A couple career questions

[GGBonkers]

Hello everyone,

I graduate May 2020. Around Thanksgiving break I began looking at job openings pretty seriously. Now I have a big excel spreadsheet that lists the different industries and job positions that I plan to apply to. I’m trying to be organized and not miss any opportunities that could fall my way.

Would love to break into sports journalism, but I’m aware there are many qualified candidates out there who want the same jobs. It also doesn’t have to be solely sports...I’m willing to branch off from sports and cover a different beat. I have some questions for you all:

1. So far I’ve mostly just applied to positions on TeamWork Online (not journalism, I know) and journalism internships/fellowships I can find online. That’s because I know the job duration and when I should hear back. When should I begin applying to jobs on journalism jobs.com? I’d rather not apply to jobs at small newspapers now if those places are looking for positions to be filled immediately. Should I wait until April or so? I set a personal goal to have a job in journalism by the time I graduate. Whether that is unrealistic or not is another issue...

2. What are other industries that are similar? I have experience with some marketing. PR jobs? What are some job titles to search for on LinkedIn and other job boards (editorial? Content writers?). What are other job types could I be looking towards with transferrable skills from journalism?

3. What are some good ways to connect with people in the industry? Any practices I could implement starting tomorrow? If you could do everything over what would you do? Obviously I have tried to keep in contact with past colleagues and keep good relationships. How would one create a connection with someone they don’t already know? Are there functions I could attend?

4. What can I do to improve my skills tomorrow? I’m taking the free Google Analytics courses right now. I’ve also taken a couple adobe LinkedIn courses. Is there a certification for Final Cut Pro? What are other skills/programs should I try to become proficient in (outside of Office)?

I really appreciate all the help. I know I just typed a question avalanche. As you can tell, my thoughts are all over the place. Feel free to point me in the direction of other threads. New to the forum and haven’t exhausted the search function yet

 

[playthrough]

Welcome, GG.

Start applying everywhere now. Even if the listing says they're looking to fill immediately, it's good to get your name out there. And jobs freeze all the time, so when they un-freeze you'll want your name to be in the pile.

But at the same time -- screw the pile. It's infinitely harder to get hired that way, there aren't enough gigs and if hiring managers are going outside their walls it's 98 percent of the time to hire someone they know. So if there are some places you want to work, from entry level to your pie-in-the-sky dream gig, start emailing now just to introduce yourself. Then keep in touch regularly with updated clips.

I work in university communications after years in daily journalism and highly recommend it to both young and not-so-young. At many schools you can pursue a grad degree for free or at a discount while working, plus the jobs generally don't have the pressure or lousy hours of daily journalism. Go to higheredjobs.com and set up alerts for your interests and geographical area.

 

[JM22720]

I landed first sports reporter job out of college thanks to an editor I reported to as a freelancer. It's all about who you know. Network, network, network. Also, freelance for the local paper and get some non-student-newspaper bylines if you can.

 

[exmediahack]

Target 10 cities that you'd like to work in. Collect your best clips/writing.

Write a little bit more and sharpen your craft.

THEN start applying and making contacts.

You'll want to be at your absolute "best" for making first impressions.

Welcome to our world.

 

[ADanielPandR]

Hello everyone,

I graduate May 2020. Around Thanksgiving break I began looking at job openings pretty seriously. Now I have a big excel spreadsheet that lists the different industries and job positions that I plan to apply to. I’m trying to be organized and not miss any opportunities that could fall my way.

Would love to break into sports journalism, but I’m aware there are many qualified candidates out there who want the same jobs. It also doesn’t have to be solely sports...I’m willing to branch off from sports and cover a different beat. I have some questions for you all:

1. So far I’ve mostly just applied to positions on TeamWork Online (not journalism, I know) and journalism internships/fellowships I can find online. That’s because I know the job duration and when I should hear back. When should I begin applying to jobs on journalism jobs.com? I’d rather not apply to jobs at small newspapers now if those places are looking for positions to be filled immediately. Should I wait until April or so? I set a personal goal to have a job in journalism by the time I graduate. Whether that is unrealistic or not is another issue...

2. What are other industries that are similar? I have experience with some marketing. PR jobs? What are some job titles to search for on LinkedIn and other job boards (editorial? Content writers?). What are other job types could I be looking towards with transferrable skills from journalism?

3. What are some good ways to connect with people in the industry? Any practices I could implement starting tomorrow? If you could do everything over what would you do? Obviously I have tried to keep in contact with past colleagues and keep good relationships. How would one create a connection with someone they don’t already know? Are there functions I could attend?

4. What can I do to improve my skills tomorrow? I’m taking the free Google Analytics courses right now. I’ve also taken a couple adobe LinkedIn courses. Is there a certification for Final Cut Pro? What are other skills/programs should I try to become proficient in (outside of Office)?

I really appreciate all the help. I know I just typed a question avalanche. As you can tell, my thoughts are all over the place. Feel free to point me in the direction of other threads. New to the forum and haven’t exhausted the search function yet

If you haven't done this already, you should also consider building multiple online portfolios. One place to do that is Muck Rack, but you should also take advantage of WordPress or an equivalent platform's low- or no-cost options to customize and categorize your own site where prospective employers can browse your best work. Once you have created that, link to it in a pinned tweet and (privately) ask your friends and existing network connections to retweet it.

 

[SpiritedDebate]

Just speaking from experience, literally every job I've had, both inside the industry and out, came with some kind of referral. With the market the way it is currently, probably the only way you are going to get a sports journalism job is if you really impress with the opportunities you have received.

If you haven't interned yet, you are light years behind the up-and-comers who will be hired immediately by the metros. Go look up the resume of, say, Emily Giambalvo at The Washington Post, and that gives you an idea of the bar that is set.

I'd much rather be in PR than journalism right now. So if there is a particular topic that interests you -- education, politics, etc. -- start making connections in the industry. When college students reach out to me, I always make time to answer their questions. I remember what it was like.

Good luck. Jobs in the communications industry are very competitive, but the fact that you came here asking questions is a really positive sign.

 

[Sports Barf]

If you tweet like a deranged lunatic enough The Athletic will hire you to cover an NHL team. You’ll probably be out of a job when the company craters in 3 years but hey YOLO right?

 

[Regan MacNeil]

If you tweet like a deranged lunatic enough The Athletic will hire you to cover an NHL team. You’ll probably be out of a job when the company craters in 3 years but hey YOLO right?

 

[awriter]

As others have said, it is not too early. In fact, now is the time. And don’t just apply to places advertising openings. Send stuff to places in your area and in other regions you would like to live, whether they’re advertising openings or not. You never know, they might have a spot. Also, I assume you’ve done some internships and part-time or freelance work in addition to writing for your school paper?

 

[GGBonkers]

Thanks for all the help so far, guys.

I didn't realize I wanted to do something along the lines of sports journalism until my junior year of college. I did an internship the previous summer that showed me my original career path wasn't what I wanted to do the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, that is one reason I don't have the very impressive resume of someone like Emily Giambalvo who has the advantage of 4 years portfolio experience compared to my 2 years. Still, I'm relatively happy with the experience I've accumulated in that 2-year time period so far (staff writer -> editor for a campus newspaper, volunteer writer for soccer website, freelance sports contributor for local newspaper covering HS, editorial intern for magazine chain). Also been trying to highlight relevant skills from the non-journalism experience I have. I do utilize an online portfolio.

Maybe a stupid question, but does anyone have suggestions on how to introduce myself to strangers when I network via email/LinkedIn? I always feel as if I'm bothering them, or that they "see through" my message and know I ultimately want a job. What kind of message would come across well, and who should I be sending messages to (reporters, talent acquisition reps, etc)?

Will keep in mind the PR and higher ed replies as well. Have thought about sports information too, just don't think I would enjoy that role necessarily.

 

[tonygunk]

It sounds to me that your experience so far is really good. There certainly are college students a lot worse than you experience- and interest-wise.

My advice would be to just not give up and understand that sports journalism is not fair at all. I've been out of college for three years, working at a small paper after having a pretty decent internship. I've applied to hundreds of jobs between the time after my internship and while I've been at this job. Heard back from like 20 -- not an exaggeration. And no one sends rejections; you're just left wondering what you might have done wrong.

With the industry the way it is now, I think a lot of people are making these hiring decisions arbitrarily and without much time to really study your resume and clips. I don't blame them -- everyone is way overworked -- but that's the way it is.

All the more reason to strongly consider getting out of the newspaper business before you even get in it. But, if the job is in a good location and it's a good place you want to be, it can still be a good thing to do in your early 20s when you have the potential to change course if it doesn't go the way it should.

 

[Batman]

Thanks for all the help so far, guys.

I didn't realize I wanted to do something along the lines of sports journalism until my junior year of college. I did an internship the previous summer that showed me my original career path wasn't what I wanted to do the rest of my life.

I ask this in all seriousness -- were you a sports fan your whole life? Familiar with some of the history of leagues and teams, and the rules of games? It doesn't have to be as arcane as knowing every Minnesota state girls' volleyball champion since 1980, but if someone references an NFL player like Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw, would you know who they're talking about?
Reason I ask is that a few years ago we hired a guy who apparently had decided he wanted to be a sports writer around the same time he decided he wanted to be a sports fan. Both events, near as I could tell, happened in about 2009 and it showed. He had no clue about any of the things he was writing about on a fundamental level, but had the attitude that he was the second coming of Red Smith.
So, the lesson here, is to be well-versed in the topics you're covering whether it's high school football, the NFL, or nuclear physics. A little humility to admit what you don't know, coupled with a willingness to learn, also helps a lot.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Unfortunately, that is one reason I don't have the very impressive resume of someone like Emily Giambalvo

Am I missing something?

 

[Alma]

You've received good, rational advice and I suggest you follow a lot of it.

I'm going to give you some different insights that you can feel free to discard if you want. You probably should discard some of it.

*You've correctly assessed you don't have a bunch of high-profile internships on your resume. Since most editors are pressed for time and efficiency in their hiring, they're going either going to look for people out of college who have won awards/interned at big names or somebody who's already in the office and requires no effort (or advertisement) to hire. That's why people tell you about networking. I'd start by going to the people in the profession you already know and asking them for jobs, so they can give you one or tell you they don't have one for you or tell you about someone who might. Whatever network you have, start there. Get people to commit to giving you good recommendations.

*Journalism is, these days, a lot of work for mediocre-to-awful money, unless you get a big job out of college, which only a handful of folks do and was preordained to happen within a few months of their arrival in college, or perhaps even before. Do you like money? Will you have a lot of school loans to pay off? Do you have fairly wealthy parents who can pay for part of your life until you get a better journalism job or decide to leave the industry because the money stinks? Can you live frugally, happily? Some people can. Others see their friends working as a social media consultant at a bank or brand manager for a marketing agency or financial advisor and get jealous because they rightly understand the American life is generally judged by having money for experiences, cool foods and drink, gifts and material goods. You might as well know yourself on this front before you even leap into journalism. You will be closer to the poverty line than, in more cases than anyone would admit, a fast-food worker. Unless your parents have money to float your life. Many young journalists' parents do. Poor or lower middle class people rarely want to get into journalism because they're smart enough to know it won't help their financial profile.

*Having a ton of skills can be helpful, but it also means, when editors see it on your resume, they may try to take advantage of all that skillset. There is always going to be some editor or publisher who sees a multi-talented person and figures "well, they'll just do everything." Pretty soon, that person is doing a little of everything - for 29,000 a year - while social media consultant farts out 12 tweets a day and posts some photos to Instagram for 40k. I could be wrong about a ****load of skills getting you in the door. In my experience, it hasn't had much to do with that and you'll notice the highest-paid folks at most shops usually don't have those skills, relying instead on others to have them for them. It's good to have the skills, of course, but using it as a calling card is a recipe for someone to take advantage of you.

*If you want to be a sportswriter, my advice is to get good at writing human interest features - sob story type features included - because editors respond to that. (Readers/viewers do, too.). If the last person on the bench nearly died from an allergic reaction to peanut dust when they were in Sunday school six years before, your editors will find that more interesting - and you more enterprising - than some feature on the leading scorer's work ethic. So I'd work on, adding to your file, human interest features. Sentimentality.

*It's easier to say this on a message board, but: Dressing well, being "winsome" - God I hate that word - and being well-groomed is more valuable than any skillset. We live in a visually-driven universe today. Shallow, too. Few of these extra skills are actually hard to learn, or even master. So coming off a certain way - laid-back, fun, eager but not urgent, not judgmental, - is helpful. Dress well.

*Have a cool hobby. Maybe you already do. If not, create one. Outdoors ones are good. Running, biking. Collect something a child might collect; it makes you look committed and nostalgic for the great childhood you must have had, since you're still collecting childhood things. Have a pet and act like it's really important. If you've traveled cool places, play that up - it means you or someone have money to pay for big experiences. Traveling is one of the best. Include hobbies on a resume if you can.

*Scrub your social media accounts of anything inappropriate or controversial. You should have never posted inappropriate stuff in the first place, so be glad you're scrubbing that now. Your social media feed going forward can very easily consist of opinions like "LeBron James = good" or "Lizzo = good" or "I love Pixar movies" or
"Baby Yoda!" Take a look around, today, at the roads. See all those gray and silver SUVs out there? You want your social media accounts to be a gray or silver SUV.

*Be willing to move. If you're willing to do that, you'll probably find something.

 

[Azrael]

Write good sentences.

 

[GGBonkers]

I ask this in all seriousness -- were you a sports fan your whole life? .

Yeah, this is one part I don't have to worry about. Loved sports my whole life. Played soccer up through college. Watch, read, follow sports religiously, etc. etc. Knew at the beginning of college I wanted to be around sports, just didn't know in what capacity.

Am I missing something?

My point just that she was able to work towards acquiring relevant experiences for her future dream job from the moment she entered college. On the other hand, I changed my path halfway through college, and don't have the higher profile internships. That's not to say I would have those internships if I followed her trajectory, but I guess I would feel more comfortable with where I stand currently if I had an extra two years of journalism experience on my resume.

 

[Alma]

It sounds to me that your experience so far is really good. There certainly are college students a lot worse than you experience- and interest-wise.

My advice would be to just not give up and understand that sports journalism is not fair at all. I've been out of college for three years, working at a small paper after having a pretty decent internship. I've applied to hundreds of jobs between the time after my internship and while I've been at this job. Heard back from like 20 -- not an exaggeration. And no one sends rejections; you're just left wondering what you might have done wrong.

With the industry the way it is now, I think a lot of people are making these hiring decisions arbitrarily and without much time to really study your resume and clips. I don't blame them -- everyone is way overworked -- but that's the way it is.

All the more reason to strongly consider getting out of the newspaper business before you even get in it. But, if the job is in a good location and it's a good place you want to be, it can still be a good thing to do in your early 20s when you have the potential to change course if it doesn't go the way it should.

Honest post.

 

[Fredrick]

Remember you are entering a dying profession. No matter what anybody says about the fact there will always be news organizations quite frankly right now we CONTINUE to be in a period of mass layoffs. The only talk outside of the Washington Post and NY Times is how newspapers are dying. You can continue to pursue news writing but you better get a degree in something useful lest you get laid off. This is a very low paying profession right now with an expectation to work or at least be on call 24/7. Good luck.

 

[LanceyHoward]

One thing I have seen in my family is the difficulty of working your way up the newspaper ladder while in a relationship. If you are a small town journalist your significant other probably has a better and more secure job.

My journalist grandfather married his school teacher college girlfriend at age 23. He then worked at four papers over the next 11 years before landing a job in Minneapolis. His spouse followed him while having four children.

But today my grandmother would be probably working as a teacher and making more money with a secure job. Would she be willing to move?

I saw this happen to a small-town journalist relative. She loved her job. But she got involved with a small business owner who did not want to give up his business to move. She got stuck in a very small market.

 

[ADanielPandR]

*If you want to be a sportswriter, my advice is to get good at writing human interest features - sob story type features included - because editors respond to that. (Readers/viewers do, too.). If the last person on the bench nearly died from an allergic reaction to peanut dust when they were in Sunday school six years before, your editors will find that more interesting - and you more enterprising - than some feature on the leading scorer's work ethic. So I'd work on, adding to your file, human interest features. Sentimentality.

I have a lot to say about this point, but I will try to be as brief as possible.

From my experience, this is exceptionally sage advice. In my last two jobs, my own features and fun-fact pieces and the ones my colleagues wrote were consistently the best-received. (Although, unfortunately, they were not always the best-read. Some outlets are most concerned with clicks, even if that means angering readers with opinionated content and inciting a wave of comments that could damage the site's reputation and the author's in the long run.)

I forget who said this, but someone in an installment of BASW explained the distinction between sportswriting as a compound word and sports writing as a two-word phrase. The way I put it, the former means writing about sports, whereas the latter means writing about people who are involved in sports.

Personally, I grew disillusioned with sportswriting because, as so many others have said, newspaper sports reportage as we have long known it is dying. I wanted to emulate the disembodied bylines I idolized through spirit-capturing game stories (emphasis on stories), notebooks, news updates and features that made readers feel like they were there. Instead, today's landscape is heavy on commentary, analysis, scouting reports, rankings, predictions, video debates and other inflammatory white noise that calls the whole sports-bring-people-together adage into question.

With that said, there are bottomless barrels of untold stories in the sports world and the world in general, and tapping into those narratives is the way to set yourself and your affiliated publication apart from others (I.e. give readers something they won't find anywhere else). It is also the way to make the most of your storytelling prowess, which is inevitably restrained when you are doing analytical game content.

Granted, this path has no guarantees either. I have only recently returned to the freelance circuit, and am still looking for more biting fish. But the best part about pursuing sports writing rather than sportswriting is that you can establish a skill set that transcends subject matters. You don't need to be an "expert" on a given game or profession to craft a compelling human-interest narrative for a sports journal, alumni magazine, entertainment publication, or general-interest site. You need an eagle's eye, a bloodhound's nose and a shark's appetite for intriguing angles, a knack for brainstorming and asking detailed questions that elicit insightful responses and an ability to transform your observations and people's insights into a fluid, eloquent narrative.

I think that's the kind of work that inspired all of us to pursue sports journalism in the first place. But even if broadsheets and game recaps are going extinct, we can and should feed and foster a craving for beyond-the-game stories. Even if readers and editors do not seem to be showing that widespread craving now, they ought to in due time.

It's still a question of loving the game - and, more importantly, loving life - and capturing the way newsmakers demonstrate that love themselves.