By Lady Karen

It's been about four months since I returned to full-time work from being a freelancer, and I've gained new perspectives in this time. For a while, I believed that journalism and media had no future. That was until I stepped out of my previous environment, reflected on my physical and mental state, and applied what I had learned. I discovered that journalists possess many "portable skills" that are difficult to replace. Regardless of which industry you enter, as long as you thoroughly understand the profession, the "insight, communication, and business development abilities" cultivated in high-pressure, fast-paced environments are what truly cannot be replaced.

In the past, I believed that understanding a career meant understanding the values behind it and the values the profession cultivates. In my early years in the workplace, during interviews, I had to interact with all kinds of people—sometimes CEOs and general managers, sometimes aunties and uncles at the market. Facing people from different professions, industries, classes, and backgrounds, I had to adapt my communication style to earn their trust. Through this, I cultivated "boldness" and "courage," and even gained a sense of "achievement" from the work.

But what happens after internalizing this sense of self? Although these are feelings we can sense from external responses, they don't have much impact on the workplace or others. The only thing that truly helps others and allows them to sense transformation is actually "portable skills."

1. Insight

As a journalist, I was constantly observing because I had to deliver exclusive stories every week. But observation alone wasn't enough—I had to bring my own perspective to reach the level of "insight." To develop that perspective, I had to absorb large amounts of diverse knowledge, materials, regulations, books, and more, so I could connect fragmented information into complete narratives.

For example, once I needed to deliver two exclusive stories but couldn't find much information, so I scrolled through Facebook. For exclusive stories to have substance, sources and interviews are basic requirements. If an incident involves legal violations, that's definitely substantial. That's when I came across a celebrity's sponsored post showing their child growing XX centimeters in height after using a certain product, with thousands of comments below about group purchases. That's when I became suspicious.

My thought process was:

  1. According to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, exaggerated efficacy claims are prohibited.

  2. This celebrity seems to endorse many products—do they all make exaggerated efficacy claims?

To verify my hypothesis, I first confirmed the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law regulations and found a table listing "inappropriate terminology in drug advertisements." Growing several centimeters in a short period definitely qualified as exaggerated efficacy. Next, I wanted to confirm whether the products this celebrity endorsed had violation records and fines. I visited the "Food and Drug Administration" website to search their database of illegal food advertisement violations, then checked by the celebrity's name, the products they endorsed, years, and months to confirm the legal violations and fines. I confirmed that this person was indeed a repeat offender, and according to regulations, the same product category cannot be penalized repeatedly, so they frequently changed product names to avoid penalties. Of course, they paid all the fines.

This way, I had two solid exclusive stories.

Ordinary people might wonder, "How did you know about the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law? How did you know exaggerated efficacy claims were illegal? How did you know where to find the illegal advertisement database?"

All of this came from "experience," which is the "absorbing large amounts of diverse knowledge, materials, regulations, books, and more to connect fragmented information into complete narratives" I mentioned earlier. When you input a large volume of information into your brain—even if it's not crystal clear, as long as there are keywords—the moment you encounter something familiar, you can Google it and trace through what you already know to piece together complete information.

2. Communication

As a journalist, I communicated with different departments and sources daily, adapting my questioning methods to obtain the answers I needed. Cross-departmental communication involved art directors and journalism professionals. When communicating with the control room, I had to understand SNG vehicle signals (upChain, downChain), countdown timers, audio recording—these were basic communication matters, all under time pressure.

Therefore, at work, I developed significant "efficient communication skills." When facing problems, my first instinct wasn't to blame others, but to find solutions and know how to resolve issues immediately, never seeking to assign fault. Solving problems required more than hard communication or commanding others to handle things. Instead, I clearly expressed my difficulties, ensuring the other party understood why I needed answers, why the news had to air in just one hour, and how important their information was. Once they understood, even if it was inconvenient for them, because I was so clear that my goal was to "solve the problem," emotional issues wouldn't surface in that moment. I would only reflect before the next problem on how to improve my approach.

Because I constantly reflected and communicated in real situations, training myself extensively and deliberately adjusting my communication methods, over time I could handle all kinds of difficult issues appropriately. If anyone felt something was incomplete, perhaps it was sometimes intentional—I wanted them to realize through my deliberate approach what inconvenience I had caused them, rather than having everything go smoothly.

3. Business Development

I used to think the "business" world was complicated, but at some point, I realized that lacking "business thinking" and relying on brute force is a real pity. Teacher Sun Chih-hua mentioned in a lecture that "the dumbest way to make money in this world is to just work hard at it." Of course, this isn't about making money, but rather breaking free from the mindset of "just working hard," which is crucial in life.

About a year ago, I wanted to try a business development position and made efforts to adjust my resume and interview skills, but ultimately returned to media. I couldn't let go of the feeling of chasing news stories and being seen. But when I thought I'd have no opportunity to develop business development skills, I suddenly realized that chasing exclusive stories doesn't necessarily mean just gathering information—it can also mean "creating information." Creating information definitely doesn't mean fabricating news. Rather, it means leveraging my ability to integrate resources to help potential partners assist society, while simultaneously benefiting society, creating newsworthy topics.

One of my cases was the "hand sanitizer vending machine." Around February, I interviewed a mask vending machine team whose vision impressed me. They even had facial recognition technology. I always felt that besides masks, they could offer other epidemic prevention products. When discussing with colleagues, many thought it was worth trying. The first product we thought of was "hand sanitizer." However, hand sanitizer was also in short supply at the time, and the free hypochlorous acid water available wasn't very convenient—teams had to fill it themselves. After thinking for a long time, I suddenly remembered that one of my former supervisors worked at a chemical company. I explained the potential collaboration, introduced the supplier to them, and both parties reached an agreement. The chemical company was willing to sponsor "isopropyl alcohol," and under these circumstances, the "hand sanitizer vending machine" was born. I also wrote an exclusive news story about this, which was recognized by the industry.

This was a way of reporting news I'd never imagined before. I didn't have to passively wait for events to happen—I could actively create topics without violating journalistic ethics and achieve a win-win-win outcome. Although I didn't get a business development title, I used business development skills in my media work, equally proving my abilities.

This gradually helped me understand that there are many ways to approach work. As I encounter broader fields, more possibilities unfold. What we should do is prepare ourselves, constantly reflect on our shortcomings, and keep up with the times. Portable skills allow you to fully demonstrate your abilities in any industry. Titles and industries are temporary—what truly matters is yourself.