As I’ve stated in prior posts, I am a creative writing major with a focus in poetry. You may be asking yourself why a creative would want to work as a copywriting intern for a small business. I have debated this question many times with my friends and colleagues. I always go back to the response I get when I tell people my major: “you’re never going to get a job with that,” or “that’s a dying art,” or “what were you thinking? Why didn’t you major in business?”
The fact of the matter is, creatives are getting the jobs these days, and most of the time they are getting the jobs that people who major in journalism and business think they should be getting. Here’s why:
Creative writing programs are broken into three main components that are helpful in business, and small businesses are giving us the chance to put our skills to use.
Workshops:
Workshops are where writers bring their writing to be annotated, and then the class discusses what should be changed about the piece. This develops conversational and analytical skills, also it helps creatives learn how to branch off ideas and be critical while remaining polite.
Writing:
In this aspect, creative writers are learning how to write in a more professional manner than journalists. Journalists write in short terse sentences. Creative writers learn how to select the right words in the simplest or most complex terms, sound eloquent and connect ideas together in a more fluid and cognitive way than just reporting straight facts.
Creativity:
The creative aspect of creative writing helps us to think outside the box. We are trained to think of ideas that nobody has ever thought before. Essentially, we ask questions, find out the motives behind people’s actions and find new solutions to tried problems.
What I have learned from Tasha through this internship so far is that small businesses are on the rise, and there is a need for people who know about technology, social media, and blogging, but there is also a need for creative minds.
For all you creatives out there, remember that you can get a job. Don’t listen to the naysayers because they don’t understand the changing age we’re in. Small businesses need us, and we need them. Try and establish a relationship with small business owners that can offer you an internship copywriting or bloggers who need guest writers. All you need is to develop a standing in the small business world and people will help you.
Someone helped them once–keep paying it forward,
