How to Land a Job in a New Field With Zero Experience

Specific experience can be important, but it's a hurdle you can cross

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and columnist for The Tennessean with over 16 years of experience in journalism and 20 years in copywriting and communications strategy. Her work spans national outlets and high-traffic digital brands.

5 min read • Originally published October 24, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and columnist for The Tennessean with over 16 years of experience in journalism and 20 years in copywriting and communications strategy. Her work spans national outlets and high-traffic digital brands.

5 min read • Originally published October 24, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

In a perfect world, we would have all been 100% sure of our career paths as early as middle school, and, subsequently, every internship and college course would have moved us swiftly along that path.

The reality, though, is that our personal interests and circumstances change—not to mention the fact that the very industries in which we work seem to be in constant states of upheaval.

So we find ourselves not just looking for a new job, but checking out the grass on the other side and planning for the ultimate career switch.

It can be daunting, to forsake all relevant experience and well-cultivated networks in the name of a new gig, but it is possible to make the switch somewhat seamless. Here’s how:

1. Do Your Research

Isaac Asimov, the great American author and intellectual, once said that self-education is the only kind of education there is. That’s great news for folks who find themselves shopping for a new job in a field wholly unrelated to their current degree, but it also means that you must be prepared—and willing—to study your new career path as earnestly as you did college algebra.

“The first step to any career change is research,” says Aaron Michel, CEO of PathSource, a career navigation app. “Learn about your new field: what skills are required, what types of jobs are available, and what it’s like to work in the industry.”

Michel created PathSource as a resource for folks embarking on a new profession, with detailed information on a variety of fields in areas including localized salary data and job openings, projected job growth and typical work environment.

But PathSource isn’t the only way to study your new career. Read a book (or ten), get your Google on, or ask someone who already works in the field what it’s really like.

Find your next job — or the first job in your new career — on Mediabistro’s job board.

2. Leverage Your Transferable Skills

One of the greatest advantages of thoroughly researching your new field is that you will get a good sense of the types of skills necessary to not only land a job—but to do it well.

And, says Sam McIntire, founder of the online career education platform Deskbright, you will likely find that you already have many of those skills, even if you didn’t develop them in a comparable environment. (Read: If you’re looking for a copywriting gig, whether you previously wrote press releases or technical briefs is of little concern to your new boss.)

“Think about how you can position yourself to prospective employers by using these skills as indicators of your future capabilities and success,” McIntire says. “And don’t forget to think about softer skills, like leadership, communication and teamwork; these are often just as valuable to companies as harder skills like programming and media management.”

Once you’ve determined which skills will be attractive your prospective employer, be sure to lead with those on your resume and in interviews.

3. Gain New Skills

Working with what you’ve already got in your arsenal is a great way to shift careers with the least chance of backward movement (i.e., landing in an entry level job), but if you really want to make forward progress, you’re going to have to learn some new tricks.

“For example,” says Cheryl Rogers, founder of the Mentor Me Career Network, “a former newspaper reporter can start out in freelancing by writing newspaper and magazine articles. That reporter also likely has to broaden his or her computer skills and learn how to market himself or herself.

“He or she also has to learn how to manage a writing business. At some point, as a freelance writer, he or she may take on a wider variety of writing projects. Eventually, that may result in a new specialty such as public relations or marketing or even being an author.”

Everyone may not want to freelance, Rogers notes, but there are still other ways to gain in-the-field experience that hone chops and appeal to hiring managers. “You may prefer to volunteer in a new career field, or take a temporary job, as the stakes for the employer are not as high,” Rogers says. “If you want to try something wildly different [from your previous career], training is advisable. Consider an apprenticeship program or advanced degree. An internship may be useful.” Sometimes all you need is an online course to familiarize yourself with some more specialized skills.

4. Build Your Network

Even when you’re completely confident that you’ll be able to crush any job in your new field, the reality is that you have to at least get your foot in the door for an interview. And sometimes that can prove to be the most difficult of your career-switching endeavors.

McIntire recommends using LinkedIn and other tools to tap your network for warm introductions with executives and hiring managers, but what happens when your current circle doesn’t have any connections in your new field? You build a new network, of course!

When L’Oreal Payton decided to leave her journalism career for work in the nonprofit world, she knew she would need allies on the inside who could help her land a new job.

“First, I made a short list of dream companies I’d like to work for, and then I researched their staff to find people who worked in communications or marketing,” Payton says. “From there, I’d research them on LinkedIn to see if we had any mutual contacts and Twitter to learn more about their interests. Once I thought I’d found a good fit, I’d reach out either on social media or by email.”

Payton was clear about her intentions in her initial correspondence, noting that she was a journalist looking to break into nonprofits. And after an in-person meeting, she made sure to stay in touch with any contacts, mentioning “an interesting tidbit from our conversation, or a link to an article I thought they would be interested in—or if they mentioned an upcoming vacation, I’d send tips for that location if I’d been, or a deal I’d seen online.”

Payton’s efforts paid off. A coffee meeting she had more than two years ago helped her land her current position of media relations manager for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

Topics:

Be Inspired, Career Transition

Journalism Advice

What Editors Really Want From Writers (Insider Tips)

Advice on mastering the writer-editor relationship

By Amanda Layman Low

@AmandaLaymanLow

Amanda Layman is a B2B tech content writer and strategist with over 15 years of experience creating content for startups and enterprise brands. She founded Tigris, a content agency serving leading tech companies, and authored The New Freelance: A Book for Writers.

6 min read • Originally published October 25, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Amanda Layman Low

@AmandaLaymanLow

Amanda Layman is a B2B tech content writer and strategist with over 15 years of experience creating content for startups and enterprise brands. She founded Tigris, a content agency serving leading tech companies, and authored The New Freelance: A Book for Writers.

6 min read • Originally published October 25, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

The stereotype would have us believe magazine and Web editors sip black coffee while smirking at the rookie pitches that flood their inboxes.

Oh, and that their sense of style is far superior to that of us lowly writers (which isn’t difficult because we’re all wearing sweatpants stained with peanut butter and our own tears).

Although I am indeed wearing my jammies at the time of this writing, the stereotype about editors isn’t nearly as true. Editors, though busy, want their writers to succeed.

The relationship is symbiotic. Without writers, editors don’t have content and without content, publications would fall apart.

Start with a stellar pitch.

We all know a brilliant pitch is editorial gold. But what do editors really want out of a pitch letter?

Lisa Haney, a freelance writer and editor, says it’s all about tailoring your pitch to three things: the magazine, the audience and the section that she handles. “If you hit those three points, you’re already ahead of a lot of pitches.” Regarding the actual content of a pitch, she adds, “It needs a new hook or angle. It has to be an actual idea, not a subject.”

To determine whether your pitch has an angle, boil it down into a statement. For example, “Breastfeeding decreases a child’s susceptibility to obesity” or “Soy milk is good for bone health.” If you can’t do this exercise or you wind up only with topics like “breastfeeding” or “bone health,” you’re unlikely to catch an editor’s eye.

As an editor, she loves when writers come up with a catchy headline, and add an outline or subheads within the body of the email. “I’d put the headline in [the subject field] or ‘story pitch.’ I get so much information from PR representatives. Knowing that it’s an article pitch, and not a product or a book, is really important.”

“I like specifics. Help me picture the final piece,” says Elena Mauer, an editor and content strategist.

Make your editor’s job easier.

The best freelancers are the ones who are easy to work with: They’re timely, courteous and professional. These attributes may be obvious, but others are less apparent, especially to new writers.

Chandra Turner, executive editor of Parents magazine, says that nothing drives an editor crazier than reading a wonderful piece and having it fall apart in fact checking. Writers, she says, “should source all their content. Have your backup for everything that you’ve written.”

Mauer emphasizes the importance of fact checking, too. “Make sure you talk to an expert, or you’ve looked up a study or you have some sort of a credible resource that says this is true. Back up all the information and turn in all your fact-checked materials in an organized way so our research team can look it up easily.”

Another component is communication. Just like in any working or personal relationship, communication can make or break it. Mauer says, “If you can’t make a deadline, just check in. If you can’t get a hold of your expert, just keep me posted. It happens, and we can work around it as long as we know to expect that.”

She adds that new freelancers tend not to ask many questions when writing up a first draft. They often try to handle conflicts that come up in the writing process alone. “Don’t just write it up and turn it in,” Mauer says. “Ask me! Because that’s what I’m here for, and shaping it before the first draft really turns out to be a better end result.”

Be both a great writer and reporter.

Turner emphasizes, “The best freelancers are the ones who are really strong journalists and also really excellent wordsmiths. If you have that combination, you’ll be very salable in this market—and forever.”

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Are you quick-witted on the page, but you choke in interviews? Do you have a knack for digging up unique stories, yet you get lost when it’s time to put fingers to keyboard? Honing your reporting or writing skills may give you the edge you need to woo an editor and land your dream assignment.

If you’re uncertain which skill to attack, however, editors are often more likely to be won over by a killer story idea than artful prose. Haney says, “I’m looking for some good balance, somebody who knows how to dig and get good quotes from experts, and to be able to synthesize information into a straightforward voice.”

It requires little effort for editors to finesse your work—after all, “edit” is in their job title. On the other hand, scoping out a hot story about a miracle weight-loss supplement or an underground fitness trend that’s sweeping the nation? Not so quick and easy to do.

Breaking in? Think in terms of the editor’s risk.

You may be ready to deliver some amazing content, but when you’re pitching a publication for the first time, the editor doesn’t know a thing about you. Even a beautifully crafted pitch tailored exactly to your target publication may get lost or declined because an editor doesn’t want to risk a 2,000-word feature on a stranger.

If you’re trying to make your print debut, Turner suggests starting small. “It’s less of a risk for me to assign a 300-word or 1,000-word [story] than a major feature. If it comes in and it’s not good, it’s a bigger risk for me. Pitch smaller stories and work your way up. Breaking in as an essay is a really great way to do it—I can’t assign an essay; it’s your story.”

Haney suggests another way to step into an editor’s shoes: By examining which “buckets” he or she has to fill. “Most magazines are very highly formatted, so if you check out the section an editor handles, you’ll see what types of stories fill those sections,” she says. The challenge of her daily grind, she explains, is “What’s my opener? I need a health report. [I’m] trying to fill those buckets constantly. So when your pitch comes in, it helps me mentally fill those buckets and puts you at the top of the list.”

What editors want you to know.

Mauer says she wishes writers knew that she just can’t always respond to pitches the day she receives them—even though she wishes she could. Her day is often jam-packed with approving new stories, running to meetings, reading layouts and meeting deadlines. “I want freelancers to know it’s OK to remind me of your pitch. If you have this idea and it’s timely, it’s okay to put that in the subject line. There are lots of great ideas that come our way that we really wish we could accept, but we just can’t. At different times we’re prioritizing different types of content.”

Turner advises, “Be open to being edited. Most professional [writers] are fine with that; it’s the newbies that fight over every adjective.” However, writers should still feel free to provide their input because it is ultimately their byline that will appear on the piece. “It really is a dance to get to the right place,” Turner says.

Haney wants writers to know how much of a risk it is to take on a new freelancer. “But once you break through, you’ll get more work. A lot of writers we work with don’t pitch all the time; they’re the ones we go to with ideas. So the good news is you pitch less if you have a good relationship with an editor.”

Topics:

Journalism Advice

When to Say No: Turning Down Freelance Work the Right Way

It can be tempting to take on every assignment that comes your way. But being picky about what you take on can pay off

By Aja Frost

Aja Frost is a growth marketing leader who has spent nearly a decade at HubSpot building and scaling the company's growth engine across SEO, AEO, content, and product-led acquisition. She is also the co-founder of Platonic Love, a media brand with a bestselling Substack newsletter.

5 min read • Originally published November 2, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Aja Frost

Aja Frost is a growth marketing leader who has spent nearly a decade at HubSpot building and scaling the company's growth engine across SEO, AEO, content, and product-led acquisition. She is also the co-founder of Platonic Love, a media brand with a bestselling Substack newsletter.

5 min read • Originally published November 2, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Turning down writing gigs takes a huge amount of willpower. Even if you have a million deadlines approaching and projects lined up for the next three months, saying “no” to potential clients can feel like leaving money on the table.

Spoiler alert: It’s not. Passing on assignments—whether you’re a full-time freelancer or have a side gig to your 9 to 5—is often the best decision for your career, your sanity, your bank account or all of the above. Let’s dive into the six solid reasons you should say no to a client.

1. The client’s writers don’t stick around

Whenever someone asks about your writing availability, you should look at the last five or so pieces on their website. Have the writers of those pieces contributed multiple stories? How far back does their work go?

Then repeat this exercise with stories that were published half a year ago. Do the writers who wrote those pieces have any recent bylines?

It’s a red flag when every profile you click on only lists a couple pieces.

“If a client has hired multiple writers for the same position within a short time period, there’s probably something going on with the client,” says Kaysie Garza, a freelance writer and editor.

After all, publications that treat contributors well have no trouble retaining their contributors.

Of course, there are many other (completely unrelated!) reasons a writer will stop working for a client. When you’re not sure what’s going on, consider reaching out to two contributors—one current, one former—and asking both about their experience.

2. The client asks you to do work for free

Some clients will ask you to do free work upfront, with the promise that they’ll pay you if you do a good job. Don’t fall for this trap.

First, you should never work for free: It devalues your writing and makes you seem less professional. Second, credible clients will almost never make this request, said freelance writer Elizabeth Wellington. People who do are usually hoping you’re too inexperienced or desperate to say no.

“Walk away if someone’s hunting for a cheap deal,” Wellington says.

An exception: If you’re applying for a full-time writing gig, the hiring manager will typically ask you to complete a writing test. You’ll get a set period of time (usually two days) to write a sample post for their outlet. Since the stakes are much higher for a permanent position, they need to make sure you can write well on a deadline.

Get inside information on what to pitch niche publications, up-to-date contacts for magazine editors and more. Join AvantGuild, our exclusive membership program for freelance writers and other media professionals.

3. The client has a bad reputation

If the rate is right, it doesn’t matter whether the client’s public reputation is a bit shady, right?

Wrong. In the writing world, your credibility is everything. Potential employers will always search your name—and when they see you’ve written for a disreputable or low-quality site, you’ll immediately look less appealing.

But even if you’re writing with no byline, taking these gigs is risky. You can’t trust that you’ll get paid on time (if at all!). Clients with bad raps usually don’t treat their freelancers well.

4. The client is asking you to write about something questionable

On a related note, pass on any job that attaches your name to a questionable opinion or topic.

“One time, I was approached by the content manager for an adult toy website,” one anonymous freelancer says. “They offered me an enormous sum of money to write product reviews for their blog.”

Despite the fantastic rate, this freelancer says he had no trouble saying no.

“I definitely didn’t want this site coming up in my Google results,” he says.

It’s a little less black and white when you’re asked to cover something you personally disagree with. Say you’re a vegetarian, and a cooking magazine wants you to write an article about grilling meat. You’ll have to decide what you’re comfortable with.

“Before you get in an awkward situation where this happens, I definitely recommend doing a little homework on the company first,” advises WayUp managing editor Lily Herman. “You’d be surprised how many writers start working and only then realize that they may be asked to write about things they don’t want their name attached to,”

5. The client has unreasonable expectations

When a client is making unrealistic demands from the get-go, Wellington says walking away is your best move.

One anonymous freelancer received a request to write a 200-page ebook in one week—and the client wanted at least seven original interviews. The freelancer turned down the gig.

With these types of assignments, it doesn’t matter how hard you work: The client is probably never going to be satisfied. By the time the gig is over, you’re overworked and stressed, and they feel taken advantage of. It’s lose-lose.

Rather than telling yourself their demands will ease up, save yourself the headache and let this job go.

6. The client gives you a bad vibe

Sometimes, you get a perfect gig. The terms look solid, the rate is fair and the work seems right up your alley. Yet even though all signs should be pointing to yes, for some reason they’re just… not. Whenever you talk to this client, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

You could ignore your gut and move forward with this project.

But every time I’ve ignored my instincts, I’ve ended up regretting it: The assignment turns out to be much bigger in scope than the client described, they refuse to pay on time, they’re disrespectful verging on mean—or all of the above.

Wellington’s experience is similar.

“I’ve happily walked away from big writing projects because I have a gut feeling that the best-case scenario will still be a nightmare,” she says. “My instincts are usually spot on.”

The more experience you gain, the more you should trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s usually because something’s not right.

Just because you want to work doesn’t mean you need to accept every job. “There are plenty of good assignments and credible clients out there,” said Garza.

So if a job isn’t right, give yourself permission to turn it down.

Topics:

Go Freelance, Journalism Advice

Skills & Expertise

What Does a Communications Manager Do? Role, Skills & Salary

Let your creativity, writing skills and ability to connect with people shine in this critical role

By Jenell Talley

Jenell Talley is a journalist and program analyst with a background spanning media, government, and editorial work. She holds a journalism degree from Howard University and a master's in human resources management from the University of Maryland.

3 min read • Originally published November 9, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Jenell Talley

Jenell Talley is a journalist and program analyst with a background spanning media, government, and editorial work. She holds a journalism degree from Howard University and a master's in human resources management from the University of Maryland.

3 min read • Originally published November 9, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

You’re wicked creative, digitally savvy and your writing skills are bar none. You, dear reader, are what a communications manager is made of. Check out what a couple of communications pros have to say about the gig and then say hello to your new job.

What exactly does a communications manager do?

A communications manager promotes a company’s mission, products and/or services. She works closely with management teams and execs to shape a company’s image and values, as well as the appropriate methods to communicate them to the public. Her responsibilities include identifying press opportunities and developing content to be disseminated via social media, websites, newsletters, press releases and any other distribution channels. The communications manager ensures messaging aligns with key business strategies. She may also serve as a company’s media liaison and formal spokesperson, conducting briefings and press conferences.

“The primary purpose of a communications manager is to effectively inform and promote an organization, its brand, its people, its mission and its product(s),” says Rina Ortega, communications manager of ArtsConnection in New York. Ortega spreads the word about the nonprofit arts education organization by searching for potential media placements and pitching stories; managing the organization’s two websites and multiple social media channels; creating on-brand marketing materials and correspondence; and overseeing the creation of an annual report.

Communication is how a company distinguishes itself from its competitors, says Mariam Bulin-Diarra, partner and chief marketing officer at Spycob, a fashion deals e-commerce startup in San Francisco. Bulin-Diarra spends most mornings tracking media mentions and responding to press requests. She also writes press releases in line with current trends and attends weekly seminars and business networking events.

What skills does a communications manager need?

“As an advocate of a company, a communications manager must have strong communications and people skills, be an organized strategist, able to adjust to any kind of [situation] and resilient to stress,” says Bulin-Diarra.

Creativity and out-of-this world writing and editing skills are other tools of the trade. You have to be able to come up with new ideas and inventive ways to promote an organization so people will pay attention and understand what the organization is all about, says Ortega, who also emphasizes the importance of time management. “It’s a very fast-pace environment; if you don’t manage your time wisely, you may miss an opportunity,” she says. “Additionally, you should know when the most optimal time is to send out your information. For example, posting social media statuses or sending email marketing campaigns can make or break what you’re promoting.”

Who is a communications manager’s supervisor?

Generally, you’ll take your cues from a director or VP of communications or marketing.

Are there any positions similar to this one?

A public relations manager, community outreach manager, digital communications manager, corporate/internal communications manager and marketing manager may have similar responsibilities.

What does it take to excel in this position?

You need a strong vision and desire for personal growth to rock it out in this position, says Ortega. “It takes a lot of self-motivation to be in this role, constantly developing new ideas and keeping up with technology,” she says.

Adds Bulin-Diarra, proficiency in analytics always helps, as does having positive energy and a positive attitude. No one wants to work with a stressed-out sourpuss, after all. But nothing trumps believing in your business and your product, she says. “It makes such a difference when you genuinely love your company and your job.”

How can I break into this field?

“Because of its key position in an organization and its many responsibilities, this role requires a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of five years of experience in communications,” says Bulin-Diarra. So decide what industry you want to work in, scope out companies in those industries looking for help, says Ortega, and apply for an internship in their marketing, event marketing or PR department.

Topics:

Climb the Ladder, Skills & Expertise

Advice From the Pros

How to Build a Media Career Outside New York City

A conversation with Doug Kouma, the Editorial Director of Meredith Core Media

By Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and columnist for The Tennessean with over 16 years of experience in journalism and 20 years in copywriting and communications strategy. Her work spans national outlets and high-traffic digital brands.

6 min read • Originally published November 16, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and columnist for The Tennessean with over 16 years of experience in journalism and 20 years in copywriting and communications strategy. Her work spans national outlets and high-traffic digital brands.

6 min read • Originally published November 16, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

For folks living under the bright lights of New York, envisioning a media career is easy—it seems there are book publishers, digital media brands, global PR firms and magazine headquarters on nearly every corner. But for those outside the Big Apple, launching a media career may be more challenging, and it will certainly require some imagination and flexibility.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, though. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and landing an internship at the Boston Globe, Doug Kouma, the Editorial Director of Meredith Core Media, discovered he was homesick for Des Moines, Iowa. Kouma headed back to the Midwest, where he completed another internship and ultimately ascended to his current position atop the publishing behemoth’s special publication division.

Here, Kouma shares tips to help other land-locked media pros score the gig of their dreams.

When did you fall in love with journalism?

All the way back in high school, I got involved in my high school newspaper and yearbook, and that continued on into college. I was pretty sure I wanted to get involved in newspapers, but I wasn’t sure in what capacity. Then I discovered copyediting and fell in love with that, so I was the editor of my college newspaper. I graduated with a pretty clear focus in news journalism, specifically news copyediting.

And that is where I ended up, at the Des Moines Register for the first couple years of my career.

So how did you end up at Meredith?

It truly was the copyediting route, and it was also a location-based thing. [After college], I interned at the Boston Globe as part of the Dow Jones News Fund internship program. I was a young kid living in a place where I didn’t know anybody and didn’t have my family, and working nights, weekends and holidays was really hard. That’s actually what drove me to consider something else.

My second internship was on the news desk at the Des Moines Register, and I actually really loved that job. I loved the pace of it, I loved the variety of it, and I loved the creative expression through page design, which I did about half-time. Meredith headquarters is just down the street from the old Register building, and, eventually, a copyediting job opened up here in our Special Interest Group. I put in for it and was hired.

What advice do you have for readers who are not in New York but still looking to break into publishing or media?

Become an expert in what interests you, and at the same time, diversify your skill set. In a market like Des Moines, there’s not the opportunity you would have in New York to bounce across the street or head down the block for the next career opportunity and build your path that way. Sometimes the opportunities unfold before you, as opposed to being intentionally thought out. But really, it’s figuring out what you’re good at, and figuring out the value you bring to the organization.

What I’m doing today at Meredith is not necessarily what I set out to do. I didn’t know that I’d move into this editorial director role and really work from both sides of my brain—the business side of things and the creative side of things. But I found that I had a knack for the numbers; I had a knack for the budgeting; I had a knack for the business side. And a role like editorial director—in which I’m overseeing our publishing strategy, what our portfolio looks like, the key content areas we want to play in—it is a left-brain and right-brain job, and I found that that worked for me.

What is the day-to-day function of your role?

Meredith Core Media is Meredith’s special interest publishing unit. We work primarily in print, specifically newsstand print publications. We’re roughly divided into five key content areas: health and wellness, gardening, home and holidays, crafts, and partner publications. (Partner publications are how we utilize our scale and infrastructure to work with outside partner brands that want to move into the print media space.)

In my job, I oversee creative teams—teams of editors and directors within each of those core content areas, who are the ones actually putting together the magazines that may run as anything from a one-off to a bi-monthly magazine.

What is the most exciting part about your job?

I think it’s just getting to experience the creative process. We are very clear on starting with our consumers and understanding what drives them, what they’re looking for, and how we can be of service to them. And by starting there, and then brainstorming new and innovative ways to bring information to them or to tell a story in a different way, that’s just fascinating to me.

I can’t take credit for most of that, though. Most of that comes from the very creative people I work with. Sometimes I find myself just sitting back in awe of the creative process that happens around here. It’s really pretty fantastic to see, day-in and day-out.

How do you stay on top of consumer trends?

That’s a good question. I sometimes question my own expertise, and what I’ve come to realize is that it’s not my job to be a trend expert in any one of our categories—that’s up to the creative teams I work with. It’s my job to have a well-rounded understanding of all parts of the business, both consumer-facing and how we fit into the overall Meredith corporate strategy.

As far as my creative teams and how they stay on top of things, they have to get out of the office. We have pretty robust research projects every year, where we go out and talk to consumers; we go to industry trade shows and conferences; and we look at what the competitive landscape looks like and what other publications are doing. But with a lot of what we do, we don’t strive to reflect the trends—we strive to filter trends to a mass-market consumer in a really user-friendly way.

What advice do you have for finding a mentor?

I would say look beyond your industry. Ultimately, this comes down to business. We spend a lot of time talking about consumers and delivering high-quality content, but, ultimately, we’re doing all of these things because we work for a company that wants to make money. When you have a network that includes people in insurance or financial services, or in the medical industry, you find that the challenges inherent in running a successful business tend to be the same across categories. And it’s good to have people outside your world who are not emotionally invested in the projects that you work on, to help talk through challenges and opportunities, and help you see things purely from a business standpoint.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career?

Start with the consumer, and listen to the consumer. There are probably very few people in the media landscape who can dictate to consumers what they want to hear, or what they want to see. So start by listening to the consumer, really understanding what the consumer needs and delivering on that. If you don’t get that right, nothing else matters.

Topics:

Advice From the Pros, Be Inspired

Job Search

Essential Job Search Tools Every Media Professional Should Know

Nobody loves the job hunt, but we can all appreciate these tools that give us a serious leg up

By Allie Misch

Alexandria Misch is a multimedia journalist and content strategist with over a decade of freelance experience, with bylines in New York Magazine, Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, and The Verge. She is based in New York City and works across writing, editing, photography, and production.

4 min read • Originally published November 21, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Allie Misch

Alexandria Misch is a multimedia journalist and content strategist with over a decade of freelance experience, with bylines in New York Magazine, Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, and The Verge. She is based in New York City and works across writing, editing, photography, and production.

4 min read • Originally published November 21, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

For some, the holidays are a greatly-appreciated and much-needed time to relax, read a good book and catch up with loved ones. But when you’re unemployed or unhappy with your current job, the only question worse than your aunt asking “So, are you dating anyone?” is any inquiry along the lines of “Uh, did you find a new job yet?” Instead of spending your time Googling how to transition the relationship with your aunt to the “twice removed” kind, take a moment to be extra grateful for these tools that can make your job hunt a little easier. Who knows, maybe you’ll land an interview by the time the turkey is finally done browning.

Social Media

Gone are the days when employers only looked at what’s on your resume to find out if you’re a good fit. But with this extra pressure to appear extra special online comes the opportunity to network, showcase your strengths and get a glimpse into your potential company’s culture. Even if the position doesn’t require you to be social media-savvy, you can almost guarantee someone is looking at your accounts—so give them something to look at.

Currently, Gillie Houston has almost 100K followers on Instagram, which is rather unusual for a journalist. But it means more than people just “like” her posts. “A large following shows a brand, publication or company that you have the natural skill and impulse for social media, which not all people—particularly those who didn’t grow up sharing every part of their life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—have,” says Houston.

She didn’t land her first job strictly through social media, but her employers were “shocked” by the amount of followers she had when they hired her. “Since that first job [at Yahoo], I’ve definitely gotten writing gigs and other freelance opportunities either directly because of Instagram, or because of connections I’ve made through Instagram, which I think is one of the most amazing things about the platform,” says the now full-time freelance writer.

Brandon Chivers, an art director at Movement Strategy, also landed his first internship through a recruiter who had stumbled upon his online presence. Since then he’s learned that the “creeping” works both ways.

“Social media has always affected my job search because it gives more insight to the companies that I want to apply to,” he says. “I tend to heavily use Instagram for this specifically because I like to look through who these agencies have as clients, the quality of work and their vision.” He also notes it’s a good place to start to see what kind of influence a company has in your industry and how you are already connected.

Portfolio Websites

If you’re already pouring your energy into your work, why not show it off?

Chivers was not only discovered from his personal blog, but then poached to work internally at the agency doing the hiring for another firm. “It’s kind of funny, actually,” he says of the bait-and-switch.

“I think potential employers are drawn to my blog because I work primarily in a visual formatting, so I’ve developed an eye and sense of aesthetic when I post something,” he says. Chivers describes his work as “moody” and “cohesive” which he says translates to the type of client work he was recruited to develop. His internship turned into a job offer three months later, which lead to him dropping out of art school to come on board as one of the company’s lead art directors. “It just works in my favor,” he says of his blog’s influence in the advertising industry.

Quick tip: Chivers recommends adding your email address to anything and everything online to make it easy for companies to reach out directly. This can especially be helpful if you are already at a job and trying to discreetly make moves.

Friends and Family

‘Tis the season to let the little things go and remember why you tolerate your loved ones at the table. It’s also a chance to pass around the spiked cider and put the feelers out to see who’s hiring. Even if your brother-in-law is a pilot and you really want to be a painter, he may have overheard a passenger in need of a hand letterer.

Jesse Hirsch, a current contributing editor to GOOD Magazine, said he has almost never strictly applied to a job online or with a resume. “My job hunts are usually not traditional hunts,” he says. “Almost every job I’ve gotten so far has been word of mouth about a particular position while I’m still at another position.”

Even if your contacts aren’t aware of anything at the moment, you can still use this season of selflessness to call in a favor. “I recently did a trick where I asked a bunch of editors if they would write two to three nice sentences about me, then compiled them into a PDF,” Hirsch says. “Feels like a good ‘bonus item’ to include in an application.”

But be sure it’s not just the tryptophan from the turkey talking. “You have to be able to back up everything,” says Chivers. “Build a brand, build a story. But show them what they’re really getting.”

Topics:

Get Hired, Job Search

Job Search

6 Ways to Supercharge Your Job Search on Your Day Off

Use this downtime to take the necessary steps towards finding a better job

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published November 22, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published November 22, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

It’s a long weekend, so if you’ve been meaning to put some serious time into finding a new job, then suit up, because now’s the time you’re going to make a real dent in your hunt.

Take advantage of this super hot job market—and this federal holiday—to knock out a few applications.

To help make you the most electable candidate, here are some of Mediabistro’s favorite job-hunting tips. So go forth, read up and apply before you’re too busy with work again.

1. Polish up Your Resume

Take a good honest look at your resume to ensure it’s free of red flags: After triple-checking for typos and grammar mistakes, confirm that the chronology is clear. And make sure to include relevant keywords into your bullet points; this helps get your resume past the applicant tracking systems while making it easier for a recruiter to determine your transferrable skills.

2. Create a Killer Cover Letter

When the job you want becomes available, up your chances of getting the hiring manager’s attention with an irresistible cover letter. Bone up on the basics of the best covers: a strong intro that hooks the reader, an alignment of your strengths with the duties listed in the job description and your salary requirements, if requested.

3. Prepare to Crush the Interview

Interviewers like to throw curve balls—trick questions that let them see how applicants handle them. Get a jump on these by preparing your script ahead of time, so you won’t be caught short by such conversational minefields as “Why did you leave your last position?”, “What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made at work?” and “What’s your salary requirement?”.

4. Get Your Social House in Order

Don’t kid yourself: A hiring manager will eventually check your social media profiles. So get your job-seeking social media game on point. Make sure your LinkedIn profile has a photo, and describes and markets your current and previous positions. Scrub your Facebook wall of controversial, unprofessional posts. And take a look at your past tweets to make sure there’s nothing there to make a would-be employer wince.

5. Get Ready to Network

OK, so you’re not going to hit a conference today and make a hundred new contacts. But on your day off, you can lay the groundwork for some low-key networking that could land you your next job. Spend some time today researching who you could set up an informational interview with. Draw up a list of people—your references, your LinkedIn contacts, your fellow college alums—you could approach for an informational interview.

6. Learn a New Skill

Yes, it’s your day off. And you’ve got an afternoon of binge watching on Netflix planned. But for the time it takes to stream an episode of Making a Murderer, you can boost your skills, and your hireability.

Mediabistro’s Skills in 60, one-hour training sessions, get you up to speed in today’s most desirable media job skills. That way, when a job posting that calls for, say, email marketing skills or Twitter analytics, you’ll be ready to roll. (And there couldn’t be a better time to sign up. Now through January 6, all courses are 50% off with code RESOLUTION2017.)

Topics:

Get Hired, Job Search

Productivity

3 Simple Changes That Will Instantly Improve Your Workday

A few scheduled breathers, a workout and a change of perception can make it a win

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published November 28, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published November 28, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

As a media professional, it’s a safe bet your day is filled with client meetings, rewrites, scope changes or impending deadlines. And then there’s the whole being-a-thought-provoking-creative-who-pushes-the-bounds-of-digital-media thing. Crazy, right? If this way beyond 9-5 routine is driving you to Burnout City, have we got some advice for you.

Read on for three small ways that make for big improvements to your workday.

1. Take More Breaks

We get it: You’re busy. But plowing through your to-do list isn’t going to do anything good for the work you’re creating or the ideas you’re developing. Recently, NPR’s The Salt podcast interviewed Kimberly Elsbach, associate dean and professor of organizational behavior at UC Davis. In it, Elsbach discusses how skipping breaks and not changing one’s location is “really detrimental to creative thinking.”

Think of your brain as a muscle because, well it is. And just like any muscle, it requires breaks. Need proof? A recent study suggests that brief mental breaks actually help us stay focused. And when we fail to take breaks while spending a prolonged period of attention on a single task, we’re actually impairing brain performance.

Stalled on a creative idea? Research is finding that taking a walk may lead to a boost in creativity. So, whether it’s a stroll around the block, or just stepping outside, taking your mind off the task at hand can help you to return refreshed with creative solutions, and maybe even some breakthrough ideas.

To get started, consider trying out the 52/17 method of taking breaks. That’s 52 minutes of work followed by 17 minutes of non-work. Social scientists are finding this to be the magic ratio for productivity.

2. Exercise Before Work

If you’ve ever hit the gym before heading to the office, or even taken a pre-work walk, you get what we’re talking about here. In a field where you’re using creative brainpower for a good portion of your workday, and where stress is always looming, it’s important your mind and body is ready to take it all on.

Stress has been shown to lower your creative abilities. To battle this stress, or at least distract it, experts suggest exercise may be the key.

And the good mood from exercise has been found to last for up to 12 hours. This means an early morning jog could keep your mood up and stress down all the way into the evening.

3. Rebrand the Term “Issues”

Another day in a creative office, another issue to deal with. Maybe the logo you designed isn’t ‘popping’ enough for the client. Or the additional designs created are pulling the project out of scope. This is the nature of the business, and issues are a daily occurrence. Instead of labeling them “issues,” rebrand them into something positive, like goals.

Author and public speaker Jeffrey Baumgartner, says calling your problems goals can help to illuminate the crux of the matter. “Formulating goal statements from problems makes you think about the problem and what aspect of it you actually wish to solve,” he says.

Let’s take a look at an example:

Problem:

Our marketing materials seem to be moving off-brand.

Goal:

Let’s see how we can make our future content more on-brand while looking at ways to further develop our brand voice.

By looking at your issues as goals, you’re not only changing a negative to a positive, you’re also helping yourself and your team approach issues from a more productive standpoint. And that’s bound to make your day go better.

Another way to make your workday awesome? Being the go-to source for latest industry knowledge and trends. Check out Mediabistro’s online courses where you’ll expand your expertise, excel your career and become the smartest person in the room.

Topics:

Be Inspired, Productivity

Job Search

10 Habits of Highly Successful Job Seekers in Media

Members of the media lend an inside look at job hunting within an unpredictable industry

By Allie Misch

Alexandria Misch is a multimedia journalist and content strategist with over a decade of freelance experience, with bylines in New York Magazine, Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, and The Verge. She is based in New York City and works across writing, editing, photography, and production.

6 min read • Originally published December 5, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Allie Misch

Alexandria Misch is a multimedia journalist and content strategist with over a decade of freelance experience, with bylines in New York Magazine, Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, and The Verge. She is based in New York City and works across writing, editing, photography, and production.

6 min read • Originally published December 5, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Hiring may slow down around the holidays, but once the new year rolls in HR departments will be in full swing. To get you prepared for the upcoming hiring season, we’ve compiled a checklist of best practices for media professionals on the hunt.

1. Prepare to be laid off at some point in your career

It may seem like a depressing place to start, but if you’re ready for the reality of working in this industry, you’ll be prepared to pivot.

After 18 years of working mostly at magazines, Bret Begun, current editor of Bloomberg Businessweek’s Etc. section, has seen his fair shares of layoffs and shutdowns.

“If you work in media, chances are it’s happened or is going to happen to you,” Begun says. “It’s much better when it happens in June than January, so you can use the excuse that ‘no one hires in the summer’ to chill for a few months.”

Use that time to figure out what you liked about your last job and what you didn’t like, and try to make sure your next job has more of what you like and less of what you don’t like.

“That’s the hidden opportunity,” he says.

2. Let people know you’re on the hunt

Lauren Deen has won three Emmy Awards, written a New York Times best-selling book and is recognized for excellence in culinary writing by the James Beard Foundation. She’s also received a call on vacation that her television show has been canceled–her employment terminated immediately.

“Television is brutal,” says Deen, president and executive producer of her company, Cake Productions. “I went through my rolodex and cold-called everyone I had every worked for or met in the industry telling them I was looking for work.”

It’s not easy to divulge your situation, but as Begun advises: have a cocktail and start connecting. Work whatever contacts you have to see if they know of openings.

“This was incredibly uncomfortable for me,” says Deen. “I later realized this is nothing to be ashamed of—a strong work ethic is rare and valued and got me to where I am.”

3. Be conscious of your social media presence

Chelsea Castle, marketing manager at the branding agency Ologie, suggests applying a “grandma filter” on every social media post. Before hitting send, ask yourself: Would I want my grandma to see this tweet?

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be saucy or show your personality,” she says. “But, keep it PG-13 and balance your content with professional vs. personal.” And don’t be afraid to be the latter. “My most popular tweets are always the dumb ones about my spilling coffee or falling asleep in a coffee shop,” she admits.

“Social media is your number one tool in job seeking and branding yourself, but you can’t just be there,” Castle says. “You have to play the game, follow the rules, and make it your own. Be professional, interact and engage–and sell yourself–but be direct, honest and genuine.”

However, as an editor, Begun says he won’t be skimming Klout scores. “If there’s a writer I’m interested in working with, I’ll poke around so that I can see if the casting is right,” he says. “But I’m not hiring freelancers off of Instagram.”

4. Stop redesigning your resume

There’s a fine line between spell checking and splitting hairs.

“My guess is anyone interested in hiring you is going off a recommendation, not a resume,” says Begun, whose resume is simply written into a Google template.

Deen suggests creating a supplementary sheet to list skill sets as titles (i.e. executive producer) and a result of these skill sets as bullets underneath (e.g. Emmy-award winning show). “This allows your prospective employer to see your skills and how you can bring them revenue,” she explains. “And it’s also an interesting way to respond to interview questions rather than a laundry list of your show credits.” Such a concept can be applied to any industry to show your value.

5. Figure out how to best help a company

Begun finds sometimes, especially with younger interviewees, job-seekers tend to focus on what a job or internship will mean for their resume. “And less focused on how they can help…me,” he says.

“I know my pitch,” Deen says confidently. “Figure out what you have that no one else does. It doesn’t have to be a major splashy thing but what distinguishes you—basically why would the employer feel it would be a huge loss if they don’t hire you.”

6. Fill the gaps in your resume with whatever you can

The one relief of working in a creative industry is the ability to freelance, which can sometime be a way to fake it ‘til you make it. “Then you can point to something and say, ‘Look, see, I was doing things.’” says Begun. Freelancing can also provide a measure of personal accountability between gigs.

If your area of expertise doesn’t lend itself to the in-between, Deen suggests other avenues like taking a class, volunteering, or learning an instrument. “Do something with purpose that shows another side to you,” she says.

7. Court the prospective company or organization

You know how hard you creep on someone’s social media before a first date? That’s the spirit.

“I read everything I can and follow the thread to unexpected places,” says Deen. Get lost in a company’s social media and note if an employee was at the same event, knows an acquaintance of yours, or if you can connect to the interviewer in a personal way.

8. Target growing industries

Despite our current food-obsessed culture, making it your career wasn’t always cool.

“It was mostly blue collar, or books written by diplomat’s wives and fancy French men,” Deen says of breaking into the industry. She credits good timing alongside her talent as a producer.

“The best way is to belong to the community you want to work within. Attend lectures and ask questions or just ask people what they do and where they think the industry is going,” she says.

Castle advises all it takes is a little creativity to get paid for your passion. “Don’t pigeonhole yourself into any industry – listen to your gut and see where it takes you,” she says of making the leap from journalism to marketing.

9. Think twice before running off to grad school

Generally speaking, Begun says journalists learn more by being out in the field. “And it’s probably not worth incurring debt,” he warns of continuing education out of desperation.

“I think of my time at Martha [Stewart Living] as my graduate school and internship into ‘real’ production. It’s also a work calling card. If you survived there and won your Emmy’s what else could you not do?” says Deen. Not having a paid-for piece of paper may lead to rejection, but as Deen says, “Just keep moving.”

10. Don’t let the hunt haunt you

The following are suggestions for not obsessing over unemployment: Exercise often, avoid drinking too much, go to galleries, see films, and listen to people smarter than you at lectures.

“Basically reframe your mind for fresh ideas,” Deen says of her suggestions. “But map it out so each day, week, and month has a purpose. And let yourself take a few hours off from the search.”

Bonus Habit: Know when to jump ship

Perhaps you’re reading this at your place of employment and fantasizing about a fresh start. Do it.

“A good friend and mentor of mine once told me, ‘When you’re ready to jump, you’ll know. You’ll know it in your gut.’” says Castle. “Many parts of my [previous] job became iterative to a point that I didn’t even have to think half of the time.”

If you’re maxed out, not challenged, or unsatisfied, you may want to move on. Many don’t do this for fear of the unknown, deserting comfortability (or friends), and end up settling. “That’s the worst thing you can do for yourself,” says Castle.

“Trust me, Stockholm Syndrome is real,” adds Deen.

If you’re looking now or want to know when a perfect job opens up, set up a job alert and never miss the next opportunity.

Topics:

Get Hired, Job Search

Business Basics

Stiffed by a Client? How Freelancers Can Handle Unpaid Invoices

One writer recounts the journey to get paid

By Janelle Harris

@thegirlcanwrite

Janelle Harris is a multimedia producer, director, and founder of Harris Two Productions with decades of experience in non-fiction storytelling for networks including Bravo, Discovery, and A&E. A Howard University graduate, she specializes in amplifying diverse voices across television, film, and digital media.

7 min read • Originally published December 7, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Janelle Harris

@thegirlcanwrite

Janelle Harris is a multimedia producer, director, and founder of Harris Two Productions with decades of experience in non-fiction storytelling for networks including Bravo, Discovery, and A&E. A Howard University graduate, she specializes in amplifying diverse voices across television, film, and digital media.

7 min read • Originally published December 7, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

There’s a strange dichotomy of time in the life of the average freelance writer. Your days operate around deadlines, so you rush to interview, rush to write, rush to finish and rush on to the next thing topping the perpetual to-do list. But when the work is done, there’s often a slow-as-molasses timeframe for payment to materialize. Somewhere in the universe, a check with your name on it awaits, unsigned and undeposited. When it will manifest is anyone’s guess.

After writing for the same magazine for years, what happens when payment becomes sporadic and you take them to small claims court? I’ll tell you because it happened to me.

Just Happy to Be Working

Early in my freelancing career, I was just a starry-eyed writer trudging into a thankless day job in the communications department of a nonprofit and gleefully plunking out magazine articles when I got home. I was doing what I loved, albeit on a part-time basis, and the paycheck made it all the more sweet.

My bailiwick is women’s interests, particularly black women, but the pool of print pubs serving that market is awful small. Imagine my delight when an editor from one of the notables—you know, the ones that line the grocery store check-out—invited me to write a story. I can’t remember if my initial contact with her was a cordial pitch rejection or if she responded to a cold email I sent expressing interest in writing. But I do remember the subject line: “An Assignment for You.”

It was a short, front-of-book news piece on the trending privatization of public institutions. According to her email and the contract that followed, I had a month to write the story and, as the legalese stipulated, I’d be paid 30 days after the issue hit newsstands. I nailed it. She gave me another assignment, this time a lead news feature about celebrity moms’ business ventures. I nailed that one, too.

There was no indication in those initial months, then years, that I would eventually be plotting to Spiderman crawl up the walls of their corporate office building just to get my money. For a while, there was never a more contented girl who typed a byline. From then on, I was writing almost monthly, sometimes for multiple departments in one issue because she passed my name on to other editors. I covered news, spirituality and relationships, sometimes pitching, sometimes taking assignments. And, during the course of all these interactions, I built friendly working relationships.

Check Please. No, Seriously. Please?!

Two or three years after I started freelancing for said publication, I was laid off from my day job and decided to try my hand at full-time freelancing. That feast-or-famine phase made me notice that I hadn’t seen a check from the mag in quite some time. I’d gotten caught up in the rhythm of submitting stories and wasn’t being attentive to my pay schedule. When I added up the balance, it came to almost $3,000.

I emailed my editor to explain. “Oh my goodness,” she wrote back, “I’m so sorry! Send me all of the invoices and I’ll get them to accounting right away.” I was hopeful because the missing payments would’ve been enough to appease the bill collectors and maybe even pay a few things on time. With confidence in her promise to help, I continued to take assignments. But as more check-less time marched on, I prodded my editor for updates:

“By the way, have you heard anything yet about the money?”

“Hey, I’m just following up on those invoices. Any word?”

Our messages over the course of the next few months proved we were equally bewildered. She couldn’t seem to make any headway as the go-between, so she gave me the email of the paycheck mistress at the corporate office. We’ll call her “Cathy.”

Going Corporate

I peppered my initial email to our dear friend Cathy with gentle words, even a smiley face, because my goal wasn’t to piss her off or make her defensive. Despite their slow-to-pay tendencies, I didn’t want to burn the bridge. I emailed her once. Twice. Maybe about six or seven times over a month and a half. Finally, she responded. This is the only proof I got that she did in fact live and breathe:

“Janelle,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, corporate is behind in cutting checks. I have sent your information and will send another email stating your inquiry of payments with hopes they will be able to give me a definite date as to when they will be cutting outstanding checks. I apologize for the delay, but please note that I do not handle cutting checks. I will inform you of their response as soon as I receive.”

Translation: We’re late, but stop filling my inbox with your pestering because frankly, it’s really not my job to worry about your checks.

In addition to emails, I called and left polite, then progressively less polite voicemails.

“Hi Cathy! Just following up. Thank you!”

By month two, my effervescence waned.

“Cathy, this is Janelle. I still have not received any communication. I need to know where the payments stand.” No ‘thank you’ this go-round, I sniffed. That’ll show her.

After two more months, without any response whatsoever, I let my irritation have its way.

“Cathy, I have tried repeatedly to get in touch with you about money that is due to me for work I’ve already done. I’m sure you’re not in the business of working for free. Neither am I.”

Finally after months of trying, when my editor reached out with an assignment for me, I had to turn it down.

Jackpot! I Can Finally Pay My Bills

It’s a blessing to have virtual friendships with most, if not all, of my regular editors, and in a random conversation with one from another publication, I mentioned this particular magazine. Turns out we had both freelanced for them and she had a hard time wrangling her check from them, too. She’d taken them to small claims court.

Now, aside from what I’d seen on episodes of Judge Judy, I knew zilch about this legal process. I wore Google out looking for information on how to do it. I learned where the magazine’s mystical corporate office was located and contacted the small claims division for that county. I needed to factor in not only court fees, but travel expenses in case I actually had to make the journey from my home in D.C. to the plaintiff in Atlanta, but my editor friend (or “frienditor” as I like to say) assured me that once she filed her case, they reached out to her immediately.

She was right. The papers were filed in the morning and an attorney for the magazine called me by early afternoon. I’d since landed another day job, but I’d never given up on getting that money. I worked for it, I earned it and I was never, going to turn down a lump sum of three grand. After all of the time that had elapsed—by now, more than a year since I sent that initial email to my editor—it was just as much about the principle.

After all of the time and energy it took to get to the point of signing my name on the back of that little watermarked piece of paper, I had my money the next day. The lawyer was very pleasant, very apologetic and very willing to cough up the money owed to make this nasty little incident go away. “I’m soooo sorry you had to experience this,” she gushed over the phone. “Please send me your address so we can overnight you a check. I’m also sending you a release form to sign, so please send that back to me, as well.” I appreciated her apology and the fact that she sounded genuinely horrified about my experience.

The Moral of the Story

The fact that it took me the better part of a year to realize somebody in the world owed me almost $3,000 is my fault. I’ll admit it: I kept crappy books. My hatred of math and its companion evil, accounting, gave me cause to do bare-minimum bookkeeping. Typically, if numbers are involved, my eyes glaze over and my mind goes blank.

Sticky notes were my spreadsheets and even those weren’t checked often. I signed contracts and tucked copies into a manila folder, so focused on the creative part of writing, which I love, that I neglected the administrative side of my business, which is necessary.

I should’ve stopped writing for the mag much sooner than I did. My beef was with accounting, not my editors, but essentially working on a verbal promise to pay was a bad decision. Since this experience, if I’m owed more than one check, I wait until I get it before I even consider churning out so much as a headline.

A lot of writers worry that legal action—even the threat of it—will make them seem difficult to work with, strain their relationships, perhaps get them blacklisted. I think, as long as you’re diplomatic and professional in your attempts (meaning not blasting them on Twitter) no other magazine would frown upon a writer actively pursuing what’s already due to them. If a publication doesn’t pay on time, it’s not a relationship worth holding on to anyway. And if another takes umbrage with a writer demanding their money, that’s not a relationship worth building in the first place.

Janelle Harris resides in Washington, D.C., frequents Twitter and lives on Facebook.

Topics:

Business Basics, Go Freelance

1. Do Your Research

2. Leverage Your Transferable Skills

3. Gain New Skills

4. Build Your Network

Start with a stellar pitch.

Make your editor’s job easier.

Be both a great writer and reporter.

Breaking in? Think in terms of the editor’s risk.

What editors want you to know.

1. The client’s writers don’t stick around

2. The client asks you to do work for free

3. The client has a bad reputation

4. The client is asking you to write about something questionable

5. The client has unreasonable expectations

6. The client gives you a bad vibe

What exactly does a communications manager do?

What skills does a communications manager need?

Who is a communications manager’s supervisor?

Are there any positions similar to this one?

What does it take to excel in this position?

How can I break into this field?

When did you fall in love with journalism?

So how did you end up at Meredith?

What advice do you have for readers who are not in New York but still looking to break into publishing or media?

What is the day-to-day function of your role?

What is the most exciting part about your job?

How do you stay on top of consumer trends?

What advice do you have for finding a mentor?

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career?

Social Media

Portfolio Websites

Friends and Family

1. Polish up Your Resume

2. Create a Killer Cover Letter

3. Prepare to Crush the Interview

4. Get Your Social House in Order

5. Get Ready to Network

6. Learn a New Skill

1. Take More Breaks

2. Exercise Before Work

3. Rebrand the Term “Issues”

1. Prepare to be laid off at some point in your career

2. Let people know you’re on the hunt

3. Be conscious of your social media presence

4. Stop redesigning your resume

5. Figure out how to best help a company

6. Fill the gaps in your resume with whatever you can

7. Court the prospective company or organization

8. Target growing industries

9. Think twice before running off to grad school

10. Don’t let the hunt haunt you

Bonus Habit: Know when to jump ship

Just Happy to Be Working

Check Please. No, Seriously. Please?!

Going Corporate

Jackpot! I Can Finally Pay My Bills

The Moral of the Story

Evgeny Ivanov