This session was with Josh Garrick, a successful writer and editor of magazines in Florida. Garrick laid out a step by step plan for how to conduct what he calls an “informational interview” to garner contacts in the industry and search for a job.
The key parts of this process are writing a hand-written letter to a writer you admire, a sit-down to talk about their work, a leave-behind byline article, requesting two more contacts and repeating the entire process over again. The only real issue with this is that it doesn’t work from a distance. If you want to work in say, New York City, but you live in Atlanta, it won’t work. You have to relocate before you can really begin the job search process.
His other tips included
- Stop being concerned about you
- Respect what the magazine needs before your own wants
- Know the things you care about
- Listen!
Final side note: if your question is not relevant to the current topic, don’t ask it. It takes the attention away from the speaker and his topic and irritates the attendees around you.
-Rachel Southmayd
Filed under: acp/cma convention 2011, acp/cma convention orlando 2011
