Volunteer with Editors Canada: Career Builder Committee Chair 

Are you looking for a way to build your resume and skills while giving back to the editing community? There are exciting opportunities to do just that by volunteering with Editors Canada. Today we are chatting with Holly Vestad, former chair, about the current opportunity to chair the career builder committee. 

What is the career builder committee (CBC)?

The CBC was formed to connect members to resources that can help them build their career, no matter what stage they’re at — student, new or incidental editor, or someone more experienced wanting to niche down, become certified, expand their network or learn how to better market their business. Thus, the idea of the Career Development Hub, a subsite for members collecting useful internal and external sources organized according to career stage, was born. 

The focus of the committee for the past seven years has been launching the Hub, which happened in spring 2026. Now that it’s live, a major focus of the committee is keeping it updated and relevant, and opportunities to improve it remain largely unlimited in exciting ways. Another major initiative of the committee has been to improve the visibility of the job board, and we have discussed organizing an outreach campaign. 

What is it like to chair the CBC? 

I began each year by clarifying our goals and direction: what did we want accomplished by the end of the year, within each quarter, month to month? Committee members and I chose a word of the year and co-wrote a short paragraph to help frame our sense of purpose and keep us grounded. Then we would divide tasks according to people’s skills, desires and schedules to help bring those goals into fruition. 

The CBC is at an exciting moment: the Hub is live, and we have a system in place to keep it updated. What happens next is largely up to the new chair. I am hoping this sense of possibility will attract someone with energy and fresh ideas. It’s important to remember that the direction of the CBC can be shaped by your own career needs too: we are a member-run organization for this purpose! At the end of the day, your volunteering work for the organization can ultimately work for you too. 

What are you taking away from the experience of chairing?

The best part of chairing is, absolutely, working with the committee members. They led me as much as I led them, if not more so. There is a great group of people in this committee working hard to make our goals come to life. I looked forward to seeing them every month! And I suppose the valuable takeaway here is that community really is everything. I joined the committee when I was trying to launch my sole proprietorship, and I know this was the case for a few others too. We commiserated a lot in that first year, bouncing ideas off each other and sharing what was and what wasn’t working. The fact that I am too busy now for chair work shows just how much all that paid off! 

How can people get involved? 

Those who are interested should contact careerbuilder@editors.ca. Although I officially stepped down as chair in the summer of 2026, I am still helping to keep the Hub updated, and if anyone wants a short meeting with me to discuss the role before applying, request that in your email and we can set it up. When the chair position is filled, I will be glad to train the new chair, and I’ll always be available for a quick meeting if something ever comes up. 

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Previous post from Holly Vestad: Introducing the Career Development Hub

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