5 Ways To Get Noticed and Earn a Full-Time Writing Job - CareerAlley

5 Ways To Get Noticed and Earn a Full-Time Writing Job - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. By: Brittany Behrman Entering the writing field, whether you aim to be a journalist, a copywriter, or a novelist, hasnever been easy, but coupled with a slumped economy, it almost seems impossible to secure alucrative career as a wordsmith. If you have passion and talent, youre already at an advantage,but none of that matters if you have nothing to show for it. Its a vicious cycle: those withoutexperience cant find jobs and finding experience without a job can be incredibly difficult. As a fresh graduate in 2009, equipped with a bachelors degree in journalism and a passionfor writing, I was determined to secure a job in my field. Instead, I spent a year and a halfwaitressing and taking on odd jobs where I could while spamming marketing companies withresume-filled emails. Not until I realized that potential employers didnt want to be told aboutmy love and aptitude for writing, they wanted to be shown, did I earn the opportunity to workas a full-time Creative Copywriter. So how do you let employers see that youre the writer theyve been searching for? Here arethe top 5 ways to show your dedication for writing and create a name for yourself all of thempossible to do while holding a less than desirable day job. Freelance Write articles for every publication you can, as often as you can! In many ways,freelancing looks just as good on a resume as a full-time position does. It not onlyproduces writing samples for you to present to potential employers, it also showsresourcefulness, good time management, and your ability to adapt your writing tomultiple styles. Check out the writing category of craigslist.orgs gig section, sign up for freelancecommunities (like elance.com, textbroker.com, or cloudcrowd.com), pitch your stories topapers and magazines, and email their editors, requesting to be added to their freelancerlist. Often times, online papers will regularly provide their freelancer list with ideas forpotential stories so that you can fill a need they already have. Start small and local withcommunity-specific publications like Patch.com. Cultivate Relationships Network and create strong ties with editors, other writers, and other creative types ingeneral. It often helps to know someone, even when securing freelancing jobs. Build offof the relationships you already have, attend professional networking events in your area,and join local clubs and associations. Staying in contact with other writers might afford you the opportunity to collaboratewith them or accept jobs that theyre unable to take on. Remain accessible to others whoarentin your direct field as well, for example, graphic artists, advertising gurus, etc., andlet them know that they can turn to you when theyre in need of copy for their latestemail blast or to accompany a design. Remember, however, that relationships requiremore than expecting favors without offering your own resources in return. Maintain a Blog and a Social Media Presence Online presence is paramount as a writer seeking employment. Create and regularlyupdate a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blog. Show youre capable of managing socialmedia and display your ability to express ideas concisely in the online space. Write yourpersonal blog as you would write for an employer or assignment dont use it as a placeto rant, but as a place to showcase your talent. Find an Unpaid Outlet for Writing Presence Writing for an online or print zine or other start-up media outlet can be a great wayto exercise your skills. Websites that are just starting out are often looking for writersto build up their content archives in exchange for helping to build your resume; even ifarticles arent always compensated for, you can still send them as published work in yourcollection of samples when you apply to full-time positions. Write, Write, Write A published piece of writing holds a certain clout, but the beauty of being a part of sucha creative field is that its possible to continuously create and improve on your own time. Practice writing as often as possible, even if its with the intention of never showinganyone else your work (stories, articles, poetry, one liners). Youll be improving throughrepetition while creating concepts that may evolve into something worthy of publicationlater. In the moments that you dont have the inspiration to conceive new ideas, go back andcritique your old work and others work. After reading and reviewing other writings,rewrite them using a different style or angle to broaden your skillset. Following these five tips guarantees a skilled, yet not corporately experienced, writer a chance to build their resume and sample portfolio. Take them, use them, and make them your own! If you have additional tips for the unemployed writer or these tips worked for you, please let me know at [emailprotected]! Brittany Behrman began her writing career prior to college graduation reporting for her schools newspaper and contributing to two sponsored blogs. Since earning her B.A. at Rutgers University in Journalism and Media Studies in 2009, she has spent the majority of her time freelancing and bouncing around the job market. In her tireless search for a writing position, she perfected these five tips and is now approaching her one year anniversary writing full-time for the Performance Marketing Agency, DMi Partners, and an education portal for online colleges, eCollegeFinder.org. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook