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Is it what you know or who you know?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by newspaperman, Nov 11, 2010.

  1. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    The appropriate answer for journalism students is that a dynamic, crisp style perks up any editor. So does persistence and confidence in the application process. Yes, there are a select few journalism students who come to college connected already. But a lot of them aren't able to play the "who you know" game until they at least land one internship. And while internships are in part based on demographics, they're also tied to actual talent, too.
     
  2. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    It's who you sleep with.
     
  3. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    No way.
    "Who" helps. But my first break I got strictly because a graduate of my college placed an internship ad at my school. I didn't know the guy then.
    From there, worked my way onto the staff at that paper fulltime.
    Then one of my colleagues moved onto a metro, gave me some freelance work, and I worked my way onto that staff. So "what" blew "who" out of the water both times. And my current gig, I got a freelance break without knowing anyone at the publication, then worked my way into a fulltime gig here.
    "Who" can help a lot of people. If you don't have a "what" behind it, you're not going far.
     
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    It's whom you know.
     
  5. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    A few anecdotal results don't mean that things work that way for every situation, or even in a majority of situations. The "what" may have been more important for you, but that doesn't mean your argument isn't fallacious.
     
  6. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    really. scientific survey there.
     
  7. daemon

    daemon Well-Known Member

    I like the who/what/luck breakdown, but I think we're giving luck short-shrift here, particularly in this era. You can have the writing ability of Gary Smith and the black book of an APSE officer -- if there ain't a job opening, there ain't a job opening. More than ever, at least from what I've seen, getting in the door is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Putting yourself in the right place so you can be there at the right time is a combination of connections and ability (I'd say 60/40 in most cases), but the most frustrating part of the equation - and the hardest to quantify - is the "right time."
     
  8. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    I've shown at three different stops that ability and hard work can supersede merely having connections.
    My experience suggests that editors really are looking for people who can do the job.
    I'd say daemon is right about the current job market -- you have to have good timing. Certainly I got into the business at the right time. I'm not sure what it'd be like for me now, but if you're willing and able to make me 25 again, I'll give it a shot.
     
  9. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    My take is that you made that up.
     
  10. lono

    lono Active Member

    IMHO, most reporters are terrible at job hunting.

    Many labor under the misapprehension that their "unique writing style" is going to make them stand out or that the best writers/reporters should somehow magically be discovered by editors somewhere.

    If you are one of 250 people who mail your resume and clips in to some random editor, guess what? Your odds of getting the job are no better than one in 250. In point of fact, they are much worse than that because chances are quite a few of the applicants have better resumes than you do.

    But most people insist on the lemming-like approach of doing exactly what everyone else does. And so they fail. And they blame it on "who you know" instead of talent.

    Here's the first question to ask yourself if you're looking for a job: What do you want to do? Really, honestly, ask yourself that question.

    And then build a job search around that goal.

    If you're in an entry level community newspaper gig at a community weekly and you want to work at a small daily, pick five small dailies that you want to work at.

    By the same token, if you're at a 40,000-circulation daily and you want to move to a major metro paper, pick five that you want to work at.

    Religiously read the papers where you want to work.

    Learn their styles, their quirks, their strengths and weaknesses and what sets them apart from other papers.

    Develop a list of questions to ask the editor when you get an interview.

    Be able to explain quickly and concisely why your skill set would fit well at the paper.

    And here's the real key: Do NOT apply for an open job.

    Contact the editor - or EE, ME, etc. - and ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee or take them to lunch and introduce yourself. It's OK if there's no job opening today, but you would like to introduce yourself just in case a job opens up next month, next week or even the next day.

    Even if they don't have a job now, it gets you the chance to get in front of the editor now, when there aren't 100 resumes in front of them.

    And then, if you get the interview, you've got to sell yourself. Be prepared to talk about what you do well, your work ethic and how — in some detail — you can make their newspaper or website or radio station better. Talk about how the addition of you will make a positive impact.

    At the interview, don't dress like you slept in the dumpster. And don't just bring clips. Put together a professional portfolio. If need be, enlist the help of a designer to make it happen.

    See if you can do a story on spec for them and if you get it, do a great job at it.

    Even if you don't, send a thank you note anyway and follow up periodically with the editor who interviewed you.

    The main thing — differentiate yourself from everyone else looking for work. And by "differentiate," I mean be better.

    Because eventually, one of the editors is going to have an opening. And when they do, they would rather hire someone they know than a completer stranger. So get to know the people who can hire you so you aren't a stranger.

    Read this story, too: http://www.rrj.ca/m11742/

    There's a great segment in there about how Chris Jones muscled his way into an interview at Esquire, where he didn't know a soul.

    But when he got the interview, he already knew what he was going to say.

    That's what it takes, folks.
     
  11. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    Great great post above by lono.
     
  12. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Damn right it's who you know. But that's not to say you can't know someone, as Lono so well explained.

    Thank you notes are a small touch that can be very big in a hiring manager's memory. Do them religiously.
     
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