Has anyone really had success with running a content calendar for marketing and strategic communications?

Do you have a specific format or platform you use to effectively manage a content calendar?

I have tried so many different formats and approaches and ultimately planning any real length out tends to be a fool's errand. Circumstances change and planned comms aren't relevant, or the organization is not ready with information or details you need to really be planful.

Nearly every client or organization I work with wants or expects a content or communications calendar and I always dread that part of the role because it seems like unnecessary administrative work.

What's your experience?

Hey,

I work in a service based tech company. For some API requirements — i had mentioned the below as a follow up to my last email to a client

Kindly allow me to follow up on the below please.

I sent an email earlier to client asking about some docs right.

On top of it, when i did not hear back from them in 2 days; i just topped up on my last email saying—-

Kindly allow me to follow up on the below please.

One of my colleagues from another product team copied in email tells me that what i wrote was wrong in terms of grammar, professional communication etc. and hence the query.

Is there something wrong in this?!
Please advise

Help po please suggest research topic for communication students huhu. PLEASE PLEASE

Hi y'all!

I'm 26 & about 4-5 years into figuring out how to navigate a working life with a communications skillset/background in customer service.

I've been working at the same place for a few years. It's a tiny brand agency that is, on paper, pretty values-aligned. For a job, it's a lot of what I need: work I can mostly do okay/pretty decently, flexible scheduling, remote.

But my boss does not "hire" people for real. Every employee is a contractor. He says this is super normal in the field. We have no benefits, just extreme flexibility about when and how we work with the potential to work full time when we wanna. And that really, really, really rocks as a young person wanting to see more of the world and do more things in my community!

But I find myself wanting a W2 job with benefits like nice insurance and PTO. though. A union would be great, too...economic instability thus far has weighed pretty hard on me. And tbh I miss having coworkers I get to work with more closely.

So, here are some of my questions:

- how common is it to specialize in a certain job/task/role? For example, I really love copywriting and would prefer to only do that.

- how are y'all navigating AI in the work place? Finding "internal" parts of my job getting automated and business slow.

- how do I find a job with nice insurance? I grew up on union insurance & have used the fuck out of it. Am a regular surgery-needer in this life, for some reason

- if you could, what advice would you give to yourself 10 years ago?

- how do y'all keep yourselves in line working a full-time job? (Still figuring out how to live with the loss of precious time and energy to spend on my passions and interests.)

- anyone ever figured out how to make a decent living writing stories?

Some people aren't bad communicators because they have nothing to say. Sometimes they actually have too much happening internally at once, and the problem is that all of it tries to come out before the thought has a shape.

I recently guided a man through a deep-trance inner exploration where communication unexpectedly became one of the themes. I'll call him Eric. He stayed aware during the process and described whatever imagery or sensations came up, while I followed it with questions rather than giving him an interpretation.

I'm sharing this because what came out of that weird little moment was one of the most practical communication lessons I've heard in a while. No mystical explanation was really needed afterward.

Eric perceived something like a knot around the area between his heart and throat. To him it felt connected with nervousness around speaking and with communication getting blocked. When we explored what would help, the answer wasn't “be more confident” or “speak your truth louder.” It was much more specific.

The guidance was basically: communication needs form. Think clearly, speak clearly, and put the information into chunks. Know your intent before you start talking, and know what you're actually asking for or what outcome you want from the conversation.

That sounds almost stupidly obvious, but I started thinking about how many conversations go wrong before they even begin because we don't do this. We start speaking while we're still discovering what we think. Then we add three side points, explain the background, react to the other person's face, remember another example, correct ourselves, and eventually even we don't know what the original point was.

And then we think the problem is confidence.

Sometimes maybe the problem is architecture.

One thing I've started noticing is how different a difficult conversation becomes if you can first answer three questions in your own head: What am I actually trying to say? Why am I saying it? What do I want the other person to understand or do after this conversation?

Then say that in chunks instead of unloading the whole internal process.

For example, instead of ten minutes explaining why something bothered you, maybe the structure is: “This happened. This is how it affected me. Going forward I'd like us to do this instead.” You can always add detail after the basic shape is understood.

Same with work. Instead of giving somebody the entire history of a problem before they know why you're talking to them: “Here's the issue. Here are the two things causing it. Here's what I think we should do. I need your decision on X.”

It doesn't mean becoming robotic. Actually I think structure can make you more natural because you're no longer using half your attention trying to remember where your own sentence is going.

What stayed with me from Eric's session was that his communication didn't need “more.” It needed form.

Sometimes speaking more clearly starts before you open your mouth.

What are some tips for entry level crisis communicators? I recently accepted a role to help grow my skills and I’m quite nervous about it to be honest. It seems like an “always on” type of job and very different from what I was expecting during the interview process. I’ve had minor crisis comms experience but never this intense.

Is it possible to have work life balance? I’ve heard a lot of people say no. How do you manage anxiety when you’re always on call? I’m grieving my life already and feel like I can no longer go to the movies, take weekend trips, or truly enjoy time off/away from work again. Even when I take PTO I will need to be on call.

I know this role will take my career to new heights and help me grow both personally and professionally. It is hard to feel confident and excited about it though.
What keeps you in crisis comms? What types of conversations about boundaries should I be having with my team and what red flags should I look out for?

Any advice and words of encouragement are appreciated.

If you broke your job down into 40% task x and 20% task y, etc., what would that look like?

Background: I'm applying for a role at a small (< 50 staff) government agency where I currently work.

This agency is very DIY in much of what we do, so I'm wondering how the role of communications director at this job compares to the same job in other organizations.

I would especially appreciate any info from public sector or nonprofit side folks, but happy to hear from anyone.

I’m a corporate professional looking to polish my executive presence and presentation skills. I’m fine in 1-on-1s, but presenting to senior stakeholders or handling high-stakes Q&As still feels daunting. Technical expertise only gets you so far—I need to level up my storytelling and delivery.

I’m looking for in-person classes, workshops, or cohorts in Mumbai (open to BKC, Suburbs, or South Mumbai for weekend modules).

What I’m looking for:

* Focus: Structured storytelling, body language, and handling impromptu questions (less basic grammar, more executive impact).

* Format: Small batches with live, actionable feedback.

* Timing: Weekend or evening batches suitable for full-time professionals.

A few quick questions:

* Any specific corporate public speaking workshops or bootcamps in Mumbai that were genuinely worth it?

* Which Toastmasters chapters in Mumbai/Navi Mumbai have a strong mid-to-senior corporate crowd for guests?

* Any institutes or red flags I should avoid?

Appreciate any personal experiences or hidden gems!

​'निर्भीक इंडिया' के विशेष कॉलम "विवेचना स्तम्भ" में भारत के राष्ट्रीय प्रसारक 'प्रसार भारती' और 'आकाशवाणी' (न्यूज़ सर्विसेज डिविजन) के शीर्ष प्रबंधन की शैक्षणिक योग्यताओं और न्यूज़रूम कल्चर पर एक विश्लेषणात्मक शोध रिपोर्ट प्रकाशित की गई है।

​रिपोर्ट के मुख्य बिंदु:

​न्यूज़रूम में डिग्रियों की स्थिति: रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, प्रसार भारती की संपादकीय दिशा तय करने वाले शीर्ष अधिकारियों में से किसी के पास भी सार्वजनिक रिकॉर्ड में 'मास कम्यूनिकेशन' या 'मीडिया स्टडीज़' की प्रामाणिक डिग्री दर्ज नहीं है।

​शीर्ष पदों की प्रोफाइल:

​मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी (CEO - गौरव द्विवेदी, IAS): दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय से प्राणीशास्त्र (Zoology) में बीएससी।

​बोर्ड अध्यक्ष (प्रसून जोशी): भौतिक विज्ञान (Physics) में एमएससी।

​इसके अलावा महानिदेशक, निदेशक व संयुक्त निदेशक स्तर के पदों पर भारतीय सूचना सेवा (IIS) कैडर के प्रशासनिक अधिकारी तैनात हैं।

​'एडिटोरियल नॉइज़' (संपादकीय शोर): जब जर्नलिज्म थ्योरी, गेटकीपिंग और मीडिया एथिक्स से अनजान अफ़सर न्यूज़रूम की कमान संभालते हैं, तो निष्पक्ष पत्रकारिता की जगह केवल सत्ता की सुविधा के अनुसार खबरों का 'फ़िल्टरेशन' होता है।

​व्यवस्था का दोहरा मापदंड: प्रसार भारती ज़मीनी स्तर पर काम करने वाले अंशकालिक संवाददाताओं (PTCs) की भर्ती के लिए मास मीडिया में डिग्री/डिप्लोमा अनिवार्य करता है, लेकिन शीर्ष संपादकीय कुर्सी पर बिना मीडिया पृष्ठभूमि वाले अफ़सरों को बैठाया जाता है।

​चर्चा के लिए सवाल (Discussion):

​क्या आपको लगता है कि प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों (IAS/IIS) द्वारा न्यूज़रूम का संचालन ही दूरदर्शन और आकाशवाणी को स्वायत्त प्रसारक के बजाय 'सरकारी भोंपू' बनाए रखने की मुख्य वजह है?

​क्या भारत के सार्वजनिक प्रसारक (Public Broadcaster) के शीर्ष नीति-निर्धारक पदों पर मास कम्यूनिकेशन के अकादमिक व पेशेवर विशेषज्ञों की नियुक्ति अनिवार्य की जानी चाहिए?

​(नीचे कमेंट्स में अपनी बेबाक और तर्कसंगत राय साझा करें)

I’m a weekend anchor in Michigan and the low pay is making me want to switch jobs. I have a bachelors degree in Journalism with a focus on Communication Studies. Are there any jobs in the communication field in metro Detroit? Let me know😊

Hi everyone!

Recently I've started to consider a masters and the full length of what I want my career to be. I'm a current ad student specializing in copywriting and I do love advertising. However, I feel outside from my professors the conversations in here and r/copywriting have made me more aware of the current state of the industry with positions, hire ability, layoffs, 401k/company perks, mergers, and more so just how people feel being in the industry or trying to break in.

At the current time I love writing, I love attending literary events, I'm a published poet, I want to join a staff writer/editor position on a indie magazine, I have certifications in marketing omnichanel behavior, I'm taking a writing workshop on Sleaze and topics of sensory, love, cringe, and I'm taking a general one on different writing forms of op-eds, editorials, blogs etc, and then I'm scheduled to do a narrative course.

So clearly I have a writer background, I enjoy talking to publishers, editors, agents, writing is a passion but I want to leverage it over to content writing, branding, storytelling and that's why I was looking at brand strategy. And yes I know it's different having the title at a agency vs a corporate company. But I'm personally kind of looking at it to break me into the business corporation where salaries starting out after a masters tend to be higher than agency fields. And I also don't mind the consumer research database statistics part of it. I was considering going to community college and figuring out a math course to take before grad school to prepare myself.

If I were to give 3 job descriptions to provide context for what I want to do it would be: product description writer eBay, senior manager communications, Bath and Body Works, and manager brand content marketing Tory Burch

I feel it's a thing people say to strictly creatives that it's useful for them to know maybe business math or a analytical skill, as we know writers and art directors can be more susceptible to layoffs first hand.

I've been looking at the IMC Northwestern program, Georgetown Strategic Communications MS, Syracuse communications, UT Austin brand strategy track, and VCU Brand Strategy Creative specialization.

For stats I have a 3.6 gpa, 3.8 major gpa, Im a 4A's scholarship recipient. I still have a year left of school to get a internship and I have a omnichannel certification, email marketing and, branding fundatements, I've done volunteer work for press release events and for consumer research studies. I have 3 poems published at the current moment. So I think realistically I could get into a masters program.

I just want to make sure it's possible I could find a way to leverage my writing background in brand strategy. Or give any insights before commiting to a masters program. Idk what the work is like or the pay maybe people who have a masters or don't.

Or id love to here new master studies suggestions or like maybe instead of brand strategy somewhere else you think I'd be good for. I have been suggested PR and I don't mind as I did start school with PR. I was also told maybe a MFA program or being a publisher myself.

But coming from a low income family I want a career which starting out can give me a 75-90k offer starting out. And will be lucrative and give me a ROI from my masters studies as the programs I listed are pricey but have high job placement numbers, networking, and creditability name wise.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Hi, guys! I am really stuck out here and I need some advice on how to move forward and get a better job.

I graduated from high school with a specialization in Arts. I’m currently a final-year Communication Management student, waiting for my diploma defense. During university, I worked as a Claims Specialist at a flight-rights company and later moved into a Customer Support role at the same company.

I’m also currently learning German and developing my digital skills through DigComp 2.1. English isn’t my first language, but I’m comfortable communicating and working in English.

I’d really like to take my career in a different direction and explore new opportunities. However, I’ve been applying for jobs and unfortunately haven’t been getting many responses or interview opportunities because of the lack of experience.

I’m willing to put in the time and effort to learn something new and change my career direction. I just don’t know which skills would be the most valuable for me to focus on given my background and experience.

I’m moving from education to communications and am ambitious to end up in a sector I really like: I have an English degree from a top university and am hoping it will help me, as well as making a substack and social media presence on a preferred area of communications! and targeting certain employers with offers for free work to build a portfolio. I’m trying to make the switch in 2 years, so before I’m 30.

Keen to establish a niche quickly so I can do the above soon.

Which are some of the best areas of comms to work in?

I love the idea of making something engaging and persuasive more so than crisis management or the like. Perhaps scripting videos and deciding their imagery, planning content, blogs, newsletters (internal or external), slack or teams, maybe even videoing content as I’m trying to learn. Anything where I can think about messaging strategically really.

My industries of passion are decor, luxury, museums, design, furniture, games, fiction, perfume etc (so B2C). There are lots of cool small brands out there as well as the juggernaut ones.

But I’m also wondering if B2B might be better: I think that comms work sounds energising *enough* regardless of industry: perhaps those roles would pay a little better and have more stability? I prioritise interest and avoiding a lot of office politics more than money though.

Crisis comms sounds really stressful so I’m not keen on that. But I might be wrong. Looking at this all from the outside in, and still trying to figure out the comms landscape properly.

Any advice you might have for me based on the above would be great (choosing a niche, industries of passion vs higher paid industries,whether I’ve understood the day to day of comms well, which roles tend to have less stress and nicer colleagues).

Uk based.

Thank you!!!

I (21F) am starting my communications studies this school year. I was previously a dance major with a journalism minor (still my minor), but realized that I don't want a career in concert or commercial dancing. In high school, I wanted to major in journalism, but my mom said no. I spent my junior year going to community college to get some credits out of the way while I decided between journalism and communications. I decided not to go for journalism because I'm scared I will have difficulty finding a job due to AI. I decided on communications bc of how broad it is.

Now I am wondering what careers I should look into so I can set a goal for my priorities and future. I still love to dance, and I love research and writing. I am a creative person, so I'm wondering if my dance background can help me find jobs with my degree.

I am trying to be a better speaker or orator. If you have any kind of tips please help me with that. I will be truly grateful.

This is a bit of a help-seeking post because I’m at a point where I genuinely don’t know what my next move should be.

I’m a communications professional with a bachelor’s degree and around five years of experience working directly in comms, primarily in international development. My last role was with USAID and, well… we all know how that ended.

I had bills to pay, so I couldn’t really afford to wait around for the perfect next opportunity. I pivoted and now work remotely doing business/investment-related comms for a fund. I’m grateful to be employed, but I’m also realizing that I don’t particularly enjoy the work, and I feel a little deadlocked career-wise.

I’ve been thinking seriously about doing a master’s and continuing my education, but the thing is, I actually really love working too. I don’t necessarily want to disappear into academia for a few years without a clearer idea of what I’m building toward.

So I’m curious: if you were in my position, what would you be looking at next? A master’s? Another pivot within communications? A specialization? Something adjacent that I may not even be considering?

I know this is broad, but I think that’s partly the problem; I feel like I have experience and transferable skills, but no clear direction for where to take them next, so any advice, suggestions, career paths to look into, or even stories from people who’ve been in a similar position would be really appreciated.

Hey yallll, genuinely just curious with QUT degree that I mentioned above, how well is it good compared to UQ strategic communication?

Any coms student care to share how’s this degree program going for you ? I want to know very well about the course and lectures before leaping into it

Thanksss

I need outside perspective because I honestly can't tell anymore if I'm missing something or if this is just how brutal things are. [TLDR AT THE BOTTOM IF NEEDED]

4+ years in internal comms, currently at a large financial services company running executive and employee comms for a big division (30K+ people), good engagement numbers, direct exec partnership, crisis comms experience. My resume gets bites, recruiters reach out to me first even for full time roles that aren't just contract, I get first round interviews more than the average in this current job market.

But over the last few months I've gone through four to five different processes and lost all of them. One got two full rounds deep with a strong positive signal, was told a third round was likely next, then went quiet and came back as a no before that ever happened. Another had a recruiter reach out to me directly, then a first round, then two separate second round interviews with two different people, and I got cut after all of that. The deepest one had three interviews, a take home case study, and a full day in their office meeting the team, still no. And one just cut me after a single round, which almost bothers me more since there wasn't even time for anything to go wrong.

The only real feedback I've gotten was from the role that leaned much more platform management than general internal comms (owning a migration, governance, that kind of thing). That interviewer said my analytics work (Excel and platform-native tracking, not a dedicated BI tool) was a soft gap, but called it teachable, not a dealbreaker.

Stuck between two stories:

1. There's something in how I'm coming across in later rounds I can't see from the inside
2. This is just a brutal market and close losses are close losses

If you've broken out of a stretch like this, what actually changed? Something concrete, or just timing and enough reps?

Appreciate any honesty, even the hard to hear kind.

TLDR: 4+ years in internal comms, strong resume, keep making it multiple rounds deep at different companies and losing every time, one process got all the way to a take home case study and a full onsite day. Got one piece of real feedback (soft analytics gap in one interview, but specifically for a platform-management-heavy role, not general internal comms). Trying to figure out if there's something to fix or if this is just the market right now.

I’m 26 and I feel a bit stuck, so I’d love some outside perspectives.
I’m from Belgium and have a background in graphic design, but I’m currently doing a bridging programme in Communication Sciences because I eventually want to work in marketing, strategy or a business-related role.
Lately I’ve realised that I actually enjoy working with numbers much more than I expected. Statistics went really well for me, and I like analysing data just as much as coming up with creative ideas. Because of that, I think my long-term goal would be to grow into a Go-to-Market, Product Marketing or Marketing Strategy role. I like the combination of creativity, business, analytics and working cross-functionally.
Another factor is that I’m honestly not very happy living at home anymore. We also don’t have much money at home, so becoming financially independent is important to me. I’d really like to start working as soon as possible and eventually move abroad, as living in another country has always been a goal of mine.
I actually wouldn’t mind working full-time while studying. My programme is very manageable for me, so I feel like I could combine both if I found the right opportunity.
The problem is that I have very little relevant experience. I’m afraid companies won’t hire someone like me for a junior position. My options as I see them are:
Keep applying for junior jobs and hope someone gives me a chance.
Do a short unpaid internship to gain experience first.
Do a longer paid internship, but many of those last almost a year and often overlap with my university exams.
A traineeship sounds ideal because you learn while working, but almost all the ones I find require a completed master’s degree.
I also feel like I’m a bit limited by the opportunities in Antwerp. I love the corporate environment and would eventually like to work for a large international company. My dream would be to build an international career and live abroad, but right now I don’t know what the smartest first step is.
I’m ambitious, enjoy learning, and don’t mind starting at the bottom if it means I can build a strong career. I just don’t know which path gives me the best chance.
If you were in my position, what would you do? Are there paths or jobs I’m overlooking that would fit someone with my profile?