ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

I'm Hassan, 29-year-old freelance copywriter and writer, currently working as a Temp Community and Social Media Manager at indie game publisher, Chucklefish.

So what do you actually do?

The core of my work is communications and messaging.

Identifying the identity and values of a brand and updating their messaging and communications to reflect this. To bring out authenticity in a brand and help them to better communicate with their audiences.

What has your career path been?

Ha! It’s been a challenging one.

I studied Medical Physiology at university and after a couple of years, it became clear jobs weren't there at the time (confirmed by a senior in the field). I didn't want to wander aimlessly so I looked at my skills, my interests and slowly began rebuilding my career prospects from scratch.

It took a lot of time, research, voluntary work, being mentored, networking and pushing beyond what made me comfortable to try new things. I became freelance and began to expand my experience through different roles.

What is the best part of your job?

Being freelance gives me a lot of flexibility on the type of job I want to take at a given time.

The opportunity to work across various industries and roles is great. I like being able to tap into my creativity and think strategically to solve a brand’s problems.

Why do you do your job?

The answer can vary from time to time. I don't want to romanticise work as this great fulfilling activity that will complete your life.

That's not true for everyone and it's OK to work just to get paid. In whatever job I do, I try to make sure there's at least a little creative freedom to write what I want and explore my own ideas.

I enjoy digging into a brand’s values and purpose to develop its identity and messaging. I also want to encourage brands to hire more Muslim talent to embrace fresh perspectives and engage with an often-overlooked and misrepresented community.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

I try not to restrict myself by a specific role.

Find your primary passion and interest (writing and communications in my case) and then be open to all the ways in which you can experience that through work.

And as with any writing, practising the craft and reading is important but so is taking time to think and draw inspiration from what is around you. It all counts!

Any parting words?

Know what interests you and what you enjoy doing at the moment and try to find roles that fulfil your interests as much as they can.

Be mindful that these may change. Your perfect job may change based on where you are at the time.

Embrace the journey, embrace moving beyond your comfort zone, and especially for minorities who are often underrepresented and expected to work harder for any recognition - know your value and worth and make sure you're properly compensated for your talent, experience and work.

Always make time for yourself to do what you enjoy outside of work.

Check out Hassan’s Twitter below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I don't have the typical day-to-day as this varies between, and even within a given role.

Currently, I usually start by checking emails and our different social media platforms to note any immediate community concerns/feedback and get an idea of what the community is thinking. This also involves responding to the community’s questions and just having a regular chat with them.

If we're using a project management tool, I'll check what my tasks are for the week and prioritise based on deadlines, time to complete etc.

I'll create and plan regular content across multiple social platforms and think of content ideas for the week based on what's relevant. This usually involves time developing ideas, writing copy and gathering any assets needed.
I'll also assist colleagues with other copy and content needs including writing blogs and internal documents.

Chatting with developers/clients, I can understand what they're working on in the short term and communicate what's necessary with the community.

Sometimes I'll capture footage and screenshots of gameplay to create future content or when new content is about to launch.

When tracking performance, I may also pull data from different platforms using their analytics tools, and produce reports or insights to share.