Finding Work
Finding Work
In this lesson, we'd like to give you some pointers on how to become a professional proofreader.
The Internet has not only made it possible for us to work from anywhere in the world, it's made it possible to find jobs anywhere in the world. However, there are some drawbacks to the benefits that technology and the Internet have given us. Internet searches still require the searcher to wade through pages and pages of sometimes useless information before anything useful surfaces. There are thousands of "How to write a résumé" guides on the web, and many of them probably won't supply the answer you are looking for. Each site may be slightly different than the last.
Some sites refer to résumés and curriculum vitaes interchangably, and other sites specialize in listing the differences between the two. One site may suggest you include an objective on your résumé, and another may say that objectives are passé.
With a little caution, you can turn the Internet into the most powerful tool in your work search kit. You simply have to learn where to look for information and properly filter this information. Lucky for you, we've already done some of the work.
The best place to start looking for full-time proofreading work is on company websites. Start by performing a Google search for "list of companies in XXX." Replace the "XXX" with the name of the city in which you are interested in working. Some cities will yield different results. You may find the first reported hit is the city's official website or the city's Wikipedia page. The first hit may be a Wikipedia page titled, "list of companies in XXX" or "list of companies based in XXX." Just make sure you pay attention to the wording. That list of companies based in a particular city is different than a list of companies located in a particular city. Some companies, maybe even massive ones, not based in the city you would like to work in may not appear on all lists.
Once you've harvested a solid set of leads, visit human resources pages or employment pages and see what these companies have to offer. Find opportunities that match your skill set.
Next, let's look at job boards. Some companies post exclusively through job boards, and you'll probably find many companies that didn't come up in your initial general search on job boards. Either way, you will find more resources.
A list of all job boards available on the Internet wouldn't really help you. There are several national job boards (Monster.com, Monster.ca, and CareerBuilder.com), and many cities have their own job boards, some run by the local municipalities themselves and some run by independent companies. CareerBuilder.com tailors itself to major metropolitan areas to better serve local candidates.
We'll talk about job boards in more detail in the next section, which covers freelance work.
It's possible to find freelance work almost anywhere, so we're going to focus on places to locate good freelance work, specifically job boards and freelance websites. Then we'll discuss launching a career as an independent freelance proofreader.
We should note that many companies post freelance positions on their own websites, and these freelance positions are often listed as "contract" positions. When you are on a human resources page looking for full-time work, keep your eye open for these kinds of listings. If job prospects look grim, pick up a freelance job. It will provide you with that much more experience you can use to impress your next potential employer. Freelance and contract work is also a good way to get your foot in the door with companies. Many companies offering freelance contract work indicate that these kinds of positions could eventually lead to a secure position.
When searching for full-time or freelance proofreading work, you'll need to expand your definition of "job boards" to find a quality lead. While you should certainly frequent sites such as Monster.com, you should also visit sites such as craigslist.org. This may sound strange at first, but depending on which city you are in, it might prove to be the most effective strategy.
Each city has a different employment culture. In some cities, it is still rare to submit an application online. Companies in these areas still want applicants to come into their place of business and physically drop off a résumé and an application. This is more likely to be the case in cities with a "small town" feel, but that isn't always the case. In other cities, companies do almost all hiring through the Internet and don't even meet the candidates until the second (or even third) interview. Whatever your particular situation is, you need to be prepared for all contingencies.
Note: Beware of scams on job boards. Scammers often use job opportunities listed on these websites as fronts to get people to offer their contact information. The scammer eventually requests more personal information, and the process of identity theft begins. Most Internet users are generally wise enough to avoid these types of scams, but someone desperately seeking work just might let their guard down. Don't let this happen to you.
Job postings on freelance websites are highly competitive. You will often have to compete for jobs with many other qualified freelancers who know their stuff as well as you do. And you probably won't find a site that offers work ONLY for proofreaders. It is often the case that these sites offer freelance jobs for many types of work: editing, copywriting, copyediting, and proofreading. Sometimes they offer job postings for full-time work as well. Some sites allow clients to submit their documents, and freelancers are then assigned to or choose their work. Other sites allow clients to request specific editors and copywriters to do the job for them. Some sites are a mix of both, while others simply provide massive lists of people who need freelance proofreading services and provide you with the contact information necessary to apply for the job. It's up to you to find the type of job you are looking for. Here is a brief list of places to look.
www.elance.com
www.iFreelance.com
www.online-writing-jobs.com
www.mediabistro.com
Generally speaking, none of the work you find on freelance sites is guaranteed. You may need to spend much of your time just sifting through potential jobs and making pitches for work. You should also remember that the scope and pay for jobs will vary wildly, and you may find yourself competing against freelancers in countries who will work for much less because the exchange rate allows them to do so.
Associations and societies also often provide, either directly or indirectly, freelance work. However, you must be a member to receive work, and you may have to pay to join. Once you become a member, you are part of a larger network and should be able to reap the benefits of membership fairly easily. Here is a short list of the various associations and societies in Canada and the United States. Note that, while the names of these associations all contain the word edit in some form, these associations also provide support for proofreaders. Since editors often also proofread, there aren't any associations or societies strictly for proofreaders.
Editorial Freelancers Association
Society for Editors and Proofreaders
American Copy Editors Society
Editors' Association of Canada
American Society of News Editors
Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders, and Indexers
Search around your state, province, or country and find out if there are any local or national groups you can join. Even if they don't provide you with the work you need, your membership will be a great thing to list on your résumé.
We'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't mention staffing agencies. While staffing agencies generally deal with a whole range of jobs and industries, they help proofreaders as well. However, many staffing agencies only post jobs for local candidates. A quick Google search should reveal which staffing agencies are present in the city of your choosing, and a cursory search of that list will reveal if there is anything specific to editors or proofreaders.
Applying for jobs requires you to update your résumé or curriculum vitae and cover letter constantly. You need to keep up on current hiring trends in your chosen profession. After you've found a group of positions you want to apply to, you'll need to determine whether you need to send in a résumé or a curriculum vitae (CV). Résumés and curricula vitae are very similar in many parts of the world, but in North America, they differ substantially. Most postings for companies in the US and Canada ask for a résumé, while most postings for academic jobs (and many professional jobs in the arts) ask for a curriculum vitae. Make sure you provide what the potential employer asks of you. Regardless of what the employer asks for, here is a brief description of both.
Résumés are fairly straightforward, and they should include the following, generally in this order:
Contact information
Education
Skills (can be divided into subcategories)
Work experience/work history
You can also include awards, special skills (such as a second or third language), and certifications (including things as widely disparate as HTML certification or fork lift operation certification). However, résumés need to be as brief and informative as possible, so make sure everything you include counts! You can organize your résumé chronologically or create a "functional resume" that lists work experience according to its relevance to the job for which you are applying.
CVs, at least in North America, provide much more detail than résumés. CVs often include the following items:
Contact information
Education
Employment history
Professional qualifications, certifications, and accreditations
Skills
Awards
Publications and presentations
Professional memberships
Curricula vitae are more appropriate for academic job postings, but this doesn't mean that all academic postings request curricula vitae. What is important is that you give potential employers what they want. If they want a résumé that contains information normally included on a CV, give it to them and call it a résumé. If you can't follow specific instructions during the application process, you are not likely to be a serious candidate for a position.
Cover letters should be brief and effective. They typically have a one page limit, unless your potential employer requests something more extensive. They should show both confidence and humility. Aside from the header, which contains the applicant's contact information, the cover letter should have three parts:
Introduction: The introduction should tell the hiring manager or recruiter which position the individual is applying to and should express confidence that the applicant is a good fit for the position. If possible, the opening should address a specific individual within the company. If the name of the individual in charge of hiring cannot be ascertained, use "hiring manager" or "human resources manager." Both "Dear Sir or Madam" and "To Whom It May Concern" are falling out of use.
Body: The body highlights the work experience and specific skills that are pertinent to the job. This is fairly straightforward.
Conclusion: Thank the employer for his or her time, and reiterate your interest in the position and your confidence that you are a good match. Say something to the effect of "I look forward to speaking with you soon" instead of "Please contact me at your earliest convenience." Don't ask them to contact you or tell them you will make contact; just assume it's going to happen. This expresses confidence without being pushy.
It's much more challenging to create résumés, CVs, and cover letters now that companies often receive submissions online. Your cover letter and résumé must make use of the buzzwords that appear in the job posting in order to move your application up on any given list of candidates.
Here are some general guidelines for putting together and formatting your résumé, CV, and cover letter.
1. Make it look good. You wouldn't go to an interview in the clothes you mow your lawn in, and you shouldn't treat your application materials any differently. Those documents are the first impression you give to employers, so they should be as informative and streamlined as possible. Use one-inch margins, and increase your line spacing to 1.1 or 1.2.
2. Use unique, but universally readable, fonts and font sizes. Times New Roman is falling out of popularity. There are now a number of fonts that are as simple as Times New Roman, but offer the reader a little more variety. Using Cambria, Calibri, or Arial is perfectly acceptable and often a welcome change. However, you should never, under any circumstances, use Comic Sans . . . ever.
3. Avoid long lists and large chunks of text. You don't want to overwhelm your reader, and you want to save some of the information that is perhaps most valuable for your first interview. Start with an initial draft and begin cutting the text down. Erase all unnecessary words, and then erase more. Use the least possible number of words to express the most information possible.
4. Use action words! Words like developed, enhanced, implemented, improved, maximized, organized, secured, and transformed show that you were an active participant in whatever job you are describing.
5. Have someone else edit and proofread your documents. This may seem incredibly obvious, but it is astonishing how many people submit cover letters with names spelled incorrectly, or words switched around, or sentences lacking proper punctuation. This is the surest way to be dismissed out of hand.
Remember that you can find work anywhere, but specific company websites are the best places to start. After searching company websites, move on to job boards and freelance sites. A well-written résumé, CV, or cover letter is more likely to help you get your foot in the door than almost anything. Taking the time to tailor your résumé, CV, or cover letter each time you apply for a job will show potential employers that you are as serious about providing them with quality work as you are about making money for yourself. Give potential employers what they ask for, and take the time to make sure it looks good.
Last Updated: 09/09/2022