This week's career spotlight is shining bright on Jacqueline! She's the Beauty Editor at Yahoo and always knew she'd be doing something that allowed her to use both her passions - Fashion & Beauty and Writing. This is a good one - hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
1. In 140 characters or less, tell us what you do?
I am a Beauty Editor at Yahoo and through this digital platform, I create editorial news and feature content for the website.
2. What 3 words would you use to describe your career?
Fascinating. Empowering. Dynamic.
3. Did you always know this is what you’d be doing?
Growing up, I was addicted to reading magazines. I read the beauty and fashion pages of everything from Essence Magazine to Allure Magazine religiously. The walls of my childhood room were covered with sheets of my favorite glossy pages. I always had a feeling I would one day do something in a creative field and I hoped that I could somehow marry my passion for fashion and beauty with writing. After doing some research, I learned that I probably would need to study journalism or communications, and that's exactly what I took up when I went to Hampton University. For the most part, I have stuck with this line of work every since.
4. What’s your big “why?" Why do you do what you do?
I do what I do because it lights my soul up to see women embrace and have fun with their beauty. Whether it's inner or outer beauty, it's something that should be celebrated. There are days when I'm writing about a cool new product that may help you step your routine up, or other days when I'm interviewing a young teenager about how she learned to love the skin she's in. Being given the power to share and report these kinds of stories is rewarding because they inspire others to think outside the box, try something new or become the best versions of themselves.
5. Tell us a little bit about your career journey?
I began my career at Essence Magazine as the editorial beauty assistant for the print magazine. In that position I was introduced to the beauty world and got to learn the ins and outs of one of the best teams in the industry at the time. I assisted a team of editors and did everything from grabbing lunch for my boss to writing my own monthly column. From there, I went on to work at Ebony Magazine. In this capacity, I wrote original monthly features, attended daily market events and coordinated photo shoots. After a couple of years at Ebony, I decided to go out on my own and freelance for different publications to expand my portfolio. I wrote digital features for amazing platforms such as Essence.com, Glamour.com, Allure.com, Teenvogue.com, Yahoo and Cosmopolitan.com,to name a few. I also did editorial consulting work with brands such as L'oreal, Walgreens and USA Today. I'd also started freelancing at Yahoo and after a year passed, I still really loved the work I was doing there. Next thing you know, the company brought me on as Beauty Editor.
6. What’s a typical day like for you?
There really isn't a typical day. Most mornings, I attempt to wake up around 5 or 6 a.m. to begin scanning the internet and watching the news to see what new beauty stories have developed overnight. During the day I work on beauty news and feature stories. Some days, I can be assigned up to 4-5 stories and other days I might just have one thorough news hit to work on. It really just depends on how much is going on. I also attend morning and evening events to learn about what's new or upcoming on the beauty front. Also, for New York Fashion Week, I usually interview key artists backstage to get recaps on the looks created for designer shows.
7. What advice would you give to women who have not yet found their “purpose” or are unsure what they want to do in their career?
I would say not to rush it. Let go and let God! Your time will come. In the meantime, work hard and keep being the best version of yourself. Eventually, your "purpose" will find you without you having to search for it.
Thanks so much for sharing your career story with us, Jacqueline! It's refreshing to meet women who have taken control of their careers and tapped into what they love!
