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How can I land my first job?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Thomas Romanelli, Jul 7, 2015.

  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Yes, Joe, if they are still hiring clerks, that's a really good way to get your foot in the door. You gain experience, meet people and if you aren't tapped to move up to a job you want there, the clerk duties can sure sound good on a resume and lead to lots of other "communication" jobs.
     
  2. Chipper

    Chipper New Member

    Longtime lurker but I finally got an account confirmed.

    OP, I wouldn't get too discouraged this early after graduation. I would say that in my case, building relationships during my internships was huge. My boss during my internship introduced me to a VP at a major market media property, and he forwarded my info to the SE.

    I was fortunate enough to get a job in a top-10 market out of school as an online producer. I used that as a way to get my foot in the door. Editors knew I wanted to write and when I got my chance a couple years later, I went all in. 2 months after that chance, I was moved to reporter and even covered the Super Bowl at age 25.

    Reach out to any editors or reporters you've met during your stringing and internship experiences. They can introduce you to the right people. I would say don't be set on a writing job. Given the digital first philosophies of newsrooms, being an online producer was a great learning experience.

    Don't let the negativity on message boards get to you either. Yeah, this business can suck sometimes, but if you love what you do, it's all worth it.
     
  3. MNgremlin

    MNgremlin Active Member

  4. Dan Robrish

    Dan Robrish New Member

    I got my first job by going somewhere nobody wanted to go to: Ely, Nevada. The town had a five-day-a-week afternoon paper back then (it's now a weekly) and was 200 miles away from the nearest larger town. People would drive 200 miles just to shop at Kmart and drive right back. After that, I had daily newspaper experience, so it was far easier to get the attention of editors.

    So my advice is to apply for jobs in the middle of nowhere. Those papers usually don't have applicants beating down their doors.
     
  5. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Don't wear jeans to the interview.
     
  6. YorksArcades

    YorksArcades Active Member

    I enjoy this set of responses.

    I do have a couple of questions. Do some of you retype your thoughts, or do you copy and paste from similar threads?

    Also, will there ever be a compilation of the helpful tips? It would make a great pocket publishing option. "Apply everywhere" could be the header for the first section.
     
  7. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    Keep us posted on your job search. You did get a lot of experience on your college newspaper. I would think in this market you will eventually be hired because a lot of newspapers right now prefer candidates who are just out of school, for financial reasons. You do realize you picked a profession that is trending downward, however (at least in terms of making a living). This profession's stock is crashing. You sound like a hard worker. Good luck. I predict you'll get a job.
     
  8. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I think newspapers are trending downard, but the opportunities are out there.

    There used to be a pretty firm line between print, TV and radio. Now the print folks are being hired at TV stations, host radio shows and all the web opportunities.

    So if this is what you want to do, I would look at starting out in newpapers as the opportunity to write, make connections, learn to report, cover a beat, etc., and see where that takes you.

    Lots of newspaper folks move into web. Others know so many people they end up with a variety of communications jobs.
     
  9. awriter

    awriter Active Member


    I'll echo pretty much what everyone else has written. I will also add that you need to make sure you are following AP style and that there are no copy editing mistakes in your posts or anything else you write. I see a few here -- "May 9th" instead of "May 9" and "for a daily newspapers."
     
  10. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    People drove 200 miles to KMart? What did most of the people in the town do for work, pan for gold, rob stagecoaches?
     
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