Katharine W.
About me
| Katharine W. | |
| English and Related Literature | |
| English | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2014 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Editorial assistant | |
| Bauer Media | |
| United Kingdom | |
| 2014 |
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A day in the life of a Editorial assistant in the United Kingdom
My advice to students considering work
Say yes to everything and do as much as you can while you're still at university. There are so many amazing opportunities available to you while you're there that will put you in a great position in the job market, that may not be as easy to access in the future. Don't panic too much about fitting it all in - just start by making yourself busy and signing up to a variety of things you're interested in and you'll often find you have plenty of time and your buzzing schedule makes you actually more productive - and wonderfully smug!
My advice about working in my industry
First off, get involved in all that wonderful student media that's on your doorstep - make the most of being at what I think is the best university for media in the country. But don't just limit yourself to writing for the one publication for all three years. Try out radio, TV or a bit of PR work. See if you can get some work experience with one of the great publications in the city or lend a hand with a local organisation, doing admin or fundraising work. Being able to turn your hand to all sorts of things not only makes you more employable - it also gives you more choice in your career, opening up all sorts of new opportunities and job paths. No experience will ever be a wasted experience and you never know where it'll lead- the best thing to do is just go for it.
Contacting me
Happy to answer questions on getting into media, making the most of university careers-wise and the application/interview process for a media job
What I do
I work under the news team for Yours magazine which means I suggest ideas for and then research and write news features for both our magazine and our website. I mainly write real-life stories, entertainment updates, investigative pieces, opinion features and some celebrity features.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Extracurricular skills:
Communication is the main one. In my writing, I obviously need to try and communicate information and advice as understandably and concisely as possible, as well as making it interesting to read (so that people want to read what I've written). I also receive hundreds of emails and dozens of phone calls every day so I have to be good at listening and thinking on my feet as well as comfortable speaking to all sorts of people.
Being organised also plays a big part in that - and keeping on top of that inbox.
What I like most
The good old variety of it! My days are never the same as I'm always getting stuck into a brand new topic to write about - which means I learn an awful lot everyday too. I also love how many different people I get to talk to as part of my work every day- from PRs pitching me a story, to the inspiring people I'm interviewing for a story, to readers who simply ring me up to tell me how much they enjoy the magazine- which is always lovely!
What I like least
With so much variety and so many different jobs to get stuck into, sometimes it can be hard to juggle everything and you can feel guilty about neglecting a certain aspect of your work for a time while you work on something else. The beauty of publishing today is that the Internet means you there are no limits to what and indeed how much you can do, which is great, but this also means that you never really get that 'job-done' feeling- there's always more you can do.
What surprised me most
How much responsibility I'd be given right from the off. It's such a privilege to be able to share information with such a huge number of readers, many of whom act on or are inspired and motivated by what you say.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Katharine’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Katharine a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Katharine to be your mentor.