At the moment, it feels like everyone has a little bit of free time which we don’t quite know what to do with. For some that means some dedicated self-care time, whilst others are distracting themselves from the pandemic with productivity. For many I’ve spoken to, this means using the time to take a few steps further in their career, and I for one have learnt a few things along the way:
1. Bin the word ‘aspiring’: If you’re looking into a career into journalism, or any industry for that matter, boost your self-confidence and believe in yourself a little more. You’re not an aspiring journalist, you are a journalist.
2. Journo Resources is about to become your Bible. Whilst I personally have had my career plans set for a while, I don’t know how I’ve missed this incredible resource, that has all the info I’ve ever needed in one place – from grad schemes to places to pitch to, advice on commissioning or writing awards.
3. Get a Twitter account. This is something else I lasted far too long without, and although it can lead to an endless amount of scrolling, this is where the main bulk of my writing ideas and pitches come from.
4. Network: join Facebook groups, email or even tweet journalists you’re impressed by, and make as many connections as you can. Whether you just meet someone whose paper you want to contribute to, or gain some advice, there’s no harm in making a few friends along the way.
5. JUST WRITE – It honestly feels as if there are an endless amount of publications asking for contributions, providing content calls, or receiving pitches. Although it’s not about paid commissions necessarily, the more writing experience, the better. Doing your research on where you want to write to, finding email addresses to pitch to, and even signing up to free courses or following some Instagram lives, all help your writing, and will lead to you adding to your portfolio. To build a portfolio, plenty of free sites are available (muckrack.com is my personal favourite), or even just starting out with a folder of docs on your laptop will do. Writing is the perfect form of distraction from the current crisis, whilst also allowing you to take a few steps further in your career.
Whilst all these tips have been written from an ‘aspiring’ journo herself, looking back at the last few months in lockdown, it’s incredibly easy to forget how much I’ve learnt myself – from places to pitch to, to my most productive writing time of day. Either way, if there’s one thing I’ve gained from lockdown productivity, its definitely feeling more confident in my writing (as I’ve built my portfolio) and completely trashing that word ‘aspiring’.
Meghna Amin
Tweet to @_meghnaamin
Featured image courtesy of The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash.