After nine summers of job hunting in between my school years spent getting a degree, a diploma, and now a certificate, I've become too familiar with the struggle of finding a job. Finding a basic entry-level job in something as generic as admin is tough, but it's especially difficult getting your foot into a specific industry, in my case the publishing industry, when you have no experience. The number of postings on job sites for interns or volunteer writers to "build your portfolio" can be discouraging and make you feel like everyone just wants to take advantage of the fact that you need to gain experience before you can be taken seriously.
Then, when you finally get a shot at a paid (working-wage) job in the industry, it seems like there's always someone more experienced or more personable or more qualified for the job that you fought so hard just to get an interview for. My years of job hunting have helped me to become an expert on the ins-and-outs of the tools and resources for finding a job in the publishing industry, and while I decided to opt for the freelance route, I know that many people like the security and stability of a full time 9-5 job. Based on my own experiences, I've put together the most important tips for forging your career path in the publishing industry.
Experience - There's a reason there are so many memes poking fun of the illogicalness in the job industry that expects recent grads to have experience for low-paying entry-level jobs. What I've learned is that if they won't give me experience, I need to figure out other ways to get it. Maybe it's the forever-student in me, but I think the key to standing out is to always improve your credentials. Whether it's through classes, work, or volunteering in your field, you'll either eventually be considered experienced enough to do a job, or you'll meet someone through networking who has the ability to get you a job.
Network - Starting out I got most, if not all of my opportunities through friends and family. My mom is like my own personal cheerleader who promoted me to anyone who might possibly have a job opportunity for me, so I got a couple jobs from her perseverance. I've had a few friends whose bosses have needed writers or editors, so they've also helped me. The key is to gradually expand your professional network in such a way that one contact can lead to another, and so forth, until one contact can potentially lead to a job.
Resources - Job hunting is a job in itself. It takes consistent and frequent cross-referencing of different job sites. When I first started my job search, I rolled my eyes at the thought of using generic sites like Indeed, but a surprising number of well-known companies use these sites to find prospective candidates. You might only find one job, but that might be all you need! Indeed, Workopolis, Keyobi, LinkedIn, Quill & Quire, Facebook groups like Bunz Employment Zone and Binders Full of Writing Jobs (if you can figure out how to get in to it, because I have no clue how I did!), are all useful resources, and if you can check back everyday, you have the best shot at being the first to apply for new opportunities as they're posted.
Portfolio - Keep track of everything you do. For awhile I didn't, and when I started my website, I had to scrounge through pages and pages of posts on the sites I've done work for, in order to add them to my portfolio. A few companies' sites aren't around anymore, so I was lucky to have taken screenshots of the posts I had written. It's not enough to keep track of dates and links of your work - try to get a screenshot or some kind of saved file of the work just in case something ever happens to the site. I also find it beneficial to look over things I wrote when I was a teenager. Although I was full of angst and illogical emotions, sometimes reading over the poems I wrote inspires new ideas. Write these ideas down in a blog, because a blog can act as a testament to your abilities if you have no other professional experience.
Know Your Worth - Don't settle for doing work for sites like Fiverr or Upwork, where many people are looking to hire someone to write thousand-word posts for $15-20. These sites can be incredibly beneficial if you manage to find a legitimate poster who will pay you a reasonable wage, but I find so many freelancers are so desperate to find work that they'll bust their butts for a significantly lower wage than the work merits. I would even say volunteering or unpaid internships are more worth your time than cheap clients. At least when you're volunteering, it's understood that you're there to learn and gain experience; when clients offer you peanuts to do a time consuming job, they're acknowledging you're good enough to do the job, but they're also acknowledging that they don't feel your time is worth a living wage.
