How to become a Twitter Moments curator: Melina's story

Meet Melina, 25, from London, a Twitter Moments curator. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.

I wanted to highlight voices that aren’t always heard, and talk about shared experiences across the world.

What is your job?

We highlight the best of what’s happening on Twitter by identifying the biggest conversations in real time, or the biggest real world events taking place at this moment.

What are your day-to-day tasks?

We scan through tweets and the amazing conversations that take place. We also identify emerging trends, creating a collection of tweets. We all work at different times – some of us early in the morning, some later in the day. Our daily work depends on what is happening at that given time. We aim to give people timely information every time they open their app.

What skills do you use in your job?

Storytelling skills, because a lot of the Moments we do are quite narrative-driven. I trained to be a journalist, so a lot of the skills that I developed whilst training come into play here. News-gathering skills and verification skills are important – we need to be sure that what we are showing you is accurate.

We must also understand the different communities that exist on Twitter, so we need to be careful when we are trying to summarise these big stories.

Time management is also important. I specialise in breaking news, so everything I do has to be very timely and accurate. You have to be a good communicator and team player as we work with colleagues across the globe.

What subjects did you study at school?

I got nine GCSEs, then I got three A-levels and one AS-level – I did English Literature, History, Sociology and Psychology. I studied History and, after that, I went to journalism school and completed an NCTJ course (National Council of the Training of Journalists) in order to become a qualified self-starting journalist.

Was it a smooth ride?

Not always – I found I needed to do a lot of self-teaching to learn all the things I wanted to at school. I also had to learn to overcome feelings that I might not be good enough. I’m so glad I didn't give up.

Top tips

• Don’t be scared if you’re not 100% sure what you want to do, it’s ok. This is the stage in your life you can try out things. It's all about trial and error

• It's better to know what you don't want to do at this stage

• If you do have an interest or hobby, pursue it and see if you can turn it into a job or lifelong interest. Research as much as you can

• If you're interested in content curation, use social media to your advantage. Contact people if you have an interest in their roles, put forward creative ideas or ask for their advice. The world is your oyster

• At Twitter we had a one tweet CV initiative where young people could send in a tweet and, if they were suitable, come in and experience life at Twitter. Look out for similar opportunities!

A similar role to a Twitter Moments curator is a web content editor. Web content editors research, write and manage an organisation’s online content, including text, images, video and other media. Melina found her internship through Creative Access, an organisation that helps black, Asian and minority ethnic young people, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, get into work in the creative industries.

What to expect if you want to be a web content editor

• Web content editor average salary: £25,000 to £40,000 per year
• Web content editor typical working hours: 35 to 40 hours per week

What qualifications do you need to be a web content editor?

You could get into this role via a university course, a college course, an apprenticeship or working towards the role.

Sources: National Careers Service

This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.

For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).

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