Rachel Wilkerson Miller: Senior Lifestyle Editor at BuzzFeed

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On today’s show, I have Rachel Wilkerson Miller who is a Senior Lifestyle Editor at BuzzFeed.

I’ve followed Rachel’s blog for years. I’m talkin’ at least 8 years, which is a long time in blog days. While her blog has changed over time (it used to be healthy living focused, now it mostly shares what she’s reading and writing), I’ve always loved following along her life.

I think I’m not alone when it comes to curiosity about what it’s like to work at BuzzFeed. Is it really as fun as it seems? Are the people actually cool or are they stuck up? How do they get work done while working in a chaotic environment?!

We chat about all of this more. Rachel shares how she got the job at BuzzFeed, advice she’d give to anyone who wants to work in journalism, the most challenging and rewarding aspects about working at BuzzFeed, where she finds inspiration on the stories she writers, and a heck of a lot more.

Excited for you to tune in and hope you enjoy!

Rachel Wilkerson Miller | Senior Lifestyle Editor at BuzzFeed

Show Notes

In today’s episode, you’ll find out:

How Rachel got started at BuzzFeed.
Advice she would give to someone who wants to work in journalism or at BuzzFeed specifically.
The most challenging aspects and proudest moments during her career at BuzzFeed.
One thing that surprised her about working at BuzzFeed.
Where she finds inspiration for the articles she writes and what she likes most about working at BuzzFeed.
How the political climate has changed the content that’s shared on BuzzFeed.

Rachel Wilkerson Miller is a senior lifestyle editor at BuzzFeed and the author of Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, she worked at ELLE Magazine. Her writing has appeared on The Hairpin, The Huffington Post, The Knot, and A Practical Wedding, and she lives in Brooklyn.

Links to resources:

Key takeaways from this episode:

“The only downside is balancing getting to create content with managing people.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller (on managing people)

I had to significantly lower my expectations on how much work I can actually do. -@the_rewm Click To Tweet

“I have to be realistic about how long it takes to do things.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

The thing that you're being paid to do is what you have to do first. -@the_rewm Click To Tweet

“I worked really hard to break that habit where I don’t check my phone until I’m physically out of the bed.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

“So many of the pitches we get come from people, it feels like it comes from people who don’t actually read BuzzFeed.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

“We don’t get a lot of our content from pitches. It’s very rare that a pitch lands”. – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

One thing that surprises me is how many people who seem to hate BuzzFeed but still reads it all the time. -@the_rewm Click To Tweet

“We’re all doing so many things at once, it’s hard to really have a day where you’re just doing one thing.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

I care deeply about creating a fair and equitable workplace. -@the_rewm Click To Tweet

“Most of the things that I’m writing about come from real conversations that I’m having with friends.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

“I really like to be the first person to find something new.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

“When I get home, I make myself sit down and write in my journal for 10-20 minutes.” – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

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