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Landing That First Journalism Job

Jason Miccolo Johnson/NABJ To negotiate the job fair at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, be sure that your outer appearance is as strong as your preparation. It can be scary for first-timers.

1. Take What You Hear and Use It

By Ronald Clark
Black College Wire

It can be overwhelming.

Suit is buttoned, teeth are brushed, tie is crisp, bag hangs off to the side and your confidence is high.

You pick up your bag, get your name tag and prepare to enter the job fair.

Then you stop.

Ronald Clark

The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Gannett Newspaper Division, the Chicago Tribune and the Miami Herald all look at you and say, "don’t even bother stopping by."

Welcome to the National Association of Black Journalists convention, held this year in Las Vegas from Aug. 8 to 12.

As a student, it can be scary walking up and down rows and rows of recruiters who all have the power either to give you a job or to destroy your reputation with one swift message to their buddies that you are "not worth the time."

But there is a way to prevent being destroyed by a world of networking, resume slanging, business card passing and clips analyzing.

Just be prepared.

It is quite amusing that a congregation of journalists will not or just do not ask the proper questions before a convention with so many bigwigs. Even if you do not have someone to help you prior to the convention, pull someone off to the side before entering the job fair and ask, "How in the world do I navigate this place?"

It is a simple question that could save you from embarrassment and possibly land you a new mentor. Having someone tell you that a white suit, a two-page resume or a business card with your name misspelled won’t cut it is something any journalist can appreciate.

Appreciation is an interesting word. There will be those at the convention who will love everything you have written and everything about you. They will laugh at your jokes, say you have all the potential in the world and might show a bit of disappointment when you say you still have a year of school. Then there are those who will say that your resume needs to be tightened, your clips package needs more variety and your cover letter isn’t special.

Take and use all of it.

It is OK to soak in the positive, but do not ignore the negative, especially when you’re young. Every once in a while you need that one recruiter not to drool over you. It makes you work harder and makes you realize that there is still more to do.

Oftentimes, students who have been praised for what they do well finally run into a recruiter who thinks otherwise, and it destroys their confidence. That should not be. It should just make you want to bring an even better package the next time you see that person. There is no better feeling than running into a recruiter a year after a roasting and showing that person that you actually took his or her words to heart and made the appropriate changes. It shows that you care. It shows that you are humble. And it makes the recruiter take you seriously.

So still throw on the suit, brush your teeth, keep that bag to your side and have your confidence high. Just make sure that your outer appearance is as strong as your preparation. If it is, a visit to the New York Times or Boston Globe can’t hurt.

Ronald Clark, a senior at Hampton University, is associate editor of the Hampton Script. He can be reached at [email protected]. To comment, e-mail [email protected]

2. What the Professionals Say

By Nicole Dow
Black College Wire

After the graduation caps are thrown in the air and the precious diplomas mounted, it is unlikely that graduates will immediately find themselves in their dream job as editor-in-chief of their favorite magazine or executive producer of the highest-rated news program.

There is a lot of work to put in, and those first five years into your career are crucial. Growing in knowledge, finding good mentors and keeping yourself open to change are important in those first initial years, said panelists at the 2007 convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, held Aug. 8-12 in Las Vegas. Their workshop was called, "Out of the Gate: Surviving the First Five Years of Journalism."

Be ready to learn

You're out of school, but don't assume the learning is over and done with. Panelist Mara Schiavocampo, a freelance journalist five years into her career, said a professor told her to consider the first job more like graduate school. There's a lot of learning to do.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, said panelist Lori Waldon, news director at WISN-TV in Milwaukee. Waldon said that was one of the mistakes she made in her first job. Although you're in a new environment, it's no place to be timid. You won't grow staying unaware or misinformed.

Be tenacious in your career, said panelist Adrienne Samuels, Ebony magazine senior writer. It may be unnatural to go to that family who just lost their son and ask for an interview, but you can't shy away. "No" is never an answer in journalism, Samuels said. It's your job. You must put in the work.

Find guidance

Having a mentor can provide guidance, direction and support. Find mentors who are doing what you want to do, said panelist Johnathon Briggs, education reporter for the Chicago Tribune. The best way to get to that dream job is to learn from someone who has been through the process and is where you'd like to be.

It's your job to seek out mentors, not the other way around. Being persistent, staying in contact and asking specific questions are essential, said Waldon.

Embrace change

Knowing where you want to be is important, but don't dismiss other opportunities because they stray from the original plan. Putting in work in smaller media outlets can give you valuable work experience to prepare for a move into a bigger market, said Briggs.

Don't be afraid to move around to different locations. Many people would like to be in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, but you have to decide what's more important to you— the quality of life in a big city or the experiences you can gain from the added opportunities in a smaller market, Waldon said.

Convergence and new media are where the industry is headed, so it is important to remain open to change. Gone are the days where you can just focus on one narrow skill set. Samuels said she has had to add audio, video, Webcasting and blogging features for stories she has reported on in newspapers and magazines. Journalists need to think of how to take the same basic story and adapt it to other media, Briggs said.

In this age, so many people get their news from the Web instead of from television or newspapers. Younger people have an advantage in growing up in this expanding technological era. Embrace the Web, even if you don't know that much about it, Waldon said.

Nicole Dow is a student at Hampton University. To comment, e-mail [email protected]

Posted Aug. 18, 2007