Slovo Spotlight: Interview with Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Dudakova
Posted by Slovo on 2023-11-15
In the lead up to handing over to the next Slovo Editorial Team, we are running a series of interviews with the current team about the ins and outs of their role and their experience working at Slovo. Applications are open now until 23:59 on the 16th November. Apply through this link. We can't wait to read your applications!
In this final Slovo Spotlight, we end with a discussion with Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Dudakova about learning to delegate, and what's next for her following her tenure at Slovo.
What motivated you to apply for the role of Editor-in-Chief in particular?
I am pursuing a career in journalism and publishing so applying to Slovo seemed like an amazing opportunity to get some experience in that. EiC specifically, because I enjoy management tasks and wanted to understand how academic publishing works on the inside. I also wanted to help elevate Slovo’s online and visual presence, and increase accessibility (which we hopefully have achieved so far!).
What have you enjoyed the most?
I absolutely loved working with our team and hearing everyone’s ideas on how to improve the journal’s communication, accessibility, design, etc., thus raising our professional potential. It was very exciting to edit the pieces and collaborate with peer-reviewers, but my experience was especially great because of how enthusiastic and involved our team was, for which I am very grateful.
How have you found the process of managing the team?
It was slightly intimidating at first since Slovo is a large and one of the only postgraduate journals at SSEES and I had to learn a lot about how academic publishing works. However, because of our team’s enthusiasm, patience and good communication, the whole process went very smoothly and it’s just been a very pleasurable experience overall.
What has been the most challenging part of your role?
When you have so many responsibilities, sometimes it is difficult to navigate the tasks and stay on top of things. However, this is where communication with your team is vital — when you learn how to properly delegate tasks and manage your time, you grow as both manager and editor. As long as you allow yourself to rely on your team, the whole process is going to be highly enjoyable and easy!
What have you learnt from your time as Editor-in-Chief? Is there anything you’ll take away with you to new career experiences?
As an EiC, you have an opportunity to really express your creativity and ideas into life. You are running the journal, which means you are responsible for the furthering of its growth and success, and that is an incredibly rewarding feeling. I’ll take this drive for improvement, learning and growth with me into my professional endeavours.
What’s next for you following your tenure at Slovo?
Currently, I am completing my assistantship with the New York Times and working as a part-time journalist at a bilingual magazine. My goal is to continue working in this area and finding something full-time!
Any advice for people who are considering applying but haven’t made up their mind yet?
If after reading the descriptions of the roles, looking through our social media and reading our latest issue, you feel like there is an instinctive voice telling you that you would like to be a part of a journal like ours — do not hesitate to apply. If you feel like there is something that the journal could do better and want to help it grow, we need people like you! Passion and care for our region’s affairs is what truly makes Slovo such a nice journal to work at, and if you are interested in publishing or journalism careers, it is an absolutely perfect place to start.
Editor-in-Chief responsibilities:
Building and managing the journal’s overall direction by communicating with your team, SSEES staff members and authors;
Holding meetings with the team, setting goals and ensuring the journal is meeting deadlines;
Delegating tasks and setting priorities;
Driving change and further developing existing initiatives/proposing new ones;
Checking-in on the team and responding to email queries on official Slovo email.