Graduating in less than a year....ADVICE

I'll be graduating in, at most, two semesters from Ole Miss with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

At the moment, my resume includes a solid GPA, internships in top 10 national markets in both radio and TV, and leadership roles at my university.

However, I know the job market is tough these days.

What's your best advice for me going forward?

 

Broadcast is dead. Pursue the many jobs available in newspapers. That's the future.

 

I knew it wouldn't take long.

 

Start talking with the places that hired you as an intern. Assuming you did a good job for them, those might be your best opportunites.

 

Congrats from an Ole Miss alum, though I was a Southern Studies major and never took a journalism course. I spent two years at the DM and sent out resumes and clips to every job opening in the South.

First off, it's nice that your GPA is good, but it doesn't mean anything when it comes to getting a job. Nothing. Getting a job is all about the work samples, what kind of work you've done and especially who you know.

Use every contact you've made with your internships to try and land an entry-level job somewhere. Don't wait to find out about openings online. Be as proactive as possible and reach out to as many people as possible.

If you know Sparky Reardon well at all, and you should by now, he's a great resource because he knows just about everyone who has gone to school there in the past three decades, and he knows what they're up to now. A lot of Ole Miss alums are in journalism and he might be able to point you in a few directions.

Best of luck.

 

Much appreciated.

As president of my fraternity, I had a good relationship with Sparky.

So far, for me, it's been all collecting video and audio. Building my online resume has been my main focus.

 

Don't go.

Move back home with your parents. Make them worry about it.

Sorry, that's all I have.

 

How long would it take you to get a backup degree like education, business or accounting?

 

Despite the obvious temptation to do otherwise, wear pants under your gown. If you don't, you will walk in a windstorm.

Oh, and be prepared to die for your cause. Not literally (I think), but expect a lot of frustration and disappointment, and have a plan B in mind if the discouragement is too much to bear. And when you reach the tipping point, don't hesitate to pull the trigger. Don't be the jobless 35-year-old stuck in career limbo with no prospects and no obvious career moves.

 

But if you do end up in that position, you'll find plenty of people on this site to commiserate with you. In addition to my likely unhelpful advice above, do what John says.

You need to use your network. If you don't have one, build one. Find people you think can help you and get to know them. Email them and ask them for career advice. Show that you're motivated and have the skills either they, or someone they know, will need.

Apply for everything. I'm not entirely certain you can start too low. That said, be aware of your standards. If you're not willing to be the sports editor in Greenville, don't apply there. No sense in making yourself miserable in a business that is sure make you that way anyhow.

And it surely is all about the body of work. I'm not entirely sure if you're looking for a newspaper job or a broadcasting one, but if its the former, get some newspaper clips. The broadcast and multimedia stuff is good, and will pay off. But even newspapers, many of which are hiring non-newspaper people to keep the Web sites rolling, want people who have a history in newspapers. It gives them confidence that you get deadlines and the day-to-day grind of working for newspapers.

By the way, I always wanted to go to Ole Miss. So lucky you.

 

Which fraternity? Just curious.

 

How's the bedpan changing industry?