Have you ever given thought to how many sheep live in the United Kingdom? During my search for this post’s leading photo, a hunch told me I should find something that pertains to Great Britain. Or England. Or the United Kingdom. Or one or all of the above. I’ll explain why below, but for now, just know that since sheep are plentiful in that part of the world, I decided to go with a photo of the very animal. By the way, in case you’re curious, England is home to 13.8 million sheep and the United Kingdom as a whole is home to 31 million sheep. And if you’ve ever wondered what countries are situated within the confines of the United Kingdom, I can inform you that they’re England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Now there’s some random knowledge you never knew you wanted or needed.
Why do I mention any of this and why do I have the United Kingdom on my mind? It’s because I’ve got a writing crush on a website called, “Country Life.” I admire it, not only because of its topical content, which is quite interesting, but because of the simplicity of the website’s layout/navigation as well as each article’s photography and overall style. I find the entire reading and browsing experience easy to enjoy and I’d love to be involved with something like it. Until I am though, I’ll remain on my own, creating my own unique content and taking my own pictures. At the moment, I actually prefer the status quo. I’m not always the best at working with others.
Last night, I read a post written by Chris Wojcik (a fellow Brazilian jiu-Jitsu aficionado) that discussed his experience becoming a professional online writer. Along with sharing those experiences, Chris also shared some tips that might assist a person who’d like to follow in his footsteps (repetition, freelancing or not, writing platforms, dealing with writer’s block). I thought his article was a great idea, so I thought I’d take a crack at sharing something similar. But while Chris primarily discussed how to become a self-employed online writer who creates his own content to publish on his own websites and promote through his own social media channels, I thought I’d write about how one might land a gig such as writing for a publication like Country Life or any other larger, more professionally run operation.
In this post, I’ll skip the typical discussion that relates to the nonsense one might encounter while looking for a writing job, such as how to actually get a resume read, and instead, I’ll focus on how to get the job because of simple greatness and competency.
It’s Not Necessarily What You Know
First, I feel as though I need to tell you something important that can save a lot of time.
Just so you’re aware, landing a job is sometimes more about who you know, rather than aimlessly sending out resumes to random companies while hoping for a chance you might receive a phone call from one of them.
Case in point: I once lived in Atlanta, Georgia and spent months looking for an office job. After some pretty serious effort, I found that no matter what I did, nothing panned out. I had absolutely no leads. Taking a break from my job search one evening, I decided to unwind and play some tennis, so I visited my apartment complex’s tennis courts. While there, I began talking with a girl who also enjoyed playing tennis. Long story short, she handed my resume to the HR office at her place of employment and within the week, I had a job. Again, it’s oftentimes who you know, not necessarily how proficient you are at sending resumes. My advice is to avoid becoming a professional resume writer and get out there and meet people.
Another case in point: I once sent my resume to an office in Westchester, New York for a project manager position in a consulting firm. The person who was charged with reviewing the resumes for the position happened to live down the road from where I lived and recognized my address. She called me in and I got the job. Our proximity to one another was definitely an odd reason for calling me in for an interview, but it also surely greased the gears of the entire process.
Picture this: You’re at a Christmas party, sitting next to your cousin who happens to be the editor-in-chief for the publication I addressed above. You say to him, “Hey, I’d love a job writing for Country Life. You definitely want to hire me and the following are the reasons behind my confidence.” There’s no dispute. You’re that good. Continue on to learn how you can easily demonstrate that goodness to someone like your cousin (who has the ability to hire you on the spot).
Quantity & Quality
When a person is writing for themselves, they merely need to promote their articles on the internet. When a person would like to write for an existing publication, however, that person needs to market his or her entire ability and skill set. Essentially, the person would be marketing their entirety as something that has the potential to be effective and profitable for whomever it is they’d like to write. The best way to accomplish this is to have a portfolio with dozens or hundreds of incredible pieces to share with an interested party.
For instance, let’s pretend that I recently graduated from a university with a creative writing/journalism degree and that I had the goal of writing for Country Life. For some odd reason, while in school, my professors failed to think ahead and ask me to create a portfolio of my writing. Because of this, I had nothing to show someone who might be interested in hiring me. In this case, do you think anyone would? Hire me, that is? If I were sitting there on the couch next to my chief editor cousin, what would I show him? Nothing, that’s what. He’d have no evidence to suggest I was a writer at all.
I’ve written some pretty decent pieces in my life (hundreds, in fact). Click through to read a few and ask yourself if they’re worth sharing. What would my cousin think of them? Are they coherent? Do they give the impression that I know what I’m doing? Do they express my intelligence, my solid grasp of the language, vocabulary, and grammar? My attention to detail? My discipline?
- How to Become More Articulate
- How to Expand Your Vocabulary
- The Art of Letter Writing
- How to Write a Proper Book Review
- How to Debate: Learn & Get Better + Sample Debates
If I were an editor-in-chief and if I were looking for writers to hire and someone sat down next to me to have me review their expansive collection of writing, I’d certainly take the time to do so. And if they simplified the process by limiting the list to their top five, I’d like that even more. And if their articles were excellent, well, let’s just say my interest in the person would be piqued.
What’s the point? Write, write, and write some more. Build a portfolio of your writing and make sure it’s the best writing in the world.
Writing Ideas & Imagination
Unbeknownst to many writers, having the initiative to propose interesting and fresh new writing ideas as well as having an active imagination is an immeasurably huge asset to offer any publication. Also unbeknownst to many new writers, writing assignments aren’t simply handed down to the writers to write about. After all, someone has to come up with the ideas for what will be published. They don’t magically appear. Think of magazines, newspapers, news websites, and other content driven platforms as big, oversized blogs. What they contain are stories and articles. A blogger can write them, so there’s a lot more similarity than difference out there in the writing world.
On this very website, no one tells me what to write about. I think of topics while sleeping, showering, mowing the lawn – you get the idea. It’s not like I have someone email me every morning to tell me what to do. Sometimes my ideas are good and sometimes they fall flat. That’s the nature of the beast, but at least I devise a steady stream of what I think will positively reflect on this website as well as my reputation.
What’s the point? Your boss isn’t going to be there to hold your hand forever. At some point, you’ll need to be your own boss and you’ll need to be the one producing content, from start to finish. It’s best to get used to that notion early on in your career.
Passion & Interest
If you’re going to write, you may as well write about something you know and love. Earlier in this post, I mentioned a man named Chris Wojcik. From his posts, I can see that he enjoys Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the art of writing itself to such as extent that he’s decided to make a living blogging about both. Since I happen to enjoy the same, those are my topics as well. I have others too, but BJJ and writing are my favorites and having favorites makes the task of telling others about them so much easier.
If I were sitting next to my cousin and if I were expounding the theoretical reasoning behind his interest in hiring me to write for Country Life, I’d surely let him know of my interest in English real estate and art, how I’ve always been fascinated by the royal family, and how I simply can’t get enough of British architecture and Britain’s formal gardens. I wouldn’t be lying; I am interested in those topics. Unfortunately, I haven’t written much about them, but I certainly would if I were vying for a writing position at a publication that bases its very existence on the interests I described above.
What’s the point? If you’re not interested in and have no experience with residential plumbing, don’t write about that. If you’ve been a yoga practitioner for the past 20 years, definitely write about it. This isn’t a novel idea. Write about what you’re familiar with and are good at because if you do, everything else will fall into place.
Ability to Research
This one is absolutely huge. I can’t tell you how many people I know who have zero ability to research anything. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I constantly get asked to find things out for those I know. I sometimes wonder if they’re connected to the internet. If so, what’s the issue with them looking things up themselves?
Researching is a lot like writing. Its process needs to make sense and it needs to be targeted. While writing needs to be articulate and coherent, researching needs to be peeled back, layer by layer. It’s almost an art. The trick behind being an effective researcher is having a love for those things about which you wish to learn. If you are a 48 year-old semi-truck driver, you’d most likely want to learn and write about diesel engines and tires as opposed to how to land a position on the elementary school ballerina squad. Learning more about what you are already familiar with and what you already love is an easy thing to do.
It’s important to remember that, as a writer, you’ll be researching topics on a continuous basis. Every position does it, from author to copywriter to editor. It’s something a person can’t avoid. Knowing this is helpful because while writing and researching, you’ll be gaining the skills necessary to unearth those details your audience will find appealing.
It’s like one big circle; you’ll think of an idea to write about based on what you enjoy as well as what you know your audience will enjoy. Then you’ll begin researching the topic to focus on the details that will create and satisfy the interest of both parties. You’ll write the article in an articulate and coherent manner, as to entice your audience to return for more and to please your editor. When finished, you’ll live a happy life. It’s that simple. And all the while, you’ll be adding to your writing portfolio and building your personal value so if you ever decide to change publications, you’ll have built up enough professional equity to do so seamlessly and efficiently.
In Conclusion
I’m one of those people who loves to give advice, even if I’m not an expert in the area. I know a lot of things and have a good amount of experience, so my advice is usually on point. For topics like the one above, I think about the recent college grad who’s looking for what to do with his or her life. I know that if I were a hiring manager or if I were looking for someone to write for me (which I am), first and foremost, I’d want a go-getter. The primary attribute I’d seek is initiative. If an applicant has that, they’ve got it all. Wrapped into initiative is independence, tenacity, and determination. I’d never want someone to apply to me and ask what I need. What I’d want is for someone to contact me to tell me how they can make my publication better. It’s big for me, this initiative thing. High school students apply for jobs and wait for their orders. Professional adults and especially ambitious writers who take the initiative tell they world what its orders are.
Are you an aspiring or seasoned writer? If you’d care to share your experience in the industry, please do so below. I’d appreciate it!
