Feedback & contributions are welcome; email UntoldStoriesEugene@gmail.com.
Your online presence
A minimal online presence is necessary for most professionals seeking a staff position, but you don't necessarily need your own website.
- LinkedIn: To be taken seriously as a professional, you should have a LinkedIn profile. It's free, and the site will guide you in creating it. Keep it up to date and impressive, and list its URL in your email signature to make it easy for prospective employers to find.
- Focus on maintaining your LinkedIn profile and any other online profiles you have -- in editorial associations' online directories, etc. If you need more, a Facebook Business page may fill the bill, again at no charge.
General job-seeking resources not to ignore
- Job-search websites such as Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com
- Note: These sites will email you daily/weekly alerts of positions that meet the criteria in searches you create.
- If you're seeking a remote position, be sure to check the Remote and/or Home-Based boxes when you search.
- Most major cities have a number of agencies such as 24seven, Aquent, and Vitamin T ("a division of Aquent, built to service agencies and design-loving companies"), which place both full-time permanent and freelance editors. Using such agencies is especially common in fields such as advertising, marketing, and corporate communications.
- Note that Vitamin T has an "Include Remote" option.
- Jobs on Facebook -- lists all types of positions in your locale; boxes in left column allow you to customize the search at least a bit
- For Portlanders (and now expanding to Seattle): Mac’s List (lists many positions that include editing in some form, and lots of nonprofit positions)
Editorial associations
If you’re a member of a regional/national association for editors, such as ACES, EFA, Editors of Color, the Northwest Editors Guild, the Bay Area Editors Forum, or the Cambridge Academic Editors Network:
- Attend the group's meetings and other events; real-world encounters are usually more likely to result in leads than are online contacts.
- Regularly visit the group's online job board/listserv.
- Post a full description of your skills and experience in the online membership directory.
- Regularly read the listserv, as members sometimes post full-time job notices or leads there.
Other sources of staff positions
- Facebook groups:
- EAE [Editors Association of Earth] Ad Space
- Facebook groups for editors in specific niches (e.g., academic editors, football editors)
- General Jobs on Facebook page; filters in left column allow searches for full-time & part-time jobs, internships, volunteer posts, etc; one can also search by industry (e.g., Business Services); many posts are entry-level/hourly wage jobs, but there are some nonprofit & other full-time professional posts as well
- Mediabistro (for both editors and writers)
- You can create a customized job alert to receive postings via email
- If you're seeking a remote job, choose “Working from home”; also see next section
- Shelf Awareness job board (for jobs in publishing or bookstores -- most are in NYC, but a few are usually in the Northwest or California)
Sources of remote positions specifically
Freelance work has always been remote, but today more and more full-time staff positions are, or can be, remote as well. Below are some sources designed specifically for seekers of remote positions.
- We Work Remotely (a job-listing and support site that claims 2.5 million monthly visitors) and Workfrom (a site compiling public spaces around the world that are conducive to remote work) are important resources to know about.
- Flexjobs.com: You have to pay to be a member, but all the listings are vetted.
- Binders Full of Remote Proofreading and Editing Jobs (Facebook group)
- These sites compiling remote job openings were recommended in a Facebook group. If you’ve tried any of them, please share your opinions.