How to stand out?

I am at my first full-time job out of college and am wondering what I need to do to standout to employees when I apply for jobs? I feel like I have strong writing samples but when I apply to jobs that it gets lost with the 100s of other applicants. Thank you for your advice.

 

Keep writing. Keep applying.

Persistence will help.

 

Don't underestimate the power of a cover letter. It's the first thing people read. Make it good, personal and targeted, about yourself, and to the job/paper/people for whom you'd be writing.

The writing is important, but, basically, you'll either have what hiring editors are looking for in terms of that skill/talent/style, or not. If you are strong in the technical/graphic/social media areas of the work, make sure to highlight those skills. They are more than half the battle in getting hired for media jobs these days.

 

This! This! This!

 

Blackmail.

Honestly, find the next place you want to work for, find out who the manager is for that particular section of the paper or website, and then write them a direct email and ask if there are opps to freelance -- and include with it a specific pitch. The only people who never got back to me with this approach were people I didn't end up wanting to work for. ESPN, CBS, New York Times -- editors with all of those outlets got back to me, if even to pass. Almost always they would say, "Keep on pitching."

You give them a pitch, you're doing half of their job as an editor.

I guess it's possible you have a non-compete. If they find out you're selling your skills up the food chain, well, it's always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission.

 

A good, strong cover letter and resume go a long way when applying. It's the gateway to your clips. With stacks of resumes and potential stories to read, cover letters and resumes are sometimes a way to whittle down the process for someone who's already very busy. As for the cover letter, also try to keep it as tight as possible and straight to the point in the opening graf. And make sure the resume shows who you are and what you've done and what you know.

Think of your cover letter/resume as the headline and first couple of paragraphs to a story.

 

Don't have time to look now, but somewhere we've got a thread on the importance of cover letters.

 

You have to demonstrate an ability to do multiple things — write all different types of stories including gamers, breaking news, features, columns, analysis, etc. AND be able to do podcasts and video and be effective on social media. Versatility and adaptability are key given the changing nature of the industry.

 

Network. Write soft features about people with hard luck/disease/trauma of some sort. Win some awards.

Other than that, apply a lot.

 

Good ideas are worth a ton. I was always amazed how many staff writers at magazines would wait for story assignments. Pitching makes you so much more valuable. Plus you get to write stories you're interested in, which means you'll do a better job on them.

 

Maybe this is just my opinion, but one of the things that sticks out to me when I've looked at submitted applications for a job in our smaller-town sports department is some sort of tie-in to the area or beats. Maybe this is unfair, but I will usually favor someone who is local or has a local connection than someone from 2,000 miles away who randomly saw our job posting online. The more I think about it, I believe every full-time hire we've made in my time here has had that type of connection in some way.

So if you're from New York, you might have a better chance applying for jobs in Massachusetts or Pennsylvania than you would applying for a job in Iowa or Colorado.