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- Year Of Graduation: 2020
- College/University: Atlantic Technological University Sligo
- Major: Business with Marketing
What do you do for a living, or how are you supporting yourself right now? Can you share what a typical day in your life/at work looks like?
I’m a content writer manager at a company that makes software for competition owners. My day is a mixture of writing, editing and admin tasks. I handle the company website copywriting and manage a small team of writers who write blogs and knowledge base articles. I also help with anything that needs words, from internal help articles, to sales scripts and social post copy.
Depending on the scope of the projects I’m working on, I need to context switch a lot. In the space of an hour, I can go from writing technical documentation about custom software integrations, to annual leave approvals, to Google Sheet management, to proofing a blog. I do enjoy the variety that comes with my job, and I love the people I work with, too. It can be stressful juggling so many plates, but I thoroughly enjoy the challenge, and I’ve learned so much.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation? Are you happy with where your journey has led you so far?
I graduated in June 2020, so peak COVID. It was tough. Two months before graduation, I was let go from my first ‘big girl job’ as a customer success manager at a tech start-up. I worked there for over a year, writing help articles for their software. It was a blessing in disguise as being sacked allowed me to focus full-time on finishing my dissertation and final college assignments.
Then, I did an unpaid internship for a small marketing company for six weeks. I was only able to swing working for free because I was being paid by the government for being terminated due to COVID. But that tiny internship meant that I could list ‘marketing experience’ on my CV, which helped lead to my next role as an e-commerce manager.
As an e-commerce manager at a small family-run business, I uploaded all of their products to their website before it launched. I was up to my eyeballs in Excel sheets for three months. My role included writing all product descriptions, blogs, emails and other ad hoc bits as well as posting and packing all orders. Unfortunately, the company didn’t make enough money to warrant having extra staff, so I was let go from that job.
It took me about two weeks to find a new role as a Marketing Executive in a marketing company. I loved my job at this firm. We worked predominantly with hotels, restaurants and other tourism companies to manage social media, PR, websites and more. I got to visit clients, manage up to seven clients’ full social media rosters, take photos and videos, write blogs, and more. I gained so much incredible experience that I’ve carried over into every job I’ve held since. I left this job because I wanted to work remotely so that I could make a move across the country.
Because I knew I’d be changing jobs anyway, I analysed what it was that I enjoyed most about my role, and it became very clear that it was blog writing. I became a LinkedIn lurker, spying on the profiles of accomplished copywriters and content writers to find out which paths they had taken. I began posting about copywriting, and I enrolled in an accredited Copywriting course with the College of Media and Publishing. I attended webinars, networked online and built up my portfolio. I’d saved enough that I could pay my bills, and I watched dogs and sold embroideries for extra spending money. I slowly took on clients, I built up a portfolio, then I connected with a copywriter I really admired who recommended me to their boss, and he took me on as a freelance copywriter.
The hours were short to begin with, but soon enough, I was earning more than in my previous roles and had more free time. I continued to watch dogs and sell embroideries here and there. About a year and a half later, I wanted a change as I wanted to get on the property ladder with my partner. In the UK, banks require up to three years of tax returns, which I didn’t have, and I didn’t want to wait. I was also interested in getting healthcare coverage and pension contributions. I applied for my current role, and within two weeks, I got the job. When I started, I was the only content writer, and now there’s a team of three, which is likely to grow as the company does. I’m grateful for the varied experience I had before my current role, as they all, in one way or another, shape how I work and write.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable? Why or why not?
I found a lot of value in my college education, if for no other reason than being able to tick the ‘bachelor’s degree’ box on job applications. Prior to my bachelor’s degree, I studied journalism for one year. Ultimately, I dropped out because I realised that I’d need to move to another country to be in any way successful. At the time, I had family commitments and I didn’t want to be far away from home. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel disappointed in myself for quitting. It ended up being one of the best decisions I made.
In saying that, my year in journalism has been pointed out as impressive or interesting in job interviews. So, even though I dropped out after just two semesters, I still get value from my time there now. My time in ATU Sligo helped me hone my writing and research skills while getting me used to deadlines and public speaking. I met some incredible people while I was there, too, which I’ll always be grateful for. I graduated at the top of my class with a first-class honours degree, which has also helped to separate me from the crowd when it comes to jobs.
What does purpose mean to you? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life?
For me, purpose means always having the motivation to power through even in the most mundane and boring of days. When I’m ill or exhausted or have 2000 things going on outside of work, I remember how it felt to have to travel for 1.5 hours just to get to the office every day. I remember sitting alone in a tiny cubicle surrounded by dusty files while I wrote 200 product descriptions every day. I always had the notion of being a writer, even when I thought it wasn’t possible to do it professionally. Now, I get to write every day. I always remember to keep that at my periphery. I never want to lose sight of how much effort and thought went into where I am now. Every day that I get to wake up slowly, drink my coffee, walk my dog, and sit in my home office and tap on my keyboard is a day I’m living with purpose.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
My biggest struggle right now is AI, both in how it is impacting my industry and in how I should respond to it. I haven’t yet worked out whether to be vehemently anti-AI or try to embrace it, so I don’t get left behind. After all, Socrates believed that writing would make the human race more stupid and look how that panned out. It’s a morally grey area because AI was taught on stolen work. It had access to every book, website, blog it could get its metaphorical hands on. It has an advantage at the cost of real writers and their work.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Too many rich white men are making billions from it for it to disappear completely. I think about this a lot, especially when I see some of the truly catastrophic things ‘thoughtleaders’ in my industry are churning out. In saying that, how do I adopt it? Idea generation? Proofreading? Both of these things just aren’t yet quite on the mark for me.
What do you want to spend more time working on, either personally or professionally? What’s stopping you?
I’d like to spend more time working on my personal writing. I’d also like to explore more creative avenues, like building up my embroidery business or starting a new creative venture altogether. Obviously, every writer dreams of being a published author, so that’s on my list. I also believe good writing can’t be rushed, and the best authors don’t have a choice in writing – it’s write or die. So when that time comes for me, I’ll write a novel. Even though I get such meaning and pride from my work, it is the biggest reason I’m not investing fully into these goals. At a certain point, you do just run out of steam. If you’re writing for eight hours a day, the last thing you usually want to do is sit for any extra length of time in front of your laptop. I’ve gotten better at getting out of my own way. I’ve started to just take out my laptop when the writing bug gets me. I have about seven random drafts of novel ideas on my drive.
How do you define being a successful person?
For me, a successful person is a happy person. Someone who doesn’t allow external expectations to dictate their personal life choices. If a person is happy working 90 hours per week for a big fat pay cheque, more power to them. If someone is happy to make personalized hats for guinea pigs but they have to scrape by, I’m all for it. Unless you’re satisfied with yourself and your choices, you’ll never be truly successful. If you’re living your life for external validation, following the beaten path despite your gut screaming at you to stop, you’ll never find happiness and therefore not be successful. Once you put yourself first and start listening to exactly what your gut is telling you, you’ll get there. It might not be easy, and every successful person has faced immense pressure and stress. But they get there nonetheless.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
I hope the world is less chaotic and that empathy has become a valuable trait. I’d like to be a rung or two higher on the ladder and have more of my personal writing published. I’d also like to have another stream of income from a creative hobby like embroidery. Other than that, I hope
I’m still happy. I hope I still get to take my pug for his daily walks to the coffee shop. I hope I get to cozy up in my office and tap on my keyboard every day.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
There are myriad ways to get where you want to go. I thought that when I quit my journalism degree, I’d never get to make money from my writing. I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you want it enough, you’ll make it happen. Even if you meander down different paths and dip your toe into new opportunities, you can turn those escapades into relevant work experience with the right attitude. I’ve worked every job from a waitress at 16 to a shop assistant at 21. I poured pints, served food, and sold computers. I used all that experience to get myself into the career I’d always wanted. It was hard. I was rejected a lot. But it only took one hiring manager for the ball to start rolling. Now I’m here, happy as a clam writing professionally from the comfort of my own home, while my pug snores quietly beside me.
Connect With Angela
- LinkedIn: @AngelaHealey
- Embroidery Instagram: @angelamadeembroidery
- Website: angelahealey.com
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