When to start sending resumes

well I am 22 years old and just graduated from an average journalism school in late April. I busted my ass for 4 years at my school paper, was the sports editor for 2 and did a solid internship before I graduated. I have bylines in several solid newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press....yet any decent sized market I applied to I was denied, and I have a job making $10 an hour at a 10,000 daily. It's a start, sure....but I wonder every day if going to grad school would have been a better idea. So that may be what you're immediate future holds as well. I'm in this business to cover a college football beat someday, and given the way things look I'm not too optimistic anymore

 

I'm 23, and, while remaining optimistic about the nature of the journalism industry, I couldn't help but ponder over the information I've read on this board since joining about a year ago. I was hell bent on becoming a sports writer and enjoyed every second of writing and editing for my school newspaper.

Upon graduation, however, I learned how hard this industry has fallen and after several months of "thanks for applying, we'll keep your resume on file," I had enough and decided to go back to school next semester to make the best of my youth and the opportunity to change fields. I consider myself somewhat fortunate that I received a degree in English and I'm going to complete my degree in Communications in the spring/fall of 2009.

To answer the initial question brought up on this thread, start sending your resumes immediately. Speak to someone at alumni relations office at your university and see if you can get connected with anyone who has graduated from your school with a similar degree and career interests. Do some freelancing at a local paper and get some credible clips together.

 

If by grad school and you mean getting a master's in journalism, that wouldn't help.

Where was your internship at? That seems to be a measuring stick of what type of job you'll get after college.

I was in your situation with bylines in several large papers around the country. I did get responses at least when I sent out my resume to papers in Denver, Vegas, Phoenix and Portland. Too bad the replies were "we liked your clips, but don't expect any openings any time soon."

If you're single, you can at least move around for the first few years of your career.

 

There's no wayyyyyyy i would go to graduate school for a master's in journalism. It would be for something a bit more profitable...

and I don't mind having to grind it out for a few years, no problem. But the 'good' jobs don't seem to be out there, and if they are they're probably about to get downsized, so is it worth trying?

 

I graduated in June and have been fighting hard to stay positive. I'm not oblivious to all that's going on in the industry. I had an internship at a Tribune paper when Zell bought the chain. I was at a Gannett paper a few weeks ago when they announced more layoffs. I'm at a paper now that just finished a round of buyouts and will soon start the layoff process.

But I'm not jumping ship. Yet. An editor once told me not to listen too much to the talk of the good ol' days. They weren't that good. Just old. And, for now, I'm going to cling to that hope, however misguided it may be. My first job might not be great. Same for my second. But I think, somewhere down the line, I'll get to where I want to be, covering what I dream of covering. That's what gets me to sleep at night, anyway.

So hang in there with me, True Son.

 

Sorry to rain on this parade but Tom is simply right here. There is no way that I could, with a clear conscience, recommend anyone pursue a career in this field. Go into television, radio or Internet writing but stay away from newspapers. Magazines are fine, too. You can still be a journalist if you want but I don't recommend it to anyone.

I find it disturbing that there are young people who want to break in and cannot see the writing on the wall. Read what Tom has said and take it to heart.

 

It's a difficult situation to be in though....I understand the problems the industry is facing and it scares me to death. But at the same time, I put my heart into this for four years in college and it's the only job I've had that I truly enjoy. So I see the writing on the wall....it's just a little blurry I guess

 

I graduate in December, so it's a little too late for me to change majors now, but all of the negativity here sure doesn't make me excited about that.

Here's a question for you guys - I have a few friends I worked with on a beat at the college rag who work for one of the dot-coms (not Rivals or Scout, but ESPN affiliated). I've been mulling it over and wondering if trying to snag something there for a while might be a good way to go - get experience, get clips and most importantly get paid until the newspaper scene (hopefully) improves. What do you think?

Fully expecting some snark here, so go on, lay it on thick, but I'm not aiming to be one of the looser fanbois (or in my case, fanchick). They actually do pretty good work there, and hey, I don't have to move and have a lot of non-student friends around here still, so that's a plus too.

Regarding resumes etc., I'm sending shit out to every place I can think of, but I'm also wondering if anyone has any tips on finding post-graduation internships, to hopefully translate into a job. I have experience at my school's paper (and it's a solid one at that), and received internship credit for some writing I was doing for a Web site (unpaid, naturally). I'm a little worried that not having a quote-unquote "real" internship at a shop might hurt me in the long run, so what advice do you SportsJournalists.commers have?

 

swing away, champ. you read what we wrote.

one thing, though: don't ever come back here and bitch and moan about this fucking business ... ever. if you're not smart enough to understand what person after person here is saying, fuck ya. get plenty drunk at the trough.

 

Tom, don't you have better reading comprehension than that? I read what everyone wrote. But what exactly don't you get about December? I can't exactly go changing majors now. And grad school is simply out of the question, unfortunately. So I really have no choice but to plug my nose and dive in.

I understand what I'm getting into. It's bleak right now, I get that. But I'd rather do this than work for my dad's insurance company. Call me crazy. In a coupla years, maybe my innocence will have faded and I'll ask myself what the hell I was thinking. But I still want to enjoy what I do, even if I'm living on ramen and pulling my hair out from job-related stress.

Got anything remotely related to my questions? If not, thanks for the input.

 

Is your major particularly in journalism or something more broad (i.e. English, etc.)?

 

Specifically journalism, and all of my experience is on the sports end. That's all I can really see myself doing anyhow.