEL
July 10, 2008

Speakers

Jessica Eule (moderator)
associate director of education,
mediabistro.com		 Vanessa Bush
former editor,
Essence		 Sophie Donelson
freelancer, former senior writer,
Elle Decor
Alison Overholt
senior editor,
ESPN The Magazine		 Virginia Sole-Smith
freelance journalist, formerly of Organic Style and Seventeen		 Melissa Walker
 freelancer, former senior features editor, ELLEgirl and prom editor, Seventeen

Table of Contents

Sections Length Size
PREVIEW
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Watch a free preview of Land Your First Editorial Job. 		2:17 5 MB
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Crib Sheet (PDF)
Download this outline and use it to take notes. Includes resources and other information.		    
1.

Panelists share their stories
Learn how the panelists became freelancers, full-timers, and career-changers.

 13:40 28 MB
2. The realities of freelancing
Freelancers have to find work, pitch stories, network, and get their own health insurance. How can you make it work? 		15:13 31 MB
3. What to do when the jobs are scarce
Even when the economy isn’t struggling, people in editorial are always prepared. Here’s how.		 14:08 29 MB
4.

What's the best way to apply for a job?
The panelists provide crucial information on everything from how to start your emails to how much you can expect to make in your first editorial job.

 16:57 35 MB
5.

Audience questions
Questions include: Should I take a job at a magazine if I’m not necessarily interested in the topic of the magazine? Can too many internships be a bad thing?

 15:10 31 MB
6.

Audience questions
Questions include: Who needs grad school? What are the job opportunities in markets besides New York?

 15:22 32 MB