Day in the life of
Content Marketer – Anya Prevallet-Kinstle
I am a Project Manager for the Future of Work Institute, a tech startup utilizing data to empower the burgeoning platform economy. We share insights and collaborate with researchers to provide labor market stakeholders and policymakers with data to make decisions built on facts. Our data is garnered from Appjobs, a platform with over 2 million gig workers across 40 countries.
My typical day consists of wearing many hats from following up with researchers to ensure our research programs are operating smoothly to making sure content is being published on our website and social media which includes content ideation followed by topic research. Building and maintaining a thought leadership entails staying up to date on breaking news as well as understanding the trends within our industry. I spend time searching for content gaps by looking at our available data and analyzing trends in order to provide groundbreaking insights to those interested. Plus, about half of my year is spent overseeing and personally working on our yearly report which typically recaps important labor market trends and incorporates our data to make a case for what the future of work will look like and how to influence less turbulent transitions within the labor market.
Pros
There are many pros that can also be considered cons depending on who you ask when working in the tech industry and especially in a startup environment. At a startup, there usually isn’t someone who has worked in the role before, so each role is an uncharted territory without a definite list of tasks or key responsibilities but with KPIs that need to be met nonetheless. This means taking initiative is key, failing is bound to happen, and doing work that seems to fall outside of what you consider “your role” will happen more often than not. You have to be more invested in the success of the company as opposed to always doing what you like or want to on a day-to-day basis which is not for everyone. This is often accompanied by less defined career paths which again may be frustrating to some but I often view it as a chance to direct my own career path in channels I prefer and am successful in.
I would say half of the time I am making and deciding what my tasks are without direction because I know the goals I have to accomplish but it is up to me to figure out how to do that which can include trial and error or A/B testing. Coming from a more corporate environment with more structure can make this shift difficult if structure and consistency is preferred. I personally enjoy an environment where no two days are the same and priorities are constantly shifting.
Cons
A more obvious con within startups is the lesser degree of security. In established companies, most likely a role is going to exist whether you are in it or not. However, in startups, there is still a need to have a product-market fit that allows for profitability otherwise particular roles may be discontinued because they are not needed or the company does not survive. But like most things, high risk equals high reward.
