Kelly McFarland
Ok so this month I thought I’d talk about dream jobs.
I always wanted to be a publicist or a journalist, two completely conflicting careers, I know! In April 2015 I saw a job vacancy on Indeed I think it was ( I’m sure I’ll get corrected if I’m wrong.) It was asking for writers for an entertainment site. I applied. I got the job. Submitted my first article and the creator of the site said they were rebranding, did I fancy sticking around for the rebrand? I did! And I can tell anyone reading this now, it was the best decision I have ever made!
I’d done a bit of writing professionally before I applied, I’d written a highly embarrassing piece for the Daily Mirror as well as some stuff at Uni and a magazine back in my home time while at College.
That August I was sent to a pretty posh hotel in London, The Mayfair Hotel to attend the press day for Downton Abbey. To say the whole thing wasn’t daunting was an understatement. I was in a room with some very experienced and well-known journalists from huge publications. I was given free water and popcorn and told to enjoy myself. Then Dame Maggie Smith walked in. yes. I have the photos to prove it, and I witnessed seasoned and journalists with far more experience than me, lose their cool because they were in the same room with Dame Maggie Smith.
The day progressed, I watched the whole first episode of Downton Abbey. I interviewed most of the cast. I came away thinking yes, this is what I want to do.
Fast forward three years on… I’ve done countless interviews and attended various press events and had some fantastic once in a lifetime opportunities.
I am now an Editor for that site. Do I still love the job? Yes and no!
I hasten to add I LOVE the site that hasn’t changed. I have the uttermost respect for the team I work with. We have such a talented bunch of writers that I love seeing do well. I love sharing the excitement they feel when they do their first interview, or they get to interview someone they admire or their fave likes or acknowledges a post they wrote on social media.
What I have fallen out of love with is the writing. I am more than happy to get an interview and hand it off to a writer to do or another editor. I have found I am happier creating the opportunities for others than I am taking them myself.
I love networking and speaking to artists managers and PR companies and helping to secure interviews and content for the site by promoting the site and the fantastic content our writers have put out. And from that, we’ve secured some fantastic interviews and content for the site and we’ve built up some lasting relationship with various PR companies.
I am happier being behind the scenes. I never thought of someone who did Creative Writing and loved writing in any form, that I’d say it. But the truth is I am far more satisfied in helping to create opportunities for others than I am being the one to take the opportunities. Don’t get me wrong I will still take certain things. But mostly I’m content to work quietly behind the scenes, make sure we have content and helping make sure the site is the best it can be, and to help the writers realise their love of writing.
The past three years have brought me some fantastic once in a lifetime opportunities but it’s also taken me on the biggest learning curve. I’ve learnt I am far happier being the one who helps to keep things going smoothly or keeps track of things than to be the one who actually does them. I can honestly hand on heart say that applying for volunteer writers job was the best thing I have ever done!
What’s the best career decision you’ve ever made? Let us know in the comments below or over on @Fuzzable.
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