Interview by Janet Scarborough
with Helen Miller, Senior Editor,
workz.com
What do you do?
I
oversee development of content in workz.com's Web site design and build. I
also manage the guest experts program that generates 50% of workz.com's
content.
What does workz.com
do?
The site is a resource for small businesses online.
What is a typical work
day like for you?
I edit articles for publication,
sort through email and newsgroups looking for topic ideas, and
communicate with writers.
How did you get your
job?
A friend connected me with a contact. I
started as a part-time freelance editor and within three weeks,
the person who had my current job gave notice and I was promoted.
What do you like best
about your job?
I like the autonomy to decide stories
and to shape content into its published form. I also enjoy
interacting with writers.
What is most challenging
about your job?
The most challenging part is making
poorly written content better, under tight deadlines and under
the condition of having to meet high quotas for content. Also,
it is frustrating when content is critical to the company's success
but there is the misperception [in the Internet industry] that
if you [simply] build it, they will come. Some people don't
realize that the consumer is savvy enough to know when something
is not high quality. If a few random people write in [with questions
or] to give their opinion about something, they may not be representative
[of all visitors] and it is a mistake to use that small sample
to shape a business direction. The result is a bit of struggle
between good editorial work and the objectives of sales and marketing.
What are important
skills to have to do well in your job?
Excellent interpersonal
skills to interact well with writers, ability to scan a lot of
info and glean its essence quickly, and sufficient knowledge about
a topic area to know when something is missing.
What things should
people know who are considering this career?
You have
to know the Web to do this job well. If you are interviewing
for a job, demonstrate that you know how Web pages work. Know
HTML. Know how to do research on the Internet. Understand
site structure and navigation. Be computer savvy. If
all of your experience is in traditional print journalism, there's
a lot of technical learning to do. You have to be able to
troubleshoot technical problems on your own. Also, if you
want to be a really good Web editor, you don't want to do all of
your research on the Web. The Internet feeds on itself and
the same information is recycled repeatedly across publications. Two
excellent sources of info are the Harvard Business Review and industry
experts. Getting to know people with expertise requires networking
and the confidence to cold call someone to ask what they think
about something.
What is the income
potential in your field?
Low $40's to $70's depending
on experience.
What are your long-term
career goals?
The honest answer is that I'd like to
do something related to the care of the soul, like writing or therapy.
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