Facing Your Fears
Posted: August 5, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: career, dreams, fears, goals, Intern, myinterninglife, professional Leave a commentBy Stephanie Hume.
To lead a rich and fulfilling life we all must push the boundaries on our comfort zone. However, to lead a life that pushes our level of comfort is no easy feat. At times it’s difficult to push yourself to do things you’ve never done before. Why? It makes us feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. However, in my experience, you stand to grow the most with experiences that push your limit and prove you’re far more capable than you give yourself credit for.
As an intern, and in your career, there will be countless moments where you’ll have to face a fear to achieve a goal. For myself, that has been enrolling in a public speaking club to overcome my fear of public speaking so I can be a better communicator. For others, it could be throwing yourself into a new work experience you know nothing about, learning a new skill or even simply attending a networking event alone to expand your professional contacts.
Below we’ve outlined what strategies can be used to face your fears:
– Keep a glass jar of experiences you’ve courageously overcome and that you are proud of. This way you have easy access to past personal wins that will help you to boost your confidence when tackling new challenges.
– Remembering that anxiety is natural and normal to all living beings. You don’t have to like it, however, no one has died from feeling uncomfortable.
– Take a piece of paper and write down what your fears are. When they are written down it removes the fear from inside you and in my experience proves to me why I’m feeling anxious and that it’s okay to feel the way I do.
– Understand that failure is apart of learning. When we were younger and we learned to ride a bike did the amount of times we fell off affect our desire to ride? I highly doubt it. We wanted that experience so bad we were willing to fail 1000 times to get there. Remember this next time you fail on the journey to your goal.
– Acknowledge the goal or fear you need to overcome and the steps you need to take to achieve it. I sometimes make the mistake of seeing the goal I want to achieve and forget it is made up of components. By breaking the goal down into achievable steps, I’m more able to reach it and less likely to let fear get in my way.
– Write down your core values to lead your life. By taking the time to do this, life decisions are not ruled by fear or anxiety. If something like taking a new work opportunity is apart of your values, anxiety isn’t able to make a winning case to change your decision.
– Take up the challenge. The biggest waster of time in achieving goals is worrying, stalling due to anxiety and getting caught in the, ‘what if this happened…’ cycle. Courage breeds courage, so the more you say yes to things and push yourself outside of your comfort zone, the more opportunities you’ll take up.
– Finally, you have to remember everyone experiences bursts of anxiety and fear in going after their dreams. It makes it much more bearable when you realise fear is all apart of the pursuit of a career we want to have.
What other strategies would you add to the list?
Wishing you all the best in overcoming fears in your own life.
The importance of cultivating a supportive peer network
Posted: July 8, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Intern, intern guide, intern tips, network, peer group 1 CommentBy Stephanie Hume.
The life of an intern involves a journey of highs and at times many lows. At some stage you will feel lost, feel like you have a lack of direction, and go through periods of doubting yourself and your career path. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative to have a positive and supportive network to help you navigate through the difficult times. 
As an intern, I personally have required the support of friends and family to help me with putting together applications, prepping for interviews, overcoming anxiety in new work environments, dealing with rejection, and even harder decisions, like letting go of an opportunity for another one. As strong as I know we all are, a supportive network makes us even stronger.
However, what makes us stronger again is a positive, helpful and generous peer network. There have been times when my peers, who are pursuing the same or related careers as me, have been given opportunities when I have not. It’s natural to be envious. However, I learnt early on in my intern journey to remain supportive and celebrate their wins as much as my own. Through this commitment I have developed stronger and more beneficial connections with friends and new ones. I have a tight group of friends that make me an even stronger individual, that are genuinely happy for me and have my back at any moment. The world of PR, journalism, media, advertising and marketing are very competitive, however, I believe this is exactly the reason to band together as a team and help each other out.
Below are some tips to cultivate your own garden of nurture and support:
DO
– Let your friend or contact know of an opportunity you saw that they might be interested in applying for.
– Cultivate some peer group love by making a habit of helping where you can and championing your friends.
– Be genuine in congratulating them and celebrate with them in their successes.
– Hold their hand or wipe away their tears when they are feeling down about how their journey is going.
– Be honest with your peers about when you are applying for an opportunity you think they may have or had in the past. The sooner the better, rather than when you’ve already started. They’ll appreciate your honesty and it will strengthen the bond of your team.
– Support others in their career navigation. Our journey is cyclical, some days we win some days we lose.
– Be gracious in your own wins, but don’t feel you have to hide your happiness or celebration of a new opportunity. If you can’t celebrate happiness with friends where can you?
– Offer to proofread job applications, cv’s or cover letters and help with mock interviews. It not only helps out your friend, but also you get the chance to see how other people approach applying for a job.
DON’T
– Continue to interact with people that cannot be happy for you or who try to bring you down. They honestly are not worth the drama or energy.
– Make snide remarks or gossip about how your friend doesn’t deserve the opportunity that you didn’t get. You’re losing out on more than an internship or job, you’re potentially losing a friend who has loved and supported you.
– Let defeat get you down, keep on applying and getting in touch with places you want to intern at and one day soon you’ll have your own chance to celebrate.
What other tips would you add that have worked in the past for you?
All the best in your own journey fellow interns! x
Book-spiration
Posted: July 2, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: books, career, career advice, Intern, Interning, kelly cutrone, sheryl sandberg Leave a commentBy Stephanie Hume.
With university holidays well underway I thought it was the perfect time to offer my recommendations for holiday reads to help inspire you all for semester two or even to help you navigate through your current internship.
I love any form of advice, inspiration or pep talk, that fosters personal growth and development, so it’s not surprising I love career-based books that impart valuable wisdom, which we can all learn something from where others have failed.
Below, in no particular order, are my top five career books for intern inspiration and are well worth a read.
1. If You Have To Cry Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Didn’t Tell You – Kelly Cutrone
For any future or current PR gun, this book is your bible. Dishing out some tough love, Cutrone lends her reader insight into her career highs and lows and how she learnt to overcome the extreme lows through cultivating a commitment to living a life of truth.
She empowers budding power people and provides practical advice and tips with examples from her personal and professional life. This book cuts through the niceties and forces the reader to go after what they want in life, which I found to be very empowering.
2. Women, Work And The Art Of Savior Faire: Business Sense And Sensibility – Mireille Guiliano
From the woman that brought us, French Women Don’t Get Fat, and the former CEO of Veuve Clicquot, this book offers a laundry list of business etiquette and practical advice.
Largely female focused, offering advice on work place practice, the importance of a career mentor and how to fulfill a successful professional and personal life. I found this book to be very helpful, at times lecture-like, but did offer relevant practical career tips.
3. Lean In: Women, Work And The Will To Lead – Sheryl Sandberg
Yes the brand new feminism book, but don’t judge before reading. Highly researched and lessons for men and women. Sheryl writes a very personal account on her experiences as a person, as an employee, as a leader, as a mother and as a woman. It is eye opening and insightful as to why women are in small percentages in leadership positions around the world. However, the research throughout is astonishing and proves we still have a long way to go in personal and professional lives to reach true gender equality.
I now have a new career crush. Sheryl is genuine and witty, and in showing her own short comings as a person proves even being a Harvard graduate and COO of Facebook does not protect her from facing insecurities and difficulties. To get a hint of what the book is about check out her TED Talk.
4. The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter–And How to Make the Most of Them Now – Meg Jay 
I have not yet read this book, but recently watched Meg Jay’s TED Talk and was blown away. Through her experience as a psychologist she learnt that our “thirty is the new twenty” culture was making us twentysomething’s believe our twenties didn’t matter. However, Meg Jay argues the twenty’s are the defining decade of adulthood.
After watching the Ted Talk I had a mini freak out as I too had been tricked into this mantra that the twenties were a buffer decade in the lead up to our 30th birthday. This advice and insightful teachings are relevant and timely and a big wake up call, personally and professionally. I cannot wait to read this book.
5. Oh The Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss 
I did say there was no order, however, this book has helped me through the highs and lows, mainly the lows, and is my favourite pick me up. Dr. Seuss weaves his words magically in this beautifully illustrated picture book. It’s actually a good book to re-visit as its narrative is empowering and helps show that your life will have many highs and lows and that’s natural and normal. My favourite line is:
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
There is also a video that was released by Burning Man in 2011 that brings to life the creative words and wisdom.
The list could inevitably keep going. However, these are my personal picks at the moment. We’d love to hear your own recommendations to see what other books you’ve read, are reading or want to read in the future, which could be added to the list.
How to cut it as a TV Broadcast Journalist
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Claire Wheaton, TV News Journalist and Presenter on Southern Cross Ten, imparts her advice on how to carve out a career in broadcast journalism.
With a Bachelor of Professional Communication (Journalism) from RMIT, she emphasises the need to gain a wide variety of experiences before graduating and stresses the importance of maintaining relationships even after you finish your internship. She speaks with My Interning Life below:
What are the key skills that students should seek to develop before graduating, that will make them hireable in the media upon graduation?
Intern at as many places as you can (at least 2 a year – and try and keep some ongoing)
Vary the types of companies you work with- that way you can be sure to find out what you like, and what you don’t like!
Keep in touch with all the places you intern at…keep a diary with the names, emails and numbers of News Directors…and spam them with your work until they give you a shot.
Did you intern before getting into the industry? If so where?
Some of my internships that come to mind…A week with Channel Nine in Adelaide (this one week made me sure I wanted to work in TV news)
At the other end of the spectrum, a six week internship with a PR Agency that made me want to stab myself in the eyeball.
What do you think makes a good intern and an asset to the workplace?
Someone who is helpful, open minded, shows initiative, and is not a pushy know-it-all.
What are key characteristics that are necessary for a career in the media?
The ability to believe in yourself and keep going when you get knocked down time and time again…because you will.
What would be your advice to yourself when you were starting out knowing now what the industry involves?
For anyone interested in media, be prepared and open-minded about moving regional….it’s a great way to get a start, and a terrific place to make all the mistakes you definitely will.
You can follow Claire Wheaton on Twitter.
My Interning Life Event: Getting there
Posted: April 14, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: clarendon st, getting there, Melbourne, my interning life event, public transport, south melbourne, the honey bar Leave a commentMy Interning Life Event
Monday 15th April 2013
6.30pm
The Honey Bar 345 Clarendon St, South Melbourne.
Getting there
You can catch two trams directly to the venue of the My Interning Life event. Trams no.1 and no.112 both stop directly outside The Honey Bar on the corner of Clarendon & Park streets. You can catch the 112 tram from Spencer St and the 1 tram from Melbourne Central or Flinders St. After 6pm there is also street parking and across from bar on Park St there is a small carpark available.
Hope to see you there!
The Chat Room: Social Media Workshop Event
Posted: October 22, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentHi Everyone,
Please check out this great social media event being held in Melbourne this Wednesday October 24th hosted by THE CHAT ROOM. ‘The Social Media Workshop’ is the first event by Stepback Entertainment. A list of speakers is here.
“At this half-day event we will be bringing the online offline and allowing you to interact with young tastemakers leading the way in online relations. We also have some baby boomers to interpret our GeyY speak so don’t stress if you are not overly tech savvy. This event is ideal for business owners and anyone looking at building up their own online brands.
This jam packed event will ensure you walk away with a comprehensive idea of:
- How the social media landscape works
- How to engage followers and create diagloues with your fans
- What to write about to build a large following and to create conversations with your followers
- What other successful social media marketers are doing to promote themselves and their businesses
- How not-for-profit’s are using social media to create conversations and evoke emotions
- How to include social media within your integrated marketing plan (combining offline and online)
- And how to use a variety of different social media platforms to contribute to your online success
You will come away from the day feeling empowered to create effective dialogues with your current and future customers.
Percentage of ticket sales all going to the ONE GIRL Organisation, for their October campaign ‘Do it in a Dress’.
For more information on the speakers please click HERE.
Order tickets now to reserve your place. (Early bird pricing finishes at the end of September)
Sponsored by RMIT University.
See you there!”
Feel free to follow creator of The Chatroom, Justine ‘JMAC’ on Twitter.
Successful Intern: Ryan Dunn
Posted: April 22, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Communications, Hunter Valley, Interns, La Trobe University, LinkedIn, Media, Phuket LIVE Radio, Power FM, Radio, Ryan Dunn, Ryan Jon, Ryan Jon Dunn, Social Media, SYN FM, Twitter, Young Buck Ryan 1 Comment
Ryan Jon Dunn, 24 years old. I have an honours degree in finance from Swinburne finished in 2010. I completed three journalism subjects at La Trobe so I could qualify to play in the Australian University Games with a friend who already went there. I was either going to do Maths or Media, I choose media. We won La Trobe’s first ever Beach Volleyball gold medal, then played in the World University Games in Serbia. I enjoyed the media subjects, and ended up being part of Latrobe’s upstart Magazine editorial team.
What is your job title and what you currently do at your job on a day to day basis?
I now work at Power FM in the Hunter Valley, I’ll be presenting the daily breakfast show and working with the content director to manage promotions and client integration.
However I was living in Phuket, Thailand working for Phuket LIVE radio. I produced a presented the daily four hour breakfast show which involves researching and preparing news, talk and entertainment segments. I was also the content manager, meaning I developed client based segments and competitions, and assisted other announcers preparing their shows.
Where you have interned and what you did to apply for your current job – how did interning help you stand out?
I enjoyed making media content so I tried to combine my interests and education in finance and interned with SmartCompany.com.au, which is news for small to medium business owners.
I also did work experience with TRFM, a top 40 radio station in Gippsland. I worked with CPR communications, a Corporate Communications consultancy. I also spent sometime with Glen Ridge’s show on MTR, for five days I was ‘Young Buck Ryan’ on the Matt and Jo Show on Fox FM and helped out back stage at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in addition to my work at SYN FM and Nova.
All of the things above, I had never done before. I’d never done anything on Commerical Radio before the Matt and Jo Show. I’d never presented my own shift on commercial radio before TRFM, I’d never written a hard news story before SmartCompany, I’d never worked on a live show before the Kids Choice Awards and never even thought about corporate communications before CPR.
In terms of ‘standing out’ as much as it looks good on your resume, it’s more about the skills you not only have, but that you can prove you have. It’s one thing to say, ‘yeah I can write hard news for online’ but the ability to put a hyperlink in a resume of a story you wrote for a reputable publisher is a lot better. In terms of radio, I always took the audio with me to put in a demo if need be.
Also, set a time on your last day to sit down with your boss and ask for feedback. If your ego can handle the criticism, it will be highly valuable exercise to a, learn where to get better and improve and b, it shows (a potential future employer) that you’re wanting to improve and willing to learn.
How important is it to network, have an online profile or twitter account? Is it about who you know or what you know?
I have scored jobs through twitter, acquired interviews with big names simply by asking them via twitter and increase the audience of work I have done by sharing it with those online.
My latest job with Hunter Valley had as much to do with twitter as it did as my radio work. In fact, I have no doubt without a, my twitter presence or b, the contacts I know via twitter, I would 100 per cent have not got this new job.
‘Marketing’ can be a frowned upon work in journalism, but if your writing for an online publication, if you have to share your work with as many as you can.
Without twitter or facebook, this is very difficult.In terms of online profiles, LinkedIn is a great platform. It’s not properly understood nor fully utilised in Australia…yet. But it will be and when it does, it’s the early adopters that will benefit the most.
How many interns do you employ and what do they help you with?
At Phuket LIVE Radio we had local Thai interns. Most were graphic design interns who made images for our website, facebook and twitter pages. One journalism intern we had helped behind the scenes and also did small things on air, like the read the weather and contribute to segments and Voiceovers.
Ryan shares his advice
I often send people a job advert and they say, I don’t have skills or experience for that. Let the employer tell you what you can’t do, rather than yourself. If your not qualified they won’t hire you and you move on. I can honestly say I have applied for and not got about 1,000 jobs.But I didn’t think I had the skills for my job in Phuket, but I applied, and I got hired. I then spent my mornings doing breakfast radio and afternoons on different beaches in Phuket. Worked ok for me I guess. After six months, I learnt those skills I thought I lacked which allowed me to move into breakfast/promotions in the Hunter Valley.I think I’m slightly under qualified for this new job… I think you can see the point I’m making here.In terms of interning, don’t have the mentality of ‘I don’t have the skills for that’ but rather, ‘that would be a great place to learn those skills’.
Successful Intern Profile: Cherie Donnellan
Posted: April 9, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACP, Cherie Donnellan, Deakin University, Dolly Magazine, Geelong Independent, Interns, Journalism, Journalist, Writer Leave a comment
Cherie Donnellan is a journalist at the Geelong Independent newspaper. They cover three titles; the Geelong Independent, Bellarine Independent and the Surf Coast Independent. Cherie covers Geelong and Surf Coast news and entertainment.
Before Cherie scored her job as a journalist she had three stops interning at the Geelong Advertiser, Melbourne Weekly and Dolly Magazine.
Cherie shares her experience at Dolly and gives her advice to journalism students (and magazine obsessed girls like me).
The Basics
Cherie Donnellan, 22, Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) Deakin University, graduated October 2011.
Dream job?
To be the editor of a women’s magazine (Cosmo or Cleo would be a preference).
Previous interning experiences, where & for how long?
Geelong Advertiser for one week during my first year of uni. I got a front page byline and was pretty stoked. Melbourne Weekly (Fairfax Community Network) I worked across eight of the Weekly titles for two weeks during my final year. I had quite a few pieces published. I loved working in the lifestyle department and I was inspired by all of the writers there. Lastly, I did work experience at Dolly magazine for one week in February 2012. So much fun!
Why did you choose to do work experience at Dolly Magazine?
I chose Dolly because I devotedly read every issue from the ages of 13-16. I identified with the writers so much. My favourite writers were Jessica Parry and Caelia Corse. Dolly was my bible and the writers helped shape my decision to become a writer.
How did you apply for Dolly? Did you know somebody, were you referred?
I emailed Edwina Carr, who was the editorial coordinator at the time, in November last year and she organised a place for me. During that time Danielle Pinkus landed the role of editorial Coordinator and I was worried for a while when I hadn’t heard from someone. Luckily Dani was on top of it and emailed me to confirm my placement. I was so excited when she said I still had the placement.
What was your first day like at Dolly?
I loved every second of it. Walking into the office I had goosebumps. The first thing you see when you walk in are giant letters of DOLLY in hot pink glitter. Even though I’d never been to the offices before, I felt like I was home. All the girls were very friendly, very smiley and very perky. The greatest moment was meeting the fashion editor Lotta Backlund who complimented me on my blazer. She said it was “so on trend.” I could have died right then and been the happiest person in the world. Being surrounded by clothes, beauty products and books didn’t suck either.
What did you do on a daily basis?
My first task every day was to check news websites and gossip websites for the latest updates on teen-related issues. Other than that, every day was different. My duties varied from researching things for stories, assisting the fashion team on photoshoots or sorting all the signed off pages for the latest issue.
Did you get to do something at Dolly that you did not expect to do?
I think sometimes people make assumptions about what internships are. People either assume that the only thing you do is get coffee, or else they expect that they will run the place by the end of the week (honestly I have met interns who believe they are the editor!). Neither is the correct assumption. To me, internships are a test of humility. You have to be willing to do coffee runs without griping about it. On the other hand, you have to be prepared to come up with a pitch for an article that will be the cover story. If you can perfect that balance, you will be noticed and you are more likely to land a paying job with that company.
Tell me about your blog Label Me Happy
I originally started my blog in 2008 as Label Me Happy but I found it hard to maintain. So I gave it up. Less than I year later I relaunched it with a fresh perspective.
My original concept was to write posts about stereotypes and how they can either positively or negatively impact a person. The hook was that the label (stereotype) I wanted to be given was ‘happy’. I struggled to maintain a specific theme per post and felt I had boxed myself in as a writer.
So now Label Me Happy is my outlet to address any topic from relationships to political debates. While I write for the twenty-something audience, I have found that people of all ages still ask the same questions and face the same challenges.
Have you been published?
All links to my published pieces are under ‘Published work’ on my blog. Cherie was recently published on Mamamia ‘I watched my mum (and her marriage) fall apart’.
Has twitter helped you connect with fellow students and prospective employers?
I adore Twitter. I think it’s a fantastic platform to connect with people all over the world. It’s amazing to find someone from America or the UK who thinks the same way you do, or even better when they challenge the way you think and get you to consider a perspective you wouldn’t have seen before.
Twitter has definitely helped my blog readership. My blog has quite a big UK and USA audience. I don’t think I could have achieved that without twitter.
I have had many people who are just starting a degree in journalism ask me what I recommend they do. My first two suggestions are internships and twitter.
Cherie gives her advice
You can follow Cherie on Twitter and read her blog Label Me Happy.
Get your name out there by doing as many internships as you can. I only did three internships before I got a job in journalism but I think I should have done more.Internships are the best way to make connections in the journalism industry and to show your potential as a journalist. Being in a newsroom or magazine office shows you how hard journalists work to track down stories or create the perfect photoshoot for a magazine fashion spread.
You have to constantly research and be the one who knows the inside scoop before anyone else.
If you do land an internship, be proactive. Do EVERYTHING that staff ask of you and then be ready to offer suggestions for a story if you’re called upon. Even if someone has the idea but you have way to create a dynamic story angle, speak up. Editors will be impressed with your initiative. Trust me, they do notice.Also, ask as many questions as you need to and ask for feedback on any writing you do. Showing that you are willing to learn everything there is to know about the company you’re interning for will prove that you want to work in the industry.
The key in journalism is passion. Jobs are scarce; being proactive and being willing to work hard for a paying job is what will make you stand out.
Career Change: Rebecca Douglas
Posted: February 27, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment
Rebecca Douglas aka Becks and the City describes herself as a Computer Programmer/Lawyer. After many years of study in both fields, Rebecca decided to pitch articles to some of her favourite glossy magazines. Today Rebecca is sharing her experiences as a freelance writer and giving some helpful advice.
We can do this the easy way or the hard way, as they say in the movies.
I seem to have chosen the hard way. You see, in the past two years I’ve become a freelance writer for magazines including Cosmo Bride and Women’s Health & Fitness, but the road here has been interrupted by twists, turns and plenty of potholes.
I wish I was one of those kids that always knew what they wanted to do. Sure, I adored writing in primary school and created choose-your-own-adventure stories, books with mazes and Where’s Wally-like visual puzzles and mysteries with the solution written in mirrored hand-writing to stop classmates from cheating and skipping to the end straight away. Embarrassingly, I even typed up a newsletter containing stories, recipes and puzzles, called All-round Fun Club in Year 4 and distributed it to friends. Yes, I was that sort of nerd.
The trouble was, I also had an affinity for maths and music, which meant that on my Student of the Week questionnaire under the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” section, I said “teacher, lawyer, writer, architect, ballerina, computer programmer, flautist, LEGO designer”. What can I say? I was always a chick of varied interests.
As it turns out, I’ve kind of become several of those professions! During high school, I narrowed my future professions down to wanting to be a maths and English teacher, so I did English, Music, Maths 1 and 2 and Physics in Year 12. I scored well and got into Maths and Computer Science at university, which allowed me to combine those nerdy subjects with humanities electives like English.
However, my plans for earning my “World’s Best Teacher” coffee mug derailed while I was at uni when I started my own business as a part-time high school tutor. I discovered a fatal flaw in my plan: I really hate kids. Well, not exactly hate them, but tutoring was tough. Students forgot what I taught them from session to session, had the attention span of fleas and several were, well, just plain thick. Of course, some were hard-working, helpful and sweet, but the damage was done. That’s one reason it can be so valuable to get work experience/interning early on in your chosen industry, because you have warning if you actually really hate the job or would suck at it harder than an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner.
So I finished by Maths and Computer Science degree, did an honours year in English, and then completed a law degree. So I’m kind of a computer programmer/lawyer. I got my first “proper”, post-uni job in state government and a year later ended up in Consumer Affairs as a mediator.
Mediating is actually really cool. I get to do two of my favourite things: communicate and help people. It also uses some skills and knowledge from my law degree. The downside? You deal with angry people. A lot. It can wear you down. And so the siren song of a career as a writer became stronger and stronger until I could no longer ignore it.
I dipped my toe into writing by switching to part-time work at Consumer Affairs. I read everything I could about writing for magazines and snagged myself a copy of The Australian Writer’s Marketplace, then started emailing pitches to all sorts of glossies – health, bridal, fashion, travel etc.
Surprisingly, the first positive response wasn’t from some tiny, obscure publication – it was Cosmo Bride! Because I didn’t have a portfolio of previous articles I’d written for magazines, I’d emphasised my expertise in Consumer Affairs (ie shopping, negotiating contracts for large purchases, and not getting ripped off) in my pitch to them.
As I was an unknown quantity to Cosmo Bride, they asked me to write the article on spec (ie if after I wrote it, they hated it, they could just reject it without publishing it or paying me). Luckily, they liked it and I was unbelievably thrilled when I first saw it in print. I rushed down to the news agency to buy it and showed it off to the ladies behind the counter like a complete Wally!
I’ve kept on pitching and gradually built a portfolio of work, which I’ve put on my blog. I’ve got to say blogging has helped me in several ways, especially right at the beginning because even if I hadn’t yet been published I could (a) show magazines samples of my writing in the form of blog posts and (b) prove I was serious about writing because I’d been blogging about it for the past several months. It has also helped me keep track of my progress and network with established writers (by interviewing them, having them stumbling across my blog, etc). I’d highly recommend it.
My other advice would be to not get discouraged. I’ve had two on spec articles rejected so far and while I was devastated at the time, I’ve since heard from a very smart, talented fellow writer that her on spec article was also rejected by one of these editors. Sometimes rejection just comes down to personal preference or the way the magazine operates and it’s not necessarily an indictment on your writing skills. No matter, keep pitching and you’ll find editors who truly appreciate your work.
Anyway, that’s the story of how I’ve become a writer. Hopefully there’s a smidgen of useful info buried in all those words.
Good luck with finding your own words and getting paid for them. May the writing and career gods smile upon you.
You can follow Rebecca on twitter and find her portfolio on her blog, Becks and the City and also like the facebook page.Intern Position: Napoleon Perdis Sydney
Posted: January 29, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentLove makeup?
Napoleon Perdis are looking for PR Interns…email Ava with your resume and days available
e: ava.matthews@Napoleonperdis.com
My Interning Life 