stodt GmbH - Silke

Editor/Concept Developer

Editor and Concept Developer – stodt Veteran

A true stodt veteran. Highly experienced, well-read and versatile. And yes, she did a lot of living before stodt. Read our interview to find out about that life, which jobs she has done for us, and the right feel for language.

Warm-up question for getting started:

What’s your name?

My name is Silke.

Titles, titles, titles:

What is your job title?

Editor/Concept Developer, according to my business card.

Master, Dipl.-Ing. or Dr. med.:

What is your educational title, meaning what did you actually study?

I studied German, history and geography and earned a Magister Artium, or Master of Arts. After my studies, I at first didn’t know what to do with myself – so a job offer from a PR agency was just the ticket. But after being a student for many years, you first have to get used to working life, which is why I initially switched to RTL. There I worked on auspicious TV shows like “Verzeih mir” (Forgive me – an insanely popular and embarrassing show in the 90s), and after that I wound up in the press department of the German Federal Office for Civil Service. That was a great time, because I got to work on the publication “Zivildienst”. Unfortunately I only had a limited contract – but I joined stodt right after! So really, it’s not all that many jobs ...

What everyone has always wanted to know:

What do you do at stodt?

I’ve done lot of different things for stodt. The company started relatively small, so everyone had to do a number of jobs – from actual copywriter to project manager and even customer whisperer. Now that we have grown to a stable size, I can concentrate on my original work – which is above all writing, writing, writing, all kinds of texts and for every medium. But I also do some proofreading, editing, and concept development.

Look behind the scenes:

What can you do and why?

How do you mean? I can do what I can do because I love doing it. I love literature and am a voracious reader, mostly of “belletristic” fiction. That gives me a keen sense of language. But I also love walking and working in the garden – you wouldn’t believe what creative ideas come to you while pulling weeds.

Experience is a good thing, too:

How long have you been with stodt?

It will be 25 years next year (hard to believe ...).

Customers, machines, pixels, a warm office or coffee:

Why are you passionate about your job?

Good question – I think it’s mostly the variety. Basically, every project is unique, although the individual activities do of course repeat. But there are always new and exciting topics to be discovered, and you really do learn new things constantly.

Be honest, but not so honest we have to censor your answer:

What gets on your nerves sometimes?

Sometimes the time pressure is annoying, especially when it comes to creative activities like writing. One day you’re rolling, the next you’re not – so sometimes the time you have available is pretty tight.

Silke

Editing