“The job market for journalists at the moment is the toughest it’s been for twenty years and in six months time, you guys are going to be entering it”.
These sobering words of wisdom were delivered by a veteran print journalist to Master’s students at Napier University in Edinburgh last week as they began their second semester. And with more and more journalists being laid off on a weekly basis, and veteran media commentators hinting at further cutbacks, it really is a daunting time to be entering the industry. Fortunately for journalism students, there are any number of ways to take advantage of still being at the ‘trainee’ stage of their careers and give themselves that extra competitive edge when entering the workplace in a few months’ time.
The following list contains advice both for those already studying journalism at university level and those considering it in the future. It covers how to make the most of your time as a journalism student while also outlining what you can expect and how to avoid common pitfalls. I’ve learnt many of these lessons the hard way over the last few months!
1. Don’t expect to get paid
Chances are, most of the work you’ll be doing will be unpaid. It’s something the vast majority of journalists have to go through but this early in your career getting your name in print is often more important than taking a few quid home. Of course, the exceptionally talented or lucky may find themselves with paid work from the very beginning but the rest of us will find ourselves contributing to student papers and websites gratis.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. There are a huge number of free publications out there desperate for writers, covering a broad spectrum of subjects and audiences. By getting involved with as many as possible, a budding journalist can produce a really impressive portfolio of articles, covering a wide range of styles. The more you write, the more opportunity to experiment and hone your craft and demonstrate your ability to potential employers.
2. Get your name out there
Getting published is only the first step – you need to start making a name for yourself and engaging with the wider journalistic world. The internet is a great way to do this, especially if you’re able to take advantage of all Web 2.0 has to offer. Try and follow your favourite journalists on Twitter, see who they regularly reply to and follow them too. Try and get involved with discussion – after all, an insightful tweet or appropriate link of your own work might be all it takes to land some work.
Your blog should be central to your online identity as a journalist. Where copyright allows, cross-post work you’ve had published elsewhere on your own site, complete with links to the original source. Set up a ‘Features’ or ‘Portfolio’ category showcasing your best work and update it regularly. Remember that your blog will be one of the first ports of call for potential employers and avoid the temptation to turn it into a personal diary.
3. Use your peers
Though they will be in direct competition with you when you enter the job market, your fellow journalism students are one of the most valuable resources at your disposal. Many of us find ourselves offered more work than we can reasonably commit to and getting into the habit of passing along juicy opportunities to classmates greatly increases the chances that they will reciprocate.
Try and take advantage of peer assessment where possible and encourage your classmates to read your work. Ask them to follow your blog and pull you up on factual or stylistic errors. Having an intelligent, articulate audience at your beck and call is a rare opportunity and not one to be passed up.
4. Stay informed
It’s a cliche that trainee journalists should be information junkies but it’s no less true for that. Read everything you possibly can, stay on top of world, national and local events and mull over them and form your own opinions. Try and make meaningful contributions to debate, whether it be through comments on sites like Guardian.co.uk or your own blog posts. Try and keep up to date with industry issues as these will affect your future livelihood and will regularly crop up in interviews.
Again, the internet can make your life much easier. Setting up an RSS aggregator and reading your regular news sources via feeds will save you precious time compared to visiting each site manually. Add anything you stumble across that looks interesting and set up sensible categories to help you navigate. Chances are you’ll end up with hundreds if not thousands of items per day, most of which you won’t read but a well managed RSS aggregator will sooner or later prove to be an invaluable source of stories.
5. You’re already a journalist
One of the pitfalls many journalism students fall into is assuming that they aren’t ‘proper’ journalists until they graduate or start getting regular paid work. This attitude isn’t helpful and will cause your work to suffer. Confidence will go a long way towards getting you the information you need for your story – appearing meek and unauthoritative won’t. I’ve witnessed classmates introduce themselves as “student journalists” over the phone only to be left on hold indefinitely or not get access to the person they needed to talk to in first place.
There will be rare occasions when announcing that you’re a student will work to your advantage but often it allows whoever you’re dealing with to assume that you can be given the brush-off without any serious repercussions. Be assertive, be tenacious and most of all, sound authoritative. Mention your publication’s name, outline what you’re working on and what information you need and drop any names that you think will help you get what you want, within reason.
The above list is by no means exhaustive and I’m keen to expand on it in the future. Please feel free to make suggestions, I’m sure I’ll be adding more tips as they come to me.
