Job Hunt Prep

Now that you have a terrific resume, you know how to write a cover letter and your references are in order, what do you do? You may start by answering the following questions.

1. Identify what it is you want to do. Do you want to be a print reporter, an on-air reporter, a producer, a web site editor?

2. Are there any particular subjects you are uniquely qualified to cover or in which you have a special interest? (business, health sciences, sports, politics, etc.)

3. Are there any personal restrictions on where you may accept employment? (proximity to family, children's schedules, spouse's job, etc.)

4. Where do you want to live? Is there an area in which you highly employable because you have lived there previously and you already know where things are and who the players are? Where can you apply that you can make a case for yourself based on past experience? (example: you have lived in NYC for a year so you are ready to cover another major urban environment like Chicago)

5. Where are there the most opportunities to do what you want to do? (example: on-air reporters start at small stations but it is sometimes possible to begin a producing career at the networks.) To answer this question, your best resource is your professors. You should also read media publications (Editor & Publisher, Broadcasting & Cable, Quill, etc., available in the career services office) as well as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. You should look at both the media trend pieces and the classifieds to get a feel for how the field is evolving.

6. Once you have a sense of what you want to do and where in the country you need to be, you need to make a list of places to which to apply. The Editor & Publisher Yearbook, the Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook and Writer's Market (available in the Career Services office) will give you the basic information you need. Since printed material dates quickly it is always important to verify all information by phone before sending out your application materials.

7. Applying in writing by post, fax or e-mail is nearly always preferable to cold calling. An employer can read anything you send on his/her own time, but a phone call is immediate and potentially very disruptive especially for en editor on deadline or a producer whose show is airing as you call.

8. Applying for posted positions is always fine (see Job Hunting Links and JobNews, and the listings in the Career Services office) but not sufficient. A job posting can yield well over 1,000 resumes for the employer, and it is very difficult to make yours stand out. So, you want to already have a relationship established with the places in which you are interested. You should write to every news organization of interest to ask about employment opportunities and informational interviews even if they aren't hiring. Also, let your professors, your former employers and colleagues, your classmates, your mentor and, of course, Career Services know what it is you are looking for. Having all those eyes and ears open will make you aware of leads you might never discover otherwise; networking is essential. There are also numerous professional journalism organizations with which to further your field of networking (see networking links).

9. All employers will expect you to send clips (or a tape) of your work. Six to eight clips is the expected amount if no number is specified in the posting. No published clips? Don't panic, you can submit your work from the Journalism School. (It is usually best to reprint your pieces in clean, single-space copy) Also, you can turn those stories into published clips by selling them to small (and sometimes not so small) local publications (see our freelancing guide). Remember clips count even for those of you going into broadcast; a print clip demonstrates both reporting and writing ability. The broadcast department will help you to put together your resume reel. For a story of which you are particularly proud or which took an unusual amount or kind of reporting, you may want to submit a brief note on the story behind getting the story.

10. If you have particular questions or what assistance with mapping out your personal job hunting strategy, you may make an appointment with Ernest R. Sotomayor, Assistant Dean for Career Services, or Julie Hartenstein, Associate Director, or Assistant Director Gina Boubion, at careers@jrn.columbia.edu.