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At only 25-years-old, Sarah Koopman recently became the new features editor of women's magazine, Marie Claire. We asked this young, intelligent and vibrant editor a few questions about her dream job and career trajectory:
1. How did you end up working in your current position?
After graduating from Stellenbosch University with my Honours in Journalism, I interned at ELLE magazine for 3 months between print and online. This was followed by an opportunity to join the ELLE team as a junior copy editor and then, a few months later, as a features writer.
After a year of incredible learning a growth opportunities, I moved to Marie Claire where I was the features writer. Here, I was given the opportunity to gain production management experience as well as flex my writing muscles even more.
Just a few weeks ago, after a short break where I was a research analyst at a merchant bank, I re-joined the Marie Claire team as features editor.
2. What is your day to day like?
No two days are the same. Mostly, there are meetings about current and future content, planning, editing and commissioning to be done - and sometimes events or shoots to be attended.
3. What are your biggest work challenges?
For me, it's always been learning how to manage my time most effectively. I often have lots of balls in the air at the same time, so I'm learning how to not let any of them fall!
I am also learning that my position can often be an exercise in diplomacy - for example, turning down pitches, or asking writers to re-work their submissions. It's something I'm working on getting better at.
4. What is the best part about your job?
There are so many! I really love my job and love the industry.
I love watching an issue come together, from the first brainstorms, right through to the printed copy. It still hasn't gotten old!
I also love getting feedback from readers and learning to get the content mix just right. Even though we work in print cycles, it never gets boring.
Have any questions about getting into the magazine industry? Be sure to comment below.
Follow Sarah on Twitter @sarah_koopman
