Author: Mariëlle Bouter-van Rijn
Content Manager at Crossphase
Published on 19 August 2019

Drop the job title “Content Manager” in any conversation and people will stare at you with big question marks in their eyes. What exactly does a Content Manager do? Before I applied for the job, I had no clue either. But now? Let me tell you all about it.

Press releases, wallpapers and TV-slides

A day after my graduation, I stepped into the Crossphase office as a newbie Content Manager. I joined the team that handles all the requests of one of our international clients. Our contact persons daily send us all kinds of requests. For example: the client wins a Sustainability Award. This needs to be communicated internally and externally. We receive the content (text and images) for the publications and get started. We publish a news item on the intranet, we photoshop a wallpaper for the laptops, we publish a press release on the external website and upload a nice slide to the TV channels.

Linchpin

Besides these day-to-day updates, we also carry out larger projects. To give an example, the clients gets a new department that needs its own site. We step in and find out what the client wants, if we can build that ourselves, and what we need IT for. All while keeping the client’s style guide in mind. As Content Manager, I am the linchpin of the project that involves the client, IT and other stakeholders.

From Content Manager to Content Lead

After two years of getting experienced in the systems of the client, I can take on the role of advisor. I know what the systems can and cannot do, know the style requirements and the company, and have ties to IT for development work. Time for the next step! I am no longer Content Manager, but Content Lead. Yet another awe-inspiring title. As Content Lead, I coordinate the content migrations of the client. The old websites need to be transferred to a new, improved version of the content management system (CMS). Also, the company’s style has completely been updated, so the websites need to get a style update as well.

Love structure and clarity

We just started migrating the first website. As Content Lead, I started making an hours and cost estimate for the project. Then, all kinds of agreements need to be made. Who does the design, who creates content, are we reusing old content, are all the components available in the CMS, is any development work necessary, what are each team member’s roles and responsibilities etc.? In short, I am gathering the answers to a whole lot of questions. I make sure there is clarity, regularly contacting the client and IT, guarding our planning and giving advice. In addition, I arrange a steady workflow for my team and keep a close watch on the quality of our work.

Growth

The result of all the planning and advising? A beautiful website, a clean CMS and especially: a happy client. And that drives us! The next migrations are already scheduled. For me, these offer a great opportunity to learn more and continue growing in my role.

And who would have thought? From “I have no clue what a Content Manager does” to “I am Content Lead for a big corporate”.

How I got there? The most important thing I learned at Crossphase is that professional and personal growth go hand in hand. To get where I am today, I learned how to deal with stress, worked on personal leadership and practised presenting myself. Do you want to grow professionally and personally as well? Check out https://crossphase.nl/werken-bij.

You can also find a Dutch version of this article on LinkedIn.

Ontwerp zonder titel 4
Yasmien Hoesenie
Recruitment Business Partner

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