Leanne

Today was Leanne’s last day with the company. (Leanne was the Creative Director; she was one of my interviewers.) I was looking forward to working with her actually (because she was one of the best in the field of creative copywriting), and her departure left me heavy hearted. I was hoping to learn lots from her.

I also got my first pay stub. It’s not bad for a week’s worth of work. I wonder how much will I make in the next four weeks.

This afternoon, Deb; Belinda, the accounts supervisor; Doug; and Vassil were discussing a project outside Leanne’s former office and mine. I felt so out of place. I very much wanted to join in their discussion and see what they were talking about.

Bored

I practically did nothing. I stayed in my office, working on my professional biography.

My Wish

I worked on another marketing material for the same client yesterday. I just wish it was like this everyday, but I’ve learned earlier on that sometimes there’s work, sometimes there aren’t any in this kind of business.

My Magical Red Pen and I

There’s nothing like a proofreading job to end my day. My itchy editing finger was annoying me all day that I decided to copy edit and proofread old marketing material. Thankfully, Deb came bearing a docket with files for proofreading. And away my magical red pen went!

First Mistakes

Deb came with some comments on my proofreading. No, I didn’t miss any grammatical or typographical errors; they were more of style preferences. You know, like subheads should be centred. Nothing critical though.

Doug, the copywriter, and Vassil, the art director, were so kind enough to invite me to come with them to buy lunch at the community market. And, of course, the rest of the day was spent reading existing style guides and familiarizing myself with the finished projects.

First Assignment

I finally got to use my proofreading skills for the first time. Deb thought that she might as well make me proofread three DM letters for a client. I was more than happy to do it; I was excited! In fact, I was so excited that I put off lunch and worked on them right away.

After less than an hour, I proudly submitted my work. Aah, job satisfaction!

The rest of the day was spent again reading existing style guides and familiarizing myself with the finished projects.

Second Day

My second day wasn’t as exciting as my first. I spent it reading existing style guides and familiarizing myself with the finished projects.

First Day

It’s my first day at my new job. I felt like a kid on his first day of school. Everything was new to me, including the office. Yes, I got my own office (but it’s only temporary until we move to the other side of the floor in September). Its view is not as spectacular as the rest, but I still could see some greenery and the bay. Plus, pop, juice, coffee and tea were free. I was beginning to like my job.

In the afternoon, I met Sharon, the company’s former freelance proofreader, for the turnover of duties. I felt bad taking this job away from her, but she still graciously showed me the ropes. (I’ve learned during my interview with Leanne, the creative director, that they offered this job to her, but she declined because she’d rather work on a contractual basis.) She only had two tips for me: Admit your mistakes and never be afraid to ask (don’t assume anything).

It was almost 5:00 p.m. when we ended our meeting, which Sharon and I closed with a handshake and wishes of luck. I didn’t want to leave exactly on the hour, lest I be labeled a clock watcher. But Deb, one of the production managers whose favourite expression was “My bark is worse than my bite,” admonished me not to stay late as the front doors were locked and alarms set by 5 p.m. to avoid theft. That’s fine by me.

And for the first time in months, I left work and walked towards the bus stop with a grin like a Cheshire cat.

Prologue: My Career So Far

Ever since a close friend suggested that I work as a copywriter (CW) for an advertising or marketing firm because of my creative writing skills, I’ve been meaning to get, at least, my foot in the door of one.

So, I’ve been sending résumés to every company in the industry that was looking for a copywriter. The closest I got to working for one was for a Hong Kong-based publisher of trade journals. They were setting up a production office in Manila. For two years, I wrote headlines and body copy for hundreds of the company’s magazine advertisers. I thought I was going to write copy all my professional life until I got promoted to production assistant (PA). As PA, I supervised the production of a trade journal. I also had my own clerk who acted as my personal assistant.

Magazine production was entirely new to me. I had no idea how to paginate the journal until the production manager (PM) likened the process to playing Tetris.

And there I was with my assistant, tabulating ad breakdowns and editorial pages, planning page layouts, and building master and mock-up dummies. My tasks looked daunting; but if I were to add up my days of actually working on magazine production every month, I was only working for two weeks! I couldn’t complain; besides, the money was better.

However, I still wanted to write marketing and advertising stuff. While still working as a CW in the production department, I applied for the CW position in circulation marketing. The manager probably thought I was still a newbie in the business; so, she hired someone from outside who had more copywriting experience.

Years later, circulation marketing’s CW later became project executive. Soon after, she transferred to production and would become our new PM. One day, she called me in her office. She informed me that one of the project executives was leaving, and she wanted me to apply for that position.

Apply I did. After an interview with the manager and a writing test, he offered me the position. Finally, I was performing various marketing duties, like creating DM kits and selecting third-party creative services for our trade show booths. Of course, the pay was much, much better.

It was around this time that my wife and I planned to migrate to Canada. Seventeen months later, my wife, my three-year-old son and I boarded a plane to Vancouver, B.C. Nothing could have prepared me for what would happen in the next seven years: unemployment.

For seven years, I had no regular income. My first job was only seasonal. One Christmas, I was doing maintenance and housekeeping duties for a high-end men’s clothing store. Then I landed my first freelancing writing gig, where I didn’t get paid in full.

Realizing that it was taking me long to get a job, my wife constantly prodded me to take a publishing course from a community college to upgrade my skills. After passing an English and writing test, I got in.

Twelve months and a publishing diploma later, I was ready to take on the corporate world again. No biters though. But thanks to college’s publishing coordinator, I was able to get a six-month contract as a listings editor and editorial assistant of a publisher of travel magazines. At the same time, I also got a freelance work for a U.S.-based travel website reviewing Vancouver’s sights and sounds. Then I landed another short writing stint where I got paid $20 per 200-word submission. And like good things, all of these came to an end.

However, another good thing started. A classmate of mine from the publishing course called me up one day to tell me that he was publishing an Asian-Canadian lifestyle and culture quarterly. He asked me if I wanted to join him as his copy editor. I said yes, of course. He added that since it was a start-up, I won’t get paid at first. Bummer.

It took him more than a year to pay me. To augment my meagre income, he had me do freelance work for two of his acquaintances. One didn’t pay me a single cent; the other one paid extra.

After six issues, an apparent suicide and a lawsuit, the magazine went belly up.

These were desperate times, and they called for desperate measures. So, I worked part time proofreading an online book retailer’s auctions on eBay.

It wasn’t that bad actually. After a month, I started working full time. Two months later, I received a promotion and a significant raise. The next year, I was made product manager. This time, I got quarterly bonuses besides another pay increase. Two more raises follow. I was on a roll. Or so I thought.

Just two months short of my fourth anniversary with the company, I was laid off. Sales were going downhill and the much-needed reorganization rendered my position useless.

Three months on employment insurance after, I found work as a researcher for a producer of an awards show. Because it was only a survival job, I wasn’t totally happy with my work. I wasn’t even planning to stay with them for a long time either. Besides, working in a virtual office wasn’t fun for me anymore.

But telecommuting has certain advantages. For one, your boss won’t know if you go out for job interviews, which I did five times.

One of these interviews was for my present position as a proofreader.