(SPEECH) [MUSIC PLAYING]
(DESCRIPTION) A woman stands on a bridge and smiles. Text,
Indeed.
(SPEECH) My name is Kaylee Boggan, and I'm an English
major. English majors are seen as an idealist, nerdy, bookworms.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee rides in the backseat of a car, gazing
out the window
(SPEECH) So when parents hear that their child's going
to be an English major, a lot of people assume that there's no money in that. I would love
to know more about jobs where I could write and get paid for it. I think that would be
the dream.
(DESCRIPTION) A city skyline at dusk. Text, Three Jobs.
One Day. Career Paths. Jobs for English Majors.
Text, Job 1: Copywriter. Responsible for writing original copy that grabs attention and compels
people to take action. A woman stands in front of a whiteboard in an office
(SPEECH) My name is Erica Lies, and I am a freelance
copywriter. A copywriter is someone within advertising and often marketing who creates
copy to either sell a product or communicate a message.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee enters the office. She shakes hands
with Erica
(SPEECH) My first impression of Kaylee was that she's
just excited, eager, and open and curious about the world.
(DESCRIPTION) They sit on a couch in the office. Erica indicates
the whiteboard
(SPEECH) So we actually have a brief for you today.
We are going to be writing a tweet, an email subject line for a company called Smokey Sabor
Barbecue about the new chipotle lemon barbecue dry rub.
So for the tweet we had a smaller space, and we had to also make sure that we were more
conversational. Maybe "check this out" or "savor the flavor."
OK, great. And this is actually called Smokey Sabor Barbecue, so what if we went with Sabor
the flavor?
We used some puns. I enjoyed riffing off of her.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee writes in a notebook
(SPEECH) She really impressed me when we were just
brainstorming. Now our next one is just an email subject line that is announcing the
launch, except it's an internal company email.
For the internal email, it was much more formal. So I learned that audience is super important
no matter what platform you're on.
What I want Kaylee to know is that whether it's copy writing or generating ideas, you
can make a living writing words.
Some of my fears as an English major have been, if it's worth it. At one point, I was
like, should I listen to my parents? Should it become a STEM major just so I can have
a guaranteed job?
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee arrives at another office building.
Text, Job 2: Brand Manager. Responsible for driving awareness and consumer engagement
while ensuring relevance of the brand's products.
A woman stands in front of a wall of boots
(SPEECH) My name is Mallory Hublein. I'm the brand
manager for a HELM Boots. So a brand manager is someone who communicates the message of
the brand out to the public. So everything from one to one customer communications, to
creating content for emails, and connecting with influencers.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee enters the office
(SPEECH) Hi.
Hi. Today I hope to give Kaylee some inspiration, and just what all the options are out there
post-college. There's so many different jobs you can do, and you can really take your passion
and your skills and take them in a lot of different directions.
(DESCRIPTION) Mallory holds a brown leather boot
(SPEECH) Each season we put a different quote on the
inside, from a different author or poet. Our designer was an English major, and so he definitely--
that's his way to sort of infuse a little bit of writing and inspiration into each piece.
That's so cool. The owner of the company was an English major. And I love that he, even
if it wasn't a traditional English major role, he still added that element to his books--
oh, to his books, to his boots, boots and books.
So I want to give you a chance to write something. There's a new boot that we're about to release,
and we're looking for different ways to promote it. So one of the ways that we promote new
products is we reach out to influencers and see if they might be interested in taking
photos of our boots.
In the email I sent to the influencer, I tried to get him to accept the new boots that HELMS
had, called the Holt.
I'm sure lots of influencers get lots of people who reach out, so I always like to comment
on something he's done recently or a post I've really connected with.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee types an email to an influencer on
behalf of HELM
(SPEECH) So, "Hi, Seth. I loved the post this last
weekend."
Writing plays a huge role in all of this. And we create a product and that's very visual,
but beyond that, everything we do involves writing.
OK. And, sent.
Awesome. The anticipation-- dun dun dun.
(DESCRIPTION) The two women stand at a product counter and
talk.
Mallory glances at the laptop
(SPEECH) Well, it looks like he actually just wrote
back now. See what he said.
I was astounded. I didn't expect him to write back. "Hey, Kaylee. Thank you so much for
the opportunity to collaborate with you." But he did, and he accepted it, so I was really
excited.
(DESCRIPTION) They hug
(SPEECH) From Mallory I learned that everyone has a
story. And that specifically, we can use social media and influencers to tell the stories
through a brand.
(DESCRIPTION) Text, Job 3: Executive Editor. Responsible
for the management and development of all writings submitted for publication.
(SPEECH) I'm Jessica Choi. I'm a book editor. A book
editor helps coach authors and editors to help them put their ideas out there in the
world.
(DESCRIPTION) Jessica distributes books on a table in a
conference room. Kaylee sits with her at the table
(SPEECH) I'm a huge fan of, like, true crime.
You might have some aspirations as a writer then?
I do. Yes. I think, for me, I've always wanted to be a mystery novelist. More than anything
in the world, I just want to write books, books and books and books.
There are, like, so many books that come out every day in the United States. And it's a
really competitive book market. And one of the things that's crucial is for us to really
nail a good title and a good cover, because sometimes you only have a few seconds to be
able to capture a potential reader's attention.
We began to discuss the different ways she comes across a title and a cover for a book.
You know, it's perfect you're here today because I actually have a book, and I'm preparing
for a title meeting, and I thought if you'd like, maybe we could do sort of an initial
brainstorm together.
Sure. Yeah, it's great. So Jessica and I brainstormed possible titles for a new memoir that was
coming out about a woman who has really risen in the video gaming industry.
The title itself can be creative, but usually it needs to contain some kind of keyword,
something that is consistent in tone with what's going on in the book.
What about game changer?
Game changer?
Yeah, from garage gaming to game changer.
That's perfect.
When you think of books you're like, oh, I have a book. You don't think about how it
gets there. So that was a really cool opportunity.
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee rides in the car, smiling as she looks
out the window. She stands with each of the three interviewers
(SPEECH) Every company needs someone like Kaylee who
can really write and communicate.
I've learned that you have to be willing to really put yourself out there.
I was impressed with her because I like that she came and she's proactive about trying
to figure out what it is she wants to do.
Kaylee definitely seems like someone who's so interested in learning.
She was ready to just, like, jump in there and attack it.
From today, I've learned that writing is something I will always take with me, no matter what
I do. And I will write in every part of my life. It's going to be there no matter what.
(DESCRIPTION) Text, Indeed. Disclaimer. The information
on this video is provided as a courtesy. Indeed is not a career or legal advisor and does
not guarantee job interviews or offers. Indeed compensated individuals for their participation
in this video.
(SPEECH) [MUSIC PLAYING]
(DESCRIPTION) Kaylee takes notes in a notebook as she talks
with Erica, Mallory, and Jessica,