Contingent Workers: Karen
As one of our original members, Karen McCandless has been working at Contingent Works since the start and has seen the space grow, develop and thrive, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Karen is taking advantage of our flexible, no-commitment membership, so she can drop in when she needs a change of scenery, a creative workspace, and some good coffee.
While her dream was to become a war correspondent, she has now settled into the much less dangerous role of a copywriter, journalist, and digital marketer
At a Glance:
On the web: https://www.clippings.me/users/karenmccandless
Sounds: The soundtrack to Hamilton (on repeat)
Reading: I always have multiple books on the go, normally one fiction and on non-fiction. Currently, I’m switching between Isabel Allende – The Soul of a Woman and Marian Keyes – Grown Ups (for the second time)
I can’t work without: Lots of light and a bright, open space
Contingent Works: What do you do and why did you choose this career path?
Karen McCandless: I’m a copywriter, journalist, and digital marketer. I always wanted to be a writer of some sort, ideally a foreign correspondent reporting from the most dangerous parts of the world for the BBC or Reuters. But, I qualified as a journalist at the wrong time. Newspapers weren’t hiring, even the ones that I’d worked at for free for the past year. So, I decided to put my writing skills to use in trade publications and work on business-to-business magazines instead.
CW: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
KM: Words are powerful and they carry a lot of meaning. Helping my clients find the right words that connect with their audience or customers is satisfying. As a journalist, I enjoy asking the right questions to unearth the information that will help form that connection. Although my style is more Jon Snow than Piers Morgan when it comes to interviewing people!
CW: What advice would you give someone who’s considering a similar role?
KM: Start a personal blog. It’s hard to get a paid writing gig these days, and not everyone can afford to intern for long periods of time. But if you do get a job interview, you need to be able to showcase your writing skills and demonstrate that you have an interest in your chosen field.
Writers often complain that their subject matter is boring, but a good writer can make any topic sound exciting. If you take an interest in whatever subject you are covering, your writing will reflect that.
CW: Tell us something about you that many people don’t know.
KM: I wrote limericks for (and about) my flatmates at university and would leave them on their doors or the walls around the house. It would often be a mad rush to find and hide them all before any parental visits!
CW: What does an average day look like for you?
KM: I wouldn’t say I have an average day, as I don’t like routine! I feel like it stifles my creativity. That said, I’m most creative first thing in the morning and in the evening, so that’s when I do almost all of my writing. Afternoons are a mix of meeting with clients, project management, and catching up on admin.
CW: What’s your go-to productivity hack?
KM: I use the Pomodoro method to make sure I take breaks every 20 minutes. I try to walk about in my breaks, even if it’s only to get a coffee or a drink of water.
CW: What made you choose to work from a coworking space and why do you decide to call Contingent Works home?
KM: When I first became a freelancer I was living in Barcelona. I initially worked in cafes, but I needed somewhere more stable to call home where there was both good coffee and good company. I visited quite a few co-working spaces – both in Barcelona and London – and most of them asked for an annual commitment for a fixed desk from 9-5.
In contrast, Contingent Works’ flexible and affordable memberships mean I can drop in when I need to and get the most of the space without be tied into a long-term contract.
CW: What do you enjoy most about working from Contingent Works?
KM: When lockdown hit, I had to transition to working from home, which I’d never done full time before. I didn’t even have a desk! I quickly found that working from one place all day every day sapped my creativity and productivity. And being self-employed, I don’t have colleagues to bounce ideas off or have Zoom catch-ups. Lockdown also shifted my priorities to staying local.
Contingent Works covers all bases: it gives me the change of scenery I need to reignite my creativity and boost productivity; it’s within walking distance from my home so I can stay local, and I have access to a community of like-minded people.
CW: How do you unwind after a day working at Contingent Works?
KM: In the pre-Covid era, that normally involved a trip to the theatre or cinema or dinner with friends. In the Covid era, it’s the virtual equivalent of these activities – live-streamed theatre, at-home cocktail making, a virtual book launch, or even Zoom yoga.
