From A Physics College Degree To A Writer For Stay-at-home Moms
I have been freelancing for about two years, mostly writing about issues that are
of importance to stay- at- home moms and on the topic of children's TV. I found these positions online. I searched for a few months before I found positions I was interested in, and the time between my applying and my acceptance was about 6 weeks for each. This is a career change for me- my degree is in Physics. I worked in that field for a number of years, but decided that ultimately I wanted to write.
When I began searching for writing positions, I really didn't know where to start. When I was in college, most writing jobs were found by perusing the submissions page of whatever magazine or newspaper you wanted to write for. Now it's all mostly done online. There are many sites that list writing opportunities, and to apply for many of these positions you need to be proficient at using certain internet tools. When actually applying for jobs, I had to learn how to upload my resume and writing samples.
Some systems require that you type a writing sample directly into the application, and you have to learn how to edit your work in the program before you submit. I found that it was important to have a presence on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter because when applying, I needed to link my pages to my application so that they could access this information, and so they would know that I was "connected". I don't think I'd have gotten the job if I hadn't had these important contacts, because every article I publish comes with the option or suggestion to link to Facebook or Twitter to better promote the article.
Based on the experiences I've had freelancing, if I were applying for this position with a new company, I would make sure that all of my social media and personal sites were available to them, so that they could see my work professionally and some of my personal life as well. With writing, personality is a big part of how successful you'll be, so I'd want them to see my personality from the beginning, to know whether I would be a good fit.
I use the internet to keep in contact with other professionals in my field, ordinarily through email, Facebook, and blogging. I have found that keeping up with other writers' blogs has been the most effective at helping me land writing gigs, because many of the things that are advertised are scams. By working with and through personal blogs, you avoid many scam job offers and get to the good ones. You're also usually able to learn what the pay rate is for each job, so you'll know whether or not to even bother submitting your work.
The worst interview I ever had was when I applied for a bank teller position in college. It was horrible because it was very early in the morning, and I knew absolutely nothing about banking- I was just good at math, and I figured that it couldn't be that hard. I was wrong. I arrived a little early for my interview, which I thought would make me look punctual. This should have been a good thing, only I fell asleep in the chair waiting for them to bring me back. Instead of looking ambitious, I looked lazy.
After the interviewer woke me, I groggily followed her into the office, where I was unprepared for many of the questions she asked. After that, there was a math test, which I aced easily, and a practical test, which I failed miserably. I wasn't familiar with banking terminology, nor was I really paying attention when the system was explained- my head was just somewhere else.
At the end of the interview, I could tell that they thought I was a total loser. I was so embarrassed, and I knew I had bombed, so I decided to be straight with them. I told them I figured that this wasn't a good fit for me, and to please not consider me for the position. Through this experience, I learned that you should never stay up all night the day before an interview. I learned that you should always research the company you're applying with because you should be able to converse intelligently with the hiring manager about the company and its goals and how you fit into that picture.
The single most important thing I learned about a professional job search is that you really shouldn't apply for a position if you don't truly want to work there- it's not just about finding a "job". You need to do some research ahead of time to make sure that it's a good fit for you, and that you're a good fit for them.
If I could redo one event from my professional or career past, it would be to have majored in something I loved, not just what I was good at. My parents felt that since I was very academically inclined, I should major in a science. I picked my favorite science, physics, and majored in that. I was very good at physics, but my true passion was and has always been writing.
I wish I had majored in English and perfected my writing earlier; I could have had a writing career much sooner and reached many of my personal goals much easier. It also would have better prepared me to find writing jobs and I would have had a stronger professional network in the writing field.
by: Eric Shanman
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