How to leave the business?

[EStreetJoe]

Questions for those that have left the business... how did you change careers?
Did you take courses in public relations/business communications/other field while working in journalism (as a reporter or on the desk)? Did you resign and then take courses? Or were you just able to make the switch effortlessly?

 

[BigSleeper]

I've never changed careers, but know people who have.

I don't think there's any hard and fast rule to changing careers. For some professions, skills in journalism translate well to other industries and provide for a more seamless transition.

But for others that require additional training/classes, how you go about it depends a lot on your personal situation. What's your timetable for switching? Do you want to work in an industry that will assure financial viability or do something your truly passionate about? Can you afford to quit your current job and focus on exclusively starting over? Do you have the time available to work and go to school at the same time?

I've been taken classes in another field while maintaining my current workload in hopes of becoming qualified enough to pursue jobs in that profession. Granted, it's a slow process, but I'm in no real hurry to pack it in in journalism yet.

 

[PeteyPirate]

I quit cold turkey and went back to school full time. Student loans and graduate assistantships got me through the two years without a great deal of damage.

 

[Joe Williams]

Picking up new degree while working at paper, utilizing the company's tuition reimbursement program. Such programs generally are intended for education that will be used back in newsroom, but way I look at it, the least this dying industry can do is contribute to some training for our transitions. If the bosses see a fit for my new skills, great, I'll stay and help keep things afloat. If they don't, then I'll take the skills with me to where they're appreciated.

 

[jfs1000]

I get killed in interviews because I don't have press release writing and other flack experience.

I am telling ya, if you don't have an in, its a *****. Especially sports. People think we are the crazed sports nut who is unreliable and unable to think of anything else but sports.

Almost had 2-3 jobs, both paid $70 grand and up on the marketing writing side just pass me over (went to round 2 interviews 3 times). Frustrating. I may just take an entr level gig for experience.

 

[PHINJ]

When changing jobs, it's probably not a good idea to post about it on a popular Web site frequented by current colleagues and bosses who know exactly who you are.

 

[FileNotFound]

I was fully prepared to quit and go back to school (at least mentally, if not financially), but then I fell into a job outside the field that actually required a great deal of knowledge of the field. I was able to make the transition fairly easily, although the first several months were rough while I caught up on some necessary technical skills.

 

[User 1019]

I guess you could say I quit cold turkey and didn't use any of my acquired skills.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Thanks for the insight. It's something I've thought about and after 18 years at the same paper, the thought of moving on to something else is a little scary.

 

[captzulu]

I went from newspaper design to graphic design, then from there into PR even though I had no PR clips (I had some sportswriting experience very early on in my newspaper career). My take is that any decent journalist would be able to handle the writing aspect of PR. And not every PR job is like a sports info director job, where you constantly do battle with the media. In my current gig (an assistant director of comm in academia), I only deal with media every now and then, and 99% of the time it's a positive relationship (reporters wanting to do stories about our faculty's research findings). When I interviewed, they said that one big thing they were looking for was someone who can write stuff that highlights their faculty's work, and of course, my sportswriting clips showed that I can highlight an individual's accomplishments. Most of my job consists of writing simple news releases and doing basically what amounts to fluff features about professors -- easy stuff. It's about finding the right situation and marketing your abilities from the right angle.

 

[andyouare?]

This was my response to another "leaving the business" threads from last week:

The only thing I would add is try to get non-sports experience in some way. Go to your local non-profits and do some pro bono work. You probably have contacts that run some kind of tournament/charity thing, ask them if they need help. Go online: guru.com, sologig.com, e-lance.com, and try to find some work. It's not easy, but all you need is 3-4 examples to show prospective employers.

Just look at the job ad for any kind of communications/PR job: ability to multi-task, working on deadline, self starter, able to work on your own and as part of a team, ability to work with a range of people, written and verbal communication skills.

Anyone who's been in the newspaper business has every skill they are looking for. The trick is convincing non-newspaper folks that those skills translate to a 9-5 office job. They do. Trust me.

Another thing: Learn page design skills! This will help a bunch. Most jobs want you to do some type of layout for newsletters or publications. Also, if you're seriously looking to get out of the business and you have a chance to be an asst. sports editor or even a sports editor at a small place, take it. Having supervisory experience on your resume is a big help.

If you have writing skills, page design skills and supervisory experience of some kind, you're a prime candidate for a lot more jobs than you think. Also, definitely look into learning Dreamweaver or some other web skills. EVERYONE is concerned about their website these days.

 

[Mayfly]

Step 1: Put one foot in front of the other, alternating with each step
Step 2: Stop when you reach the office door
Step 3: With your hand, turn or pull the handle toward you and open the door.
Step 4: Walk out
Step 5: Repeat step 1 until you reach your car
Step 6: Drive away