How to find a junior communications job?

October 27, 2016 12:57 PM

I have about 3 years experience as Admin/Exec Assistant and I'd like to get a fulltime communications role.

-- Im 28 and have 3 years of experience as an Executive Assistant in arts/culture in which a lot of the duties I liked the most could be called corporate communications ( mainly writing, editing, a bit of web design and a bit of graphic design). I'd rather have those aspects be my fulltime job rather than managing someone's schedule and travel.

-- I have a graduate diploma in Communications which I finished in 2015, and I worked as an Exec assistant in a film company for the past year (which turned out to be a toxic situation because of the work environment and bad management). ( before that I did a BA in liberal arts and music)

-- I make a good assistant because I pay attention and follow instructions, have clear writing, diplomacy, am resourceful for solving IT problems, people call me analytical and smart, I have basic audiovisual and graphic design abilities, I stay on top of whatever priorities arise from day to day, and I deliver under pressure (though I'd rather not work in a high stress environment). However, I don't really enjoy being an administrative assistant anymore. I am beginning to feel that I have outgrown the role. Since I'm job searching now, I feel like it is a good time to go after a more specific role.

-- I'm currently looking for a job and I've had callbacks for three different positions in which I would be an executive Assistant. However I really really would like to move out of that category because I don't think there is any way to grow there (correct me if I'm wrong), and I would like to build my communications skills. But, I never get callbacks for the communications roles that I've applied for, possibly because I've never had a fulltime role in Comms.

-- I'm learning HTML and CSS in my spare time at the moment. In an ideal world I'd love to be a web developer or graphic designer but for the moment I just need a job. People tell me I could learn to be a programmer (which sounds very appealing) so I'm considering what's the best way to do that. So far I've been working on the front end web dev certificate on Free Code Camp. The idea of user experience is very interesting to me and I'm considering applying for a master's in Information studies because the program at McGill has courses in UX design.

-- I don't have experience managing people or budgets, and the thought of being in charge of either is not appealing to me at the moment. I don't have the right type of personality to be a manager. I 'm an introvert who is a very bad salesperson but a very persuasive writer.

-- One challenge i face is that I live in a francophone city (Montreal). My french is good, but I wouldn't say that my written french is good enough to be in professional communications, which eliminates about 50% or more of the advertised jobs. There are a surprising amount of anglophone businesses in the city, which I've discovered, but I should probably be in Toronto. However, I love my little french paradise and I would really love to stay here. I have a tendency make my life more difficult than it needs to be, but I seem to be able to accomplish my goals despite this.

-- I want to make a minimum of $42,500 a year with opportunity for growth

-- I want a stable, secure job with good management. Dream jobs would be to work in a university, library, government cultural agency, museum, non profit ogranziation, etc.


How do I start? Any suggestions you can offer me are welcome, whether it has to do with finding a Comms job or whether I'm better off focusing my energies on learning more tech skills.

posted by winterportage to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Best answer: Lots of charities need volunteers to do their comms for them - if you think it's your lack of experience in a comms-specific role that's resulting in you not getting callbacks for the jobs you want, I'd try that.

As well as adding to your CV, if you can find a voluntary gig in the sector you want to work in, it's invaluable for networking. The comms communities in most cities are pretty small, really, especially within any given sector. You'll also have the perfect excuse to call the people you want to impress professionally, (assuming they're not in eg. competing charities), explain you're doing this voluntary gig and ask if you might be able to buy them a coffee and ask them for some advice (and then obviously impress them with how switched-on you are and the superb way you subsequently put their advice into action). Good luck!
posted by penguin pie at 1:16 PM on October 27, 2016

Best answer: Start working on your French writting skills. Check if your current employer will pay for lessons or tutoring. If your language skills are elimating you from 50% of the jobs, then get to work on that.

You need comms specific experience (volunteer) and a comms specific network of professionals. Is there a communication group where you work? Can you be an assistant for them to get your foot in the door?
posted by 26.2 at 4:14 PM on October 27, 2016

Best answer: I work in digital comms in the nonprofit sector, though I'm in the US. It took me a looong time to break into this field, so I feel for you. I agree the best way to do this is to move within an organization, so if you can't get a comms role now, I would at least look for an assistant role in an org that has a lot of comms positions. If you could be an assistant in a comms-oriented department then that could also be a good route.

I also think the volunteering route is a good suggestion - a portfolio of comms work you've done will help a lot. Just networking in general is key - can you reach out to people who do comms in former workplaces, take them out for coffee, and ask for advice/help?

Finally, think about how you're branding yourself. Are your resume and cover letters for comms roles oriented to your comms experience or do you look like an assistant who did a few side comms projects?
posted by lunasol at 6:53 PM on October 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh and re:volunteering, see if you can get some experience managing a small org's social media channels. As a manager, it is really, really hard to find good people with that experience. If you can design, and write, and manage social media channels, you can carve out a niche.
posted by lunasol at 6:56 PM on October 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the great suggestions!! Time to get to work :)
posted by winterportage at 8:17 AM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]