by Rebecca Barker
11 August 2017
When we emigrated to Sydney from London 14 years ago, I never wanted to leave. I had landed a dream job editing a homes and interiors magazine and was stoked to be settling in Australia’s media capital.
Our first child came along just 15 months later and I pushed through the fog of new parenthood to build a fulfilling freelance career. But ten years later with two kids, a Sydney mortgage and a good job offer in Victoria, we suddenly moved to Melbourne. I was devastated.
They say moving house is more stressful than getting a divorce or a new job. Well it totally felt that way. It was hard enough leaving friends who had become family – but in my heart of hearts, I feared losing my freelance career too.
On average, there are more than double the jobs for editors and writers in Sydney compared to Melbourne. Let’s face it, the spectacular harbour city is known as the Southern Hemisphere’s media hub. It’s the home of Australia’s oldest newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald and the head offices of publishing giants Fairfax and News Corp.
Would I be able to drum up regular commissions in a city where I knew no one? Moving furniture into a rental in a January hailstorm was painful. Four seasons came and went – every day.
After the first month in a new primary school, we had met a grand total of two people and my youngest declared she was ‘running away’. But fast forward five years and I can honestly say the move was one of the best things we’ve ever done. What’s more, I have doubled my friends and freelance contacts. And it took five simple steps – so here’s how I did it.
Playgrounds can be intimidating. They feel like the last place you want to hang out when your little one has fallen out with classmates. Though you might feel like running for the hills – or catching the last plane back to Sydney – take every opportunity to meet people. Accept playdates, go to social functions, join a school committee. Replace the word ‘playground’ with ‘gym’, ‘art group’, ‘book club’ etc and you get the same results. Some of my best opportunities have come from people I met at these places.
So it’s time to ‘fess up. The majority of my income came from Sydney contacts in my first few months in Melbourne. Just because you’ve moved interstate, doesn’t mean you can’t continue working with your favourite freelance rainmakers. New technology means you can organise interstate meetings in an instant. Look up former work colleagues on social media, connect with them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook forums. Don’t be afraid to chip into digital conversations to show your passion for writing. You never know where a conversation will lead.
This is the trickiest part. Scour job ads on leading employment sites and see who is looking for writers. Set yourself a goal of pitching two or three stories a week to potential employers – keeping them brief and to the point. Back up your pitches with examples of published work to show your worth. Melbourne is home to leading newspapers like The Age, Daily Mail and Herald Sun and magazine companies like Hardie Grant. But one of the most exciting outlets for work is the many emerging business websites, copywriting and digital marketing agencies that need ongoing, reliable content producers.
When I was struggling to secure jobs in the early months in Melbourne, I joined a handful of professional networking groups, both locally and in the city. Just chatting to like-minded mums in a supportive environment gave me the motivation to continue pitching stories and picking up the phone. I met inspirational people – many of whom were a few years into start-ups – who gave me tips on improving my technical and social media skills and most importantly, the courage to never give up.
It’s important to keep your options open without slashing your freelance rates. Between jobs, I took on real estate copywriting jobs, turned around stories overnight for UK editors and proofread corporate reports. I discovered ways to get travel stories in international magazines and read as much as I could about emerging SEO trends, digital content and social media marketing. These skills, gleaned when I was in freelance freefall, now fill the gaps in my CV and have helped me secure a steady stream of work in a state I now call home.
Moving interstate soon? We would love to hear about your experience finding work.
