Experience points earned?

That's ok with the weekly thing because I'm sure the internship was not at an 80k weekly...

But the versatility that is often needed at entry level positions, especially small-to-medium sized papers, is huge. You can tell people you've done layout. You can tell people you've done gamers, columns, etc. as a writer. You can them you've dealt with deadline.

At a small-to-mid size paper, which is where most people start out, they NEED that versatility from their entry level people and you got it.

You're hired...wait, but there's nobody hiring. Sorry... Just kidding (or am I?).

 

Where can I send you my clips.

Does my previous work history go into play when they look at resumes? Same job for 7-8 years while still going to college? Loyal?

 

To echo: do not do not include opinion pieces in your clips package. Or...maybe one, in which you opine on something local, out of 10. You're not going to be opining as a junior sports reporter or as a junior general assignment reporter. Demonstrate your ability to write breaking news, short profile features, longer topical features, and so on.

 

I would only put a 7-year grocery store job if you didn't have ANY other relevant (i.e. media-related) work experience to put on your resume besides that internship. You don't want a blank resume -- but, no, the grocery job won't really help you.

That said, you're young -- so you gotta list what you got. Nobody's going to count it against you.

 

And ANY enterprise you may have tackled. Make sure you include that.

Editors like to see you take an issue, break it down in explanatory fashion, then build it back up for the reader. That displays every element in the writer's arsenal: reporting on a complex or semi-complex subject and telling the story in a readable, interesting fashion.

 

As an editor who occasionally has looked for reporters, when I'm looking at resumes for an entry level position, I don't care if you can write opinion. Chances are, you aren't going to be writing any for me.

However, if you demonstrate that you know how to edit opinion, I'll keep that in the back of my mind.

What I look for is ability to handle a versatile range of stories. Since I'm the ME of a weekly paper, I want someone who can write about a murder trial one day and the high school baseball game of the week the next.

 

My internship is with an 80k daily, not weekly.

Aside from putting down my internship as well as my SE position at the Uni paper, how many clips should I attach to my resume?

I was thinking about 6-7? 2 of features, enterprise, and game coverage?

 

A lot of times the job description will tell you how many clips to send. If they ask for three and you send five you have a strike against in you with many editors in that you can't follow instructions.
If it's not clear go with at least three, but no more than five is. Beyond that is overkill. Less than that shows you lack any good stuff. Most good editors are going to know if you can write by the time they get to that second clip. If they have seven to look at you've bored them and they've forgotten your name by then. Remember, even in summer when sports journalists are trying to avoid death from boredom, sports editors are still relatively busy people, so keep things simple yet effective.

Also, keep your resume and clips ready to go at all times, mail or email. As soon as you see a job pop open, have your stuff ready to be on that sports editors desk in a moment's notice. Trust me, someone else will have his ready. And while it's no given that that makes you any better off a lot of times that same busy sports editor may just take the resumes in order he gets them, if he likes the clips call you (make it easy for him to set up an interview time also...when job hunting keep your schedule as free as possible) and the job can be your before half the resumes even get in. (That's how our SE works when we have a rare opening).

Good luck

 

I disagree. I've always kept a portfolio with 10 clips showing a ridiculously broad range of things - top-level pro sports, college sports, community sports, breaking news, features, game stories, on and on - and have been complimented in the past on how diversified I was.

That helped me, I think, because that's what I promoted. I had something that could back it up.

Can I see how it's overkill? Yeah. But I always wanted to prove that my three best clips weren't three outliers in a substandard skill set.

 

I did that with clips when I interviewed for a reporter position back in '00. I emphasized a varied skill set rather than clips. I remember getting an e-mail from the managing editor saying that I should have emphasized my clips. He e-mailed me because I was apparently a strong No. 3 when they were hiring for two positions.

A few days later, I got the job anyway.

If I remember correctly, I went for a range of stories. That's your best bet.

 

I respectfully disagree. The fact that he worked seven years at a grocery store - through high school and college - says something positive about his character. It might make me pick him over a trust fund baby with the same journalism experience and talent.

I wouldn't make a huge deal out of it, but maybe a small mention in the resume or a sentence in the cover letter to show his work ethic might not be a bad idea.

 

I agree. If somebody had a long-time job outside the business it gives me (as someone doing the hiring) two things: A demonstration of work ethic and some references who can vouch for the candidate's reliability. Indeed, one should include non-journalism experience. No doubt.