A week of journalism How to move between print and online

A week of journalism How to move between print and online One of the biggest issues for writers today is how to move between print and online. The issue is really authority. For print people, moving online is difficult because their established offline authority has relatively little meaning online. Conversely people who are mostly online understand that there is a much more structured way to earn authority offline, and they want to feel they are respected in that way. In both cases, the way to get to the other side is, first and foremost, to care about the other side in a way that is deeper than prestige and self-preservation. Theres advice here for online writers first, print writers second, and everyone who isnt a writer and worries about the length of this too-long-to-be-a-post post can skip to the last two paragraphs. Here are three ways for people to move from online to print: 1. Understand that its about paying dues. And surely you know what I think about paying dues. But you need to work your way up in the print world. Even if youre great. Sure, there are exceptions, but not so many that you should build a career plan based on them. So if you are doing a lot of work you dont like doing, and a lot of work youre not really learning from, you might be on a solid path toward an essay in the New Yorker. 2. Write all the time and expect to be rejected all the time. You absolutely have to believe that you are a good writer. You must believe this independently of what the rejection slips tell you. Or there is no way to go on. You also absolutely must figure out what you are good at, and this will make rejections in other areas not hurt so much. No one is good at everything. Very few people really are essayists. Very few are columnists. Very few people give good advice about sex. Fortunately there are lots of different specialties. Figure out whats right for you. Some people can write for Maxim and some can write for The Atlantic. Few can write for both, but both take talent. 3. Learn the rules. You have to know how to write a good query. Just stop everything youre doing and learn how to write one. And have someone you trust review your queries at the beginning. Good resources for this are Media Bistros How to Pitch section, and the classes for writing queries at Freelance Success. The rules for print are arcane. How to get a column is arcane. Mostly, you cant ask for one an editor asks you. How to get syndicated is arcane. (But here is some advice on that anyway.) The only thing that is not arcane is the rule that people hire who they like. Its true in every industry and publishing is no different. So get to know editors if you want writing assignments. Soul search tip: Ask yourself why you want the prestige of writing for a big-name publication. Prestige is not an end in itself. It doesnt change who you are, and it doesnt change how good (or not-so-good) your writing is. Sure, prestige opens doors, but what door do you want to walk through? And why? Because maybe you dont actually need that particular type of prestige to get where you want to go. Here are three ways for people to move from print to online: 1. Get a voice and have opinions. The world does not need another Associated Press. We already have it. So making a name for yourself online is not going to be about duplicating the reporting that the AP is doing just fine. Online success will be something different. It will be about taking a stand. Even if it turns out to be wrong, just take one. This means you have to unlearn all that impartiality. 2. Get off your print pedestal. Writing online doesnt mean taking all the stuff that the New Yorker rejected and pasting it into blog software. Writing online means genuinely responding to the community youre talking to. If you just want to write then moving online is not for you. Because print is about writing from authority and everyone listens. Online is about establishing your authority and having conversations, and people dis you. Also, be careful whom you emulate. Some people leveraging huge offline brands to move online are not necessarily the online writers you want to emulate. Malcolm Gladwell, for example, is not part of a conversation. He is a great print journalist posting his stuff online. Seth Godin is not having conversation. He doesnt even accept comments. He is an extremely highly paid public speaker who writes an online diary. You have to think about where you fit in this new world. And how you want to be. Its not just writing. Its a discussion, and there are a lot of different ways you can talk. 3. Educate yourself. Constantly. The video titled The Machine is Us/ing Us is one of the most enthralling things I have seen about writing online. It has been viewed 2 million times and 5000 people left comments. This video shows what writing online is and what it will be and where we fit. I have watched this video fifteen times, and each time I learn something new. Many of you will understand almost nothing of this video when you watch it the first time. But if you watch it, and then you read blogs, and you read your news online for a few weeks, and you set up a Google alert system, and then an RSS feed. And after each of those actions, you look at the video again, you will understand a lot. Soul search tip: I know this sounds like tons of work. But if you really want to move your print career online, this is the work you have to do. Are you totally annoyed to hear this? Its okay to not want to learn about how information is spewed and sifted online. Maybe its not that interesting to you. But then be honest with yourself: If you dont get excited about learning about it, why would you want to be a part of it? Think about other career options that get you really excited about learning. And you know what? This is career advice that applies to everyone, in any career. You need to love learning and exploring in the career you choose. Or else what are you doing there? And you need to be going after something bigger than prestige. If nothing else, we know its inherently unsatisfying. So find what you love to learn about, and find what youre great at doing, and see where they intersect. Thats where your career potential is strongest. Other posts from A Week in Journalism series: How to be a freelance writer without starving Why journalists misquote everyone (and how I met my husband) Seven ways to get an agents attention (by my agent, Susan Rabiner)

Taking Care of Your Appearance Might Get You That Promotion

Taking Care of Your Appearance Might Get You That Promotion As much as we might hate to admit it we all make split-second decisions about people based on how they look. It’s not nice and it might not be right, but it’s a part of our brains sub-conscious that helps us to easily decide if someone is part of our tribe and whether we should be scared of them.Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comAs hard as we try, we’ll always have this instinctual reaction.Take a look around the company that you work for. Nine times out of ten the people higher up the career ladder are relatively attractive or they dress well and present the best version of themselves. Now look just one step down at the middle management. Do you see anybody there dressing this well? Probably not quite as many and you’ll definitely see a few with wrinkled shirts, ill-groomed hair and bad ties.evalThose executives at the top didn’t only start looking that way when they got to the top, they looked that way in the interview that got them that job. Once you reach the higher levels of any company you’ll be working far more with other executives and clients. When you’re doing this kind of work you’re representing the company and you need to have a certain look.Hopefully this hasn’t depressed you and it really shouldn’t have, because the good news is that there’s a lot that you can do to improve your appearance. While genetics do play a part, the effort that you put into your appearance can easily overshadow any genetic luck that your competitors Finally, even if you work in a casual office you should never be wearing anything less than a shirt. Wearing a shirt doesn’t make you ‘owned by the man, dude’ it just makes you look like an adult rather than a teenager. If you want that promotion then you need to look like you deserve it because the reality of the corporate world is that regardless of how good your work is, you’ll get passed over unless you tick the rest of the boxes.2. Don’t Forget to Groom YourselfHave you ever heard the phrase; “ Just because you see a white crow it doesn’t mean the rest aren’t black”?Just because you see one of your managers with a beard it doesn’t mean that it’s professional. Facial hair has never been and almost certainly will never be consider professional. Unless you’re keeping it as part of a religious code you need to shave tonight.When you do get that promotion you’ll be going on business trips and so you’ll want to take an electric shaver with you that will keep you looking professional without all the hassle.evalI’ve been asked the question about stubble plenty of times before and my answer is always the same, stubble is for the weekend and for party time. Facial hair has no place in the office. Period.I love a beard just as much as the next man and I’m far lazier, I assure you, but play with the rules of the game if you want to be crowned the winner.Secondly, trim your eyebrows. This one’s not just for the girls either! This doesn’t mean you need to shape t hem, just shave the hair between your brows and above them so that you look presentable.Similarly, cut your nails and get a haircut. It’s these small grooming changes that will make all the difference in how you look and the most annoying part to me is that they aren’t even difficult. It’ll take you 5-minutes to groom yourself each week and it’ll make you standout and look like you deserve the promotion.ConclusionIt might seem like an over simplification but that’s because it can really be that simple but when attractive people get paid 4% more than average, you literally can’t afford to ignore it. Improving your appearance in the office is about dressing for the job you want, rather than the job that you have and that will mean making changes.Fortunately, dressing better has the added benefit of making you feel better about yourself and when you feel better about yourself you’re likely to work better to. See, fashion and style isn’t all artsy, it has some real-world applications too!

Are you impeding your own job search - Hire Imaging

Are you impeding your own job search - Hire Imaging There’s a reason for the adage that job search is a job. It’s hard work. I’ve seen many folks whose search “stuckness” is often aligned with their own self-defeating behavior patterns.   Many of my clients have had their own stories of this. Sometimes they weren’t even aware of these sabotaging behaviors; sometimes they were quite frankly, in denial. In no particular order, common self-defeating behavior patterns in life show up as: Procrastination Not listening Always being right and wanting control Blaming others instead of accepting accountability for mistakes Needing to be perfect or obsessing Holding grudges Making excuses for failure to show up, follow through Playing the victim or martyr Rejecting help or refusing to ask for it The list goes on. I’m not a mental health professional. I’m speaking from the perspective of a career coach who’s worked with job seekers for 30 years. How have I seen some of these self-defeating patterns manifest in the job search? Not sending the information that employers ask for (too little or too much) Not following up with opportunities as soon as they are made available Making excuses or downplaying value when they should be selling themselves Not listening to those around them: leads, networking contacts, champions, experts etc. Not getting past being “wronged” (terminated or other) Being late for interviews or meetings Not completing crucial field work on time or at all Spending time in doing what’s “safe”, i.e. sitting at the computer blasting out resumes to advertised openings Not exploring what they want but marketing to that questionable goal anyway Any of these and others I’ve not mentioned can hamper the job search. What I find interesting is that very often people really do want to succeed, are genuinely willing to put forth the effort, and even seem to be “busy and engaged” in the search. But something’s “off”; not quite right; missing. You do have power here As Dr. Phil says, “You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.” Self-defeating behaviors can often be corrected; but first you have to figure out their source. Most of us have one or more forms of self-defeating behaviors. It’s not as ominous as it sounds, and it’s really fairly widespread among job seekers. We get in our own way, we’re not sure why or how. Sometimes it’s lack of knowledge, and sometimes other priorities in our lives interfere. Let’s face it’; a strategic job search campaign  demands multifaceted to-dos. You’re going to slip up from time to time.  However, if you repeatedly fall short of where you feel you should be, it may be one of three areas I see as frequent “roots” with my clients’ foiling behaviors. You never had to look before Have you in all honesty, been negligent in your search? Perhaps you’ve always been approached by others; had the jobs come to youâ€"until now. You never had to exert effortâ€"till now. Perhaps even though not logically, you are unconsciously expecting the same again. Can you take more initiative? Generating and following up on leads, doing research, and contacting people    may be new frontier, but it’s essential. If you get approached again out of the blue, great! Don’t put your eggs in that basket. You may not know what you want Consider that if you’ve been casual and inattentive to details in your search, perhaps you’re walking down the wrong pathâ€"or no path. Is your uncertainty about what you want possibly reflected in your lack of follow-through and your off-the-cuff attitude? Or perhaps you want what you had. You can’t let go. People don’t sabotage themselves unless there’s a triggering reason. A person who is excited about his/her job goal will often follow through with enthusiasm. If you are letting things slip, examine your motivation. If you explore different career goals, does your self-defeating behavior change? If so, maybe you are on that better path. You may be unsure about winning This may sound ridiculous; but it’s not uncommon for people to fail to act because then they won’t risk failure. “People will reject me and say, ‘no’.” Sometimes they’re even scared of success. “If I get there, then what’s expected?” Being late for appointments, not calling people back, not jumping on an opportunity can all be signs of a self-defeating mindset and behavior. The job search can be scary and overwhelming. It’s driven by cold cyberspace, peppered with bombarded media bursts on statistics and conflicting facts about the job market, and this is important many job seekers get bad advice or none at all. If you feel unsure about your job search  or suspect that you have behaviors that may be limiting your success, consider engaging a career coach or counselor who can help you get unstuck. Photo: sam

Writing a 140 Character Resume

Writing a 140 Character ResumeWriting a 140 character resume is no easy task, especially if you have never done it before. There are many pitfalls you need to watch out for when writing a unique resume and once you get through them you will find your resume on the first page of the recruiter's inbox.The first thing you need to do is make sure that your resume is not very long and you do not waste space with large or unnecessary headers. Always follow the business rule of three headers and write down your contact information like company name, contact number, and web page URL so that you can easily refer to it later.Writing a one page resume is the best way to start. Make sure that you include all the pertinent information about your experience and qualifications on your resume. Write only your job title, job description, and details about how you joined the company.Next, put your most critical sections like your education, awards, work history, etc. This gives your potential employer enough information to decide if he should call you back or not.References are very important, just do not include them in your resume unless you really need to. Also, do not list your references' names as their names must be included in the job description, so that the recruiter does not get confused with which person to call first.Summary is the best way to summarize what your resume is all about. Answering the following questions and giving the recruiter a clear picture of your skills and experience is the key to getting that first call from the recruiting company.When writing a resume, you need to keep in mind that you want to impress your future employer and prove that you are capable to do the job. A well-written, impressive resume shows you have all the qualities your recruiteris looking for in the best job.