My Week at Work - The Freelance Journalist

 The working life of 9-5 is no longer the norm in today's society, with nearly a third of all Australians engaging in some form of freelance work. Journalist and UC alumna Yadira Galarza Cauchi is one of those Australians; juggling a successful freelance writing career and raising a family from the comfort of her home.

While studying a double degree in Journalism and Arts, majoring in International Studies and Spanish, Yadira worked full-time, which she says paid off for her career.

Journalism is a tricky industry and jobs are as hard to come by as one of Kylie Jenner's Lip Kits. It takes a heap of work, luck and a little bit of being in the right place at the right time.

After graduating in 2010, Yadira worked in various communication and media roles within the APS, including as a Media Officer for AusAID, which she credits as 'hands down one of her favourite jobs'. She believes her degree at UC helped her land sought after jobs, particularly a role on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Returning to her journalism roots, Yadira began writing and her work has been published in various magazine publications such as Cosmopolitan Bride, The Collective, Shop Til You Drop, Australian Institute of International Affairs, HOORAY! Magazine and The Knot. She now works as a freelance journalist focusing on women's health, motherhood and beauty.

Yadira juggles raising her adorable 6 month old son, Javier, along with work as the Editor of Rebel Muse, Beauty Editor of MeOhMyMum and running her own site Clean Beauty Talk (sounds exhausting already!). Her days are spent reviewing products, editing stories and managing multiple social media accounts. On top of that she also does online copy writing and social media management for small businesses.

Freelance writing has been the best career choice for Yadira, as it allows her to structure her workload around her baby; writing in when she can and allowing her to work across all seven days in of the week.

"Freelancing is the way to go for ladies who are interested in combining a journalism career and motherhood! There's no way I could pull long hours in an office these days with a bub so it's definitely something to consider or work towards for anybody studying this field!"

The best thing about her work now is being able to try new beauty and health products and share them with women on a daily basis.

"I found my vibe when I landed in the beauty world."

Her advice for anyone wanting to pursue a freelance writing career is to 'work your butt off'.

"A lot of people don't understand writing/communications/social media [and will try to discourage you from following your passion], but ignore them. If you love it, you don't miss deadlines and learn to think outside the box - you will succeed. 

Writing is the best thing in the world. Get creative and don't be boring with it!"

It's always nice to get out of the house and network within the beauty and health industry. Media showings are a great way to meet new people, create exciting content and of course, to test new products before anyone else!

There's no way I could pull long hours in an office these days with a bub so freelance is definitely something to consider or work towards for anybody studying this field with a young family. Here I am on an early morning flight; feeding my baby while flying to Noosa and smashing out a whole heap of work. These moments truly make me feel like Superwoman – I even managed to apply concealer, bronzer and curl my lashes!

"The best part about my job is getting to try out new beauty and health products and sharing them with women on the daily. Women are the best. Also; staff discounts at Rebel Muse – have you shopped there?! You will die (in a good way)."

A highlight of journey so far is having my baby and being able to combine motherhood with my career! Being able to work/write for myself and earn a good income is pretty special and often hard to come by.

You truly have to love what you do to make it your 9-5. Nobody wants to do what they love as a sh!tty side project right?

The best thing about working freelance is that it allows you to work anywhere in the world!

Words by Stephanie Cossetto and Yadira Galarza Cauchi, images courtesy of Yadira Galarza Cauchi