Fear not. I’ve been working in journalism, either as a reporter, editor or professor, for over 30 years. I’ve counseled dozens of students on what they can do to increase their marketability in the job market. Here are the five things I tell them to do, and while I can’t guarantee that these measures will work, they will certainly increase your chances.
- Write for your student newspaper – Everyone who
wants to work in the news business should do this, whether you are a
journalism student or not. Start writing for your student newspaper as
soon as possible, and keep writing for it until the day you graduate.
Doing this will be step one of a long process that will hopefully one
day land you a job in professional journalism. And it’s probably the
single most important thing you can do to boost your resume.
- Become an editor at your student newspaper – This
is the next step. Taking on an editor position shows you have a deep
commitment not just to the student newspaper but to mastering the craft
of journalism. Becoming an editor shows that you’re serious about
becoming a journalist.
- Get an internship – Doing an internship at a
professional news outlet, which usually happens sometime in your junior
or senior year of college, shows you are ready to move from student
journalism to the big leagues. A good internship should help you get
good clips for your portfolio and great references from the people you
work with.
- Build your clip portfolio – Clips, which are
stories you’ve had published, can make or break a job application. Just
one great clip can be the deciding factor in whether you get hired or
not. That’s why it’s important to write as much as possible and
constantly update your clip portfolio, which, by the way, should be
online.
- Learn tech skills – We all know that journalism in
the digital age involves technology every step of the way, so mastering
as many tech skills while in college is a no-brainer. The good news is
that many of these skills are relatively easy to learn, and can usually
be acquired while working for your college newspaper. Such skills
include blogging and website management, digital photography, shooting
and editing digital video and using social media. And, oh yes, don’t
forget layout.