Grow Your Career (June 2020)

The Writers’ Co-op

We're re-running old TWC episodes over the course of the spring and summer, as we both slow down. This re-run is all about career planning and growth! An oldie and a goodie.

How do you plan a career trajectory when there are infinite options and no set paths? Freelancers can struggle with career building because there are no managers to give you raises, and no obvious career ladder. But there are some common ways to build skills and move up in the industry. In this episode, Jenni and Wudan talk about growing your writing career. They discuss applying for grants, the pros and cons of enrolling in a masters program, how to get experience on the job, pitching ambitious projects and setting goals for yourself, and how to stay intentional about where you want to go. Freelancer and resume wizard Adina Salomon also joins the hosts to talk about tips and tricks for polishing up your freelancer resume.

Resources:

• The Season 1 workbook lives here.
• If you're just getting started with your freelance business, you'll want to enroll in freelance biz school @ The Writers’ Co-op Academy! We're offering two courses: One that helps you build a business plan (Biz Basics)-- and that includes a section about planning for retirement + working skill building into your plan -- and one to help you understand media contracts. It's like 1-1 coaching, but cheaper.
• As you plan your career, check out our webinars and worksheets on that topic. (Our favorite is this one.)

As always, you're invited to support the podcast by becoming an official Writers' Co-op member on Patreon. All members $3 and up get access to event discounts, a Q&A form, and more. All-Access members receive special worksheets and other downloads along with each episode, plus an exclusive episode at the end of each season, and access to our Slack channel. And if you're a VIP or Pod Squad member, you also get monthly coaching sessions along with the aforementioned resources. If you're not a member, you can buy each episode's accompanying resources a la carte on our website. Episode transcriptions are also available there.