You’ve gone to several informational interviews, you’ve cold called people and you’ve sat down to more informational interviews. Great. But don’t forget the art of the follow-up.
Sure you probably remember to send a thank you e-mail or hand written note, immediately following the meeting. You might keep it short and polite, while rehashing at least one piece of helpful information the person shared. But there is more to following up than a few lines scribbled on a page.
When I started job searching here in St. Louis, before going full-time freelance, I went on once informational interview that offered one surprising tidbit of information. The woman, who worked in PR for a major company in the city, said she was surprised at the lack of follow-up with people she has sat down with. She told me, “If I say, ‘update me in a few weeks to let me know how the search is going,’ I’m not just being nice. I’d like to know how you’ve progressed.”
According to this person, many people she has met with tend to drop off the planet entirely, or may resurrect only to ask if they have any leads six months down the line. Not good!
If a contact tells you to keep them informed, do so. Shoot them a short note after you’ve met with a contact they gave you. E-mail when you have an interview lined up with a company they are familiar with and ask for a piece of advice. Or if you have nothing significant to report write that.
This is not to say badger the person. But you want to put yourself in the forefront of their mind every once in a while. They might never respond to you or they might shoot back one line. But there is that off chance that they heard of an opening that day and because you sent an e-mail the contact has now submitted your name to the applicant pool.
You’ll be able to judge how often to contact a source by the words they write and the way they respond. If you simply get a ‘nice to hear from you’ response without signature, don’t spend your time write that contact often. If several lines of encouragement and advice, make sure to go back to that person.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Fall of Traditional Journalism - Get Over It
Every day some newspaper columnist or blogger writes about the great tragedy in traditional journalism falling by the wayside. J schools are at wits end. The administrators don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to impart traditional journalism values on the social media age.
I have a suggest. Get over it and figure out how to tweak the current model.
Whether we like to admit it or not. Journalism has changed in the last 10 years. But unfortunately most J schools have not. I graduated from college only a few years ago and my journalism degree is the perfect example of an ‘epic fail.’
Ok, well maybe not epic. I learned a lot in the four years I spent at Marquette. The teachers were dedicated to the students. I landed internships and jobs as a result of the connections the school had. I figured out how to write quality content in a short time frame. And honestly, my writing improved exponentially in those four years.
Then I hit the work force and I realized there were a number of things missing in my education. I never learned how to write an article for the web - fail! No one told me to start a blog or website to showcase my writing - fail! And social media? It was a thing that ‘the kids’ did to procrastinate, not a writing tool.
We learned just how small the journalism community is, with numerous stories from our professors about that one person who plagiarized and ruined a career in the field forever. (Saw it first hand too.) But no one told us that as a writer we needed to establish our presence.
So instead of bemoaning how everything is so different now and the loss of traditional journalism, schools need to tweak the system. Teach the current students the importance of ethical, fair and balanced reporting. Teach them the importance of meeting deadlines. Teach them how to craft short witty sentences, catchy headlines and where to place quotes. And teach them about web writing, blogging, tweeting, rss feeds, etc...
If these traditional values are going to last through this high tech era we need to teach writers how to incorporate the new with the old. We still need the old-school values; but they can fit with the new journalism model.
I have a suggest. Get over it and figure out how to tweak the current model.
Whether we like to admit it or not. Journalism has changed in the last 10 years. But unfortunately most J schools have not. I graduated from college only a few years ago and my journalism degree is the perfect example of an ‘epic fail.’
Ok, well maybe not epic. I learned a lot in the four years I spent at Marquette. The teachers were dedicated to the students. I landed internships and jobs as a result of the connections the school had. I figured out how to write quality content in a short time frame. And honestly, my writing improved exponentially in those four years.
Then I hit the work force and I realized there were a number of things missing in my education. I never learned how to write an article for the web - fail! No one told me to start a blog or website to showcase my writing - fail! And social media? It was a thing that ‘the kids’ did to procrastinate, not a writing tool.
We learned just how small the journalism community is, with numerous stories from our professors about that one person who plagiarized and ruined a career in the field forever. (Saw it first hand too.) But no one told us that as a writer we needed to establish our presence.
So instead of bemoaning how everything is so different now and the loss of traditional journalism, schools need to tweak the system. Teach the current students the importance of ethical, fair and balanced reporting. Teach them the importance of meeting deadlines. Teach them how to craft short witty sentences, catchy headlines and where to place quotes. And teach them about web writing, blogging, tweeting, rss feeds, etc...
If these traditional values are going to last through this high tech era we need to teach writers how to incorporate the new with the old. We still need the old-school values; but they can fit with the new journalism model.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday Feature: Fashion Bloggers
I’ve spent the morning looking at different fashion blogs - a secret obsession of mine.
To be honest, some of them are ridiculous. They exist to show off the bloggers hugely overfilled wardrobe, for which the probably paid thousands of dollars and have huge credit card bills. But there are a couple sites out there that are a real inspiration.
I interviewed Othalia, founder of the LookBook, a couple months ago for SparkleShelf. This amazing blogger finds the cheap version of the expensive styles we all love. She puts the price and a link to the site of where to find the item. Plus she doesn’t just slap the images up on the site, she artfully places them on the page.
Jessica writes the blog What I Wore. As the title suggests, she documents what she wears daily. So it is a little depressing to see all the clothes she has, but this girl is an inspiration for mixing, matching and coordinating outfits. I love her use of bold colors and the occasional eccentric accent piece.
Karla of Karla’s Closet is similar to What I Wore, only she dresses like a runway model on a daily basis. As a fan of black clothing, I love how she uses black as the basis to nearly every outfit.
These blogs make me want to start my own fashion-centered site. Ha. Well, maybe someday.
To be honest, some of them are ridiculous. They exist to show off the bloggers hugely overfilled wardrobe, for which the probably paid thousands of dollars and have huge credit card bills. But there are a couple sites out there that are a real inspiration.
I interviewed Othalia, founder of the LookBook, a couple months ago for SparkleShelf. This amazing blogger finds the cheap version of the expensive styles we all love. She puts the price and a link to the site of where to find the item. Plus she doesn’t just slap the images up on the site, she artfully places them on the page.
Jessica writes the blog What I Wore. As the title suggests, she documents what she wears daily. So it is a little depressing to see all the clothes she has, but this girl is an inspiration for mixing, matching and coordinating outfits. I love her use of bold colors and the occasional eccentric accent piece.
Karla of Karla’s Closet is similar to What I Wore, only she dresses like a runway model on a daily basis. As a fan of black clothing, I love how she uses black as the basis to nearly every outfit.
These blogs make me want to start my own fashion-centered site. Ha. Well, maybe someday.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
When Freelancers Flake Out We All Suffer
I need to cultivate a list of talented freelance writers for two of the publications I edit. Finding freelancers who think they can do the job, usually no matter their background or writing experience, is easy. Finding real writers who understand the freelancing world is more challenging.
Last week for probably the 10th time since I started editing these pubs I had a writer disappear off the face of the planet. She got an assignment from me, confirmed it worked for her and the deadline wasn’t too tight. I marked it on the white board as an article in the works and forgot about it till the deadline date.
But the day came and went. I gave the writer the benefit of the doubt, waited a day and shot her an e-mail asking about the status of the article. In response I got NOTHING. I waited another week, prodded again stressing the need to get the article as it was supposed to go in the mag that will print in a couple weeks. Still not a thing.
Now you might say why not call her, badger the writer until I get a response and the article? But it’s not worth it. I’ll fill the space with something else I’ve got sitting around and assign the story out to someone else. I’m not going to waste my time tracking down a freelancer.
But now that this has happened several times it got me thinking about freelancers. There are many of us who are serious, hard-working individuals. We pitch ideas, stick to deadlines and work our tails off to meet an editors requirements. Then there are others who give all of us a bad name. Sure, my work ethic proves that I’m a damn good writer/editor. But once a pub has been burned by a freelancer they will automatically be hesitant in using another freelancer.
And to those freelancers who are either too embarrassed to say they didn’t get the story finished or they didn’t want it in the first place - you are just messing up your own writing career. Maybe you don’t think ignoring me is a big deal. And I’m not that big of a deal to think so. But I do write and edit for a number of publications. I control who writes what for three publications. So now that is three publications you won’t be able to write for in the future. And since journalism really is such a small industry, my fellow editors in the industry may also know your name too, from my concerned rants about missing copy. You’re burning bridges before you can even finish building them.
Last week for probably the 10th time since I started editing these pubs I had a writer disappear off the face of the planet. She got an assignment from me, confirmed it worked for her and the deadline wasn’t too tight. I marked it on the white board as an article in the works and forgot about it till the deadline date.
But the day came and went. I gave the writer the benefit of the doubt, waited a day and shot her an e-mail asking about the status of the article. In response I got NOTHING. I waited another week, prodded again stressing the need to get the article as it was supposed to go in the mag that will print in a couple weeks. Still not a thing.
Now you might say why not call her, badger the writer until I get a response and the article? But it’s not worth it. I’ll fill the space with something else I’ve got sitting around and assign the story out to someone else. I’m not going to waste my time tracking down a freelancer.
But now that this has happened several times it got me thinking about freelancers. There are many of us who are serious, hard-working individuals. We pitch ideas, stick to deadlines and work our tails off to meet an editors requirements. Then there are others who give all of us a bad name. Sure, my work ethic proves that I’m a damn good writer/editor. But once a pub has been burned by a freelancer they will automatically be hesitant in using another freelancer.
And to those freelancers who are either too embarrassed to say they didn’t get the story finished or they didn’t want it in the first place - you are just messing up your own writing career. Maybe you don’t think ignoring me is a big deal. And I’m not that big of a deal to think so. But I do write and edit for a number of publications. I control who writes what for three publications. So now that is three publications you won’t be able to write for in the future. And since journalism really is such a small industry, my fellow editors in the industry may also know your name too, from my concerned rants about missing copy. You’re burning bridges before you can even finish building them.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Network Like You Mean It (Part 2)
So you’ve contacted the people that you know and sat down with them for a brief chat about the state of the job market, where to find leads and who to contact. Now you’ve got a list of new contacts. (If you met with 5 people, you should have between 15 and 20 new contacts.)
Now comes the hard part. You need to do a little cold-calling or cold-e-mailing. Contact the person and tell them who your connection was, what you are doing and would they have 10 minutes to spare you. Try something like this:
Hi TKTK my name’s KT and ABC suggested I give you a call. I’m a recent graduate and am trying to touch base with professionals in the industry who can offer me advice for my job search and the current market.
Again, keep it short and to the point. If e-mailing, do not send along your resume, clips, etc... That’s what the meeting is for. You don’t want to inundate them with information and lengthly messages.
When you have the informational interview with these people approach it as you did with the first group. Also, don’t leave until you get 3 more contacts from this new person. That way each informational interview you have will add to your list of names and, more importantly, it will get your name out into the market place.
Sidenote: I forgot to mention this in the first post, but when you get home from one of these meetings, write down anything important/useful that was said on the looseleaf page with your contact’s name at the top.
Now comes the hard part. You need to do a little cold-calling or cold-e-mailing. Contact the person and tell them who your connection was, what you are doing and would they have 10 minutes to spare you. Try something like this:
Hi TKTK my name’s KT and ABC suggested I give you a call. I’m a recent graduate and am trying to touch base with professionals in the industry who can offer me advice for my job search and the current market.
Again, keep it short and to the point. If e-mailing, do not send along your resume, clips, etc... That’s what the meeting is for. You don’t want to inundate them with information and lengthly messages.
When you have the informational interview with these people approach it as you did with the first group. Also, don’t leave until you get 3 more contacts from this new person. That way each informational interview you have will add to your list of names and, more importantly, it will get your name out into the market place.
Sidenote: I forgot to mention this in the first post, but when you get home from one of these meetings, write down anything important/useful that was said on the looseleaf page with your contact’s name at the top.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Wordcount Experiment.
I know this is kind of a silly experiment to do. It accomplishes nothing of any worth other than to satisfy my curiosity. But still, yesterday I counted every word I typed for the articles, e-mails, blog entries, twitter, facebook and a short story I’m writing for my sister. (I did not go so far as to count google searches, e-mail subject lines or blackberry e-mails/texts.)
I hit 3,000 words by noon, which is one of the deadlines I work with on a daily basis for the real estate publication. But then I needed to leave my computer from 1:30 till 8:00pm, so work sat till the end of the night and I started the writing again. As a result I did not get to every assignment I had planned to work on, so the number might have been higher if I hadn’t left.
In total yesterday I typed 7,301 words. This total surprised me especially after the 6 hour hiatus. Before I started the experiment, I thought for sure I’d be nearer 4,500 words for the entire day.
The break down:
E-mail: 3,346 words
Short Story: 2,077 words
Articles: 793 words
Twitter: 556 words
Blog: 320 words
Facebook: 209 words
Writers, do you have any idea how much you type in an average day? I bet the total will surprise you.
I hit 3,000 words by noon, which is one of the deadlines I work with on a daily basis for the real estate publication. But then I needed to leave my computer from 1:30 till 8:00pm, so work sat till the end of the night and I started the writing again. As a result I did not get to every assignment I had planned to work on, so the number might have been higher if I hadn’t left.
In total yesterday I typed 7,301 words. This total surprised me especially after the 6 hour hiatus. Before I started the experiment, I thought for sure I’d be nearer 4,500 words for the entire day.
The break down:
E-mail: 3,346 words
Short Story: 2,077 words
Articles: 793 words
Twitter: 556 words
Blog: 320 words
Facebook: 209 words
Writers, do you have any idea how much you type in an average day? I bet the total will surprise you.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Network Like You Mean It (Part 1)
All you recent grads, job searchers, or freelancers looking for your next gig - you’ve got to network like it’s your job. Because, to be honest, it kinda is.
You are NOT going to get hired through all those job sites. Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder - they are all the same. Does that mean they are useless? No. I’ll explain why in a couple days.
For now, the first step to networking is compiling your list of contacts.
I suggest you get a binder and a pack of loose leaf. On each page write the name of a contact you have personally in the business. (Every name gets a different page.) These should be people you know. Think professors, internship coordinators, summer job bosses, etc...
Below each name add the contact information. The person’s phone number (work, cell, home) and his/her e-mail address.
Then take the dive and call up each person on your list. Ask for an in-person informational interview. Tell him/her that you are looking for a job and you’d like to pick his/her brain about the job market and the industry. Make it sound like you believe he/she is the expert. Ask for just 10 minutes.
Go to the informational interview, as if it were a real interview. Prepare questions ahead of time. Do not show up in your jeans and scrubby t-shirt. Take your resume, clips, business card, etc... Thank your contact for the time, ask your questions and listen to the advice given. Keep it to the promised 10 minutes!
At the end - and this is the MOST important part - ask the person for 3 new contacts. When you get home add the new connections to a fresh sheet of loose leaf. Note the person’s contact information and add the person’s name who connected you.
You are NOT going to get hired through all those job sites. Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder - they are all the same. Does that mean they are useless? No. I’ll explain why in a couple days.
For now, the first step to networking is compiling your list of contacts.
I suggest you get a binder and a pack of loose leaf. On each page write the name of a contact you have personally in the business. (Every name gets a different page.) These should be people you know. Think professors, internship coordinators, summer job bosses, etc...
Below each name add the contact information. The person’s phone number (work, cell, home) and his/her e-mail address.
Then take the dive and call up each person on your list. Ask for an in-person informational interview. Tell him/her that you are looking for a job and you’d like to pick his/her brain about the job market and the industry. Make it sound like you believe he/she is the expert. Ask for just 10 minutes.
Go to the informational interview, as if it were a real interview. Prepare questions ahead of time. Do not show up in your jeans and scrubby t-shirt. Take your resume, clips, business card, etc... Thank your contact for the time, ask your questions and listen to the advice given. Keep it to the promised 10 minutes!
At the end - and this is the MOST important part - ask the person for 3 new contacts. When you get home add the new connections to a fresh sheet of loose leaf. Note the person’s contact information and add the person’s name who connected you.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Word Count
A couple of the people that I follow on Twitter - mostly fellow novel-writer wannabes - post daily updates of how many words they have written. The first couple times I say the tweets (things like 'The muse is working overtime I've written 2,329 words today,") I was impressed with their ability to write so much in a given day.
I worked a little on a short story over the weekend and charted 3,000 words on Saturday evening. When it comes to writing a book 2,000 or 3,000 words in a single sitting can be impressive, especially if you aren't feeling very creative.
But then I got to thinking about my normal day. How many words do I write on any random Monday? Most days I pen: 2 or 3 real estate articles, 1 Write Beyond the Cubicle entry, 1 beauty blog entry, 3 to 5 articles for the teen publication, endless tweets for my personal account (@hinder) and two different work accounts, dozens of e-mails from 4 different accounts, and of course the short stories I pen for fun and the novel I'm writing for real.
How much does all that amount to? Stay tuned! I'm going to be counting every word I write tomorrow and then blogging (tuesday morning) what the total word count is for the day.
Have any of you counted to words you type in a given day? What's your estimate?
I worked a little on a short story over the weekend and charted 3,000 words on Saturday evening. When it comes to writing a book 2,000 or 3,000 words in a single sitting can be impressive, especially if you aren't feeling very creative.
But then I got to thinking about my normal day. How many words do I write on any random Monday? Most days I pen: 2 or 3 real estate articles, 1 Write Beyond the Cubicle entry, 1 beauty blog entry, 3 to 5 articles for the teen publication, endless tweets for my personal account (@hinder) and two different work accounts, dozens of e-mails from 4 different accounts, and of course the short stories I pen for fun and the novel I'm writing for real.
How much does all that amount to? Stay tuned! I'm going to be counting every word I write tomorrow and then blogging (tuesday morning) what the total word count is for the day.
Have any of you counted to words you type in a given day? What's your estimate?
Saturday, May 2, 2009
May's Blogathon - I'm In
I added my name to the list of writers who are going to try and blog every day in May for the second annual WordCount blogathon. The writing experiment is being hosted by Michelle Rafter on her blog.
As much as I write - not a day goes by where I don't type out at least 1,000 words - I think this is going to be a challenge. During the work week there are a lot of things I contemplate writing about for the blog and since I am 'forced' to sit in front of the computer working on assignments, it's easy to find a couple minutes to create a post. But the weekends... Now that's a whole other story.
But just like anything in our world - to improve you've got to keep working on it. So here's to the May experiment... if I can make it through the weekends I'm golden.
As much as I write - not a day goes by where I don't type out at least 1,000 words - I think this is going to be a challenge. During the work week there are a lot of things I contemplate writing about for the blog and since I am 'forced' to sit in front of the computer working on assignments, it's easy to find a couple minutes to create a post. But the weekends... Now that's a whole other story.
But just like anything in our world - to improve you've got to keep working on it. So here's to the May experiment... if I can make it through the weekends I'm golden.
Friday, May 1, 2009
An Open Letter to the PR Community
Dear PR Professionals,
Thank you for all you do. You help to make the life of a journalist a little less stressful - most of the time. I just have one small favor to ask of you. Could you be more aware of who you are sending your releases to?
I appreciate the news you send, but when an e-mail from you pops into my inbox about a topic I don’t cover I begin to wonder. And when you do this repeatedly I know that you don’t care enough to take the time.
For example, let’s say I cover commercial real estate news (which I do). I don’t need your releases on how to avoid swine flu, the latest fight dads are undergoing for child custody or the newest technology tool for the car stereo. These are so far from what I write about I don’t even bother to read your text. I delete immediately.
There are other times when your release appears to be more on track - although it is still missing the point. I also do not need to talk to a lawyer about the single-family home market. I also don’t want to read the latest book on 100 easy ways to get your house ready to sell. In case you didn’t know homes are not considered commercial real estate.
And for the record it is not just the real estate PR professionals that do this. For the teen magazine I work for I get e-mail releases on the latest toilets, the places to go on your honeymoon, and the how-to book for raising a teenager. While it is true, someday the audience will be having kids and going on vacation. And yes, they do use the bathroom daily - it is not something we would ever cover in the magazine.
If you’d be so kind as to refrain from sending me the releases that make no sense, I am sure we could work together better on the ones that are right up my alley.
And thanks again for all you do. It really does help and the journalists are grateful.
Sincerely,
KT
Thank you for all you do. You help to make the life of a journalist a little less stressful - most of the time. I just have one small favor to ask of you. Could you be more aware of who you are sending your releases to?
I appreciate the news you send, but when an e-mail from you pops into my inbox about a topic I don’t cover I begin to wonder. And when you do this repeatedly I know that you don’t care enough to take the time.
For example, let’s say I cover commercial real estate news (which I do). I don’t need your releases on how to avoid swine flu, the latest fight dads are undergoing for child custody or the newest technology tool for the car stereo. These are so far from what I write about I don’t even bother to read your text. I delete immediately.
There are other times when your release appears to be more on track - although it is still missing the point. I also do not need to talk to a lawyer about the single-family home market. I also don’t want to read the latest book on 100 easy ways to get your house ready to sell. In case you didn’t know homes are not considered commercial real estate.
And for the record it is not just the real estate PR professionals that do this. For the teen magazine I work for I get e-mail releases on the latest toilets, the places to go on your honeymoon, and the how-to book for raising a teenager. While it is true, someday the audience will be having kids and going on vacation. And yes, they do use the bathroom daily - it is not something we would ever cover in the magazine.
If you’d be so kind as to refrain from sending me the releases that make no sense, I am sure we could work together better on the ones that are right up my alley.
And thanks again for all you do. It really does help and the journalists are grateful.
Sincerely,
KT
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