By Allison Underwood
November 13, 2015
Haley Townsend graduated from UAB in the Summer of 2015 with her BA in English Professional Writing and a minor in Business Administration. Since then, she has secured a job as Digital Content Producer for WIAT 42 News. Haley is responsible for posting new content to the station’s website and updating various media platforms.
During her time at UAB, Haley was active in the Kaleidoscope student newspaper and the Professional Writing Club. Here, she gained the experience necessary to obtain a job after graduation.
Haley proves that the concentration is very useful and businesses are looking for talented professional writers. Memorandum recently caught up with Haley to ask her a few questions about her current situation:
What is a digital content producer?
“A digital content producer is a person who creates, produces, edits, manages and posts multimedia content to various digital platforms for an organization.”
How do you use aspects of professional writing at WIAT 42 News?
“I use so much of what I learned in the professional writing program at my job now. I use Photoshop, I write for the web multiple times a day, I use WordPress, insert hyperlinks, work with video and utilize social media and content marketing.”
How did the concentration prepare you for your current job?
“The concentration allowed me to hone my writing skills for digital contexts. I remember being in the professional writing course you’re in now, talking about how we all everyday consume a massive amount of written content on our smart phones. Well, now I’m one of many people who help to produce that digital content.”
Do you feel that the program lacks in any areas? Explain.
“Honestly? The digital world advances so fast. There’s a lot that the program could focus on. For example, writing for SEO, or search engine optimization. How to really use social media to get people to read your work. The biggest thing I didn’t understand when I started my job is content marketing. I think that could be a whole class, focusing on that aspect of the digital world.”
What would you have done differently during your time as an undergrad, if anything?
“I probably would have taken more professional writing courses. I didn’t understand what the concentration was about until later in my undergraduate career. I also would have started writing for publications much earlier. It seemed so daunting, but now I hit publish every day on words I write, and thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—of people read what I write. I would have also taken a course in news writing, but turns out I didn’t really need it!”
You were active in the Professional Writing Club and Kaleidoscope. How did these activities outside the classroom help you?
“I wasn’t as active in PWC as I would have liked, as Kscope basically enveloped my senior year. Regardless, Kscope was invaluable in landing my current job. It gave me so much experience, as a copy editor, social media editor and ultimately editor-in-chief, that my resume spoke for itself.”
How do you “sell yourself” as a professional writer?
“Speaking of my resume speaking for itself, I wasn’t even looking for a job when my current boss found me via LinkedIn. Employers are looking for someone that will work hard and take care of what needs to be done. You need to offer a unique skill set that solves a problem that they have.
I sold myself via a completely fleshed out LinkedIn profile, with links to all my best published work and anything and everything that was relevant to the job I envisioned for myself. And it fell in my lap. I also had an extensive personal website that emphasized my personal brand that was a part of my LinkedIn profile. You need this to sell yourself—your personal brand, and plenty of examples of your best work that proves you are a professional writer that someone not only wants, but needs to hire.”
What advice would you give to students currently in the program?
“Write. Get to know yourself and what kind of work environment you thrive in. Do you like a busy, loud team driven environment with a crazy fast pace? You might love a newsroom. Do you like to work on projects alone? Consider being a digital brand journalist. Whatever it is that makes you happy, you need to find it and pursue it with everything you’ve got.
The best way to figure out what makes you happy is to do several internships across various aspects of professional writing: communications, PR, news, advertising. Find your niche, and when you go to apply for that post-grad job, you’ll have ample experience.”
What do you miss the most about being a student at UAB?
“The opportunity to learn so many different things in one place. I definitely don’t miss the parking.”
