Columbia's career services dean offers job search advice

Don’t wait for editors to invite you to interview for a job opening, advises Ernest Sotomayor, assistant dean of career services at Columbia University’s journalism school.

Instead, invite yourself.

“If you travel across the state or country and take the initiative [to contact editors] and say you’re just looking to get a half hour of guidance or want to explore possibilities, they’re usually willing to sit down and talk with you,” he says.

Indeed, The Hill reporter J.T. Rushing took that approach and landed his dream job covering the U.S. Senate.

I recently interviewed Rushing, Sotomayor and others for an advice column I wrote on finding a journalism job in last month’s issue of Quill. Below is some additional advice Sotomayor offered that didn’t make it into my column.

• Get to know the people who hire at media outlets you’re interested in, and see if you can get your foot in the door by freelancing for them, he says. “A lot of it is getting to know recruiters, hiring editors – people in the organization that you can turn to for advice and counsel on what sort of jobs are available … what their needs are, how to freelance [for them].”

• “Look back to school,” he also recommends. “Alumni connections are always great… Journalism professors have worked all over the world, and they know people everywhere. A lot of people like to get recommendations from professors who can give them extra insight into a job candidate.”

• Finally, be open-minded. “It’s like being a reporter in the field writing a story. You spread your wings and look at different possibilities and keep your options open … How willing you are to get up and move from where you are is a factor. The smaller the size of the geographic territory for your job search is, the few possibilities there are … Just be open to a lot of different possibilities. The more things you’re willing to consider, the more opportunities you make available to yourself.”

-Mark Grabowski

Visual journalism scholarships

The Society for News Design is offering a $2,000 scholarship to sophomores, juniors and seniors at any accredited four-year school worldwide who are interested in a career in visual journalism. Deadline: June 13.

Additionally, a $5,000 scholarship will be awarded annually to a junior or senior at Syracuse University. For more info about that, click here and scroll down.

-Mark Grabowski

Networking is key in journalism job search

Your dream newsroom job may be available right now, but there’s a good chance you’ll never know. Like virtually every other industry, many jobs in journalism aren’t officially advertised. There are ways to find out about them, but it takes effort. To find out how, read my latest Quill column, which contains advice from reporters, hiring editors and Columbia Journalism School's dean of career services. -Mark Grabowski

Arizona Daily Star intern coordinator offers advice

Leslie Anne Newell and I were fellow cub reporters at the Arizona Republic nine years ago. She's since reported around the country and is now assistant city editor at the Arizona Daily Star, a 110,000 circulation day paper in Tucson. She also directs the internship program there. Here's her advice to young journalists:

"Networking is incredibly important for young journalists. Companies are looking to cut every corner they can right now, which means not paying the fee to post on journalismjobs or other sites that also charge for the ad. With the state of the industry, companies also aren't hiring as often as they used to, which means fewer jobs for new grads. For both of those reasons, it's incredibly important for students/recent grads to get every foot in every door that they can. They're more likely to hear about positions. But on another hand networking isn't any more important than it ever was. I think managers have always relied on it to some degree. For example, I hire upward of 20 interns a year and I can't tell you how much more it increases a candidate's stock if someone I know sends me a good word about her/him. If a colleague comes back from a conference and gives me a folder on a good candidate, that goes to the top of the pile. If I see a professor at the UA whom I really respect is listed as a reference on a resumé, that also goes to the top. Young journalists cannot do too much right now to make sure they're putting themselves out there. And don't forget to tell them that means follow-up notes to every conversation they have with anyone who might help them."

-Mark Grabowski

N.J. Event: Covering tragedy

WHAT: "Knocking on Death's Door," a panel discussion on covering tragedy. Co-sponsored by Monmouth University and the New Jersey Society for Professional Journalists.

WHO: Victims' families and journalists who often interview victims' families. Panelists include Rutgers journalism professor Ron Miskoff, Newark Star-Ledger reporter Susan Livio, Asbury Park Press reporter Ed Johnson, Phyllis Matthey-Johnson, Diane Gruskowski and Robin Turner.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 18, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Magill Commons, Rms. 107 & 108; Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Ave., West Long Branch, N.J.

For more info, contact Professor Mark Grabowski at mark@cubreporters.org

Share your journalism job search experiences

I'm looking for quotes from young journalists.

I'm writing a column for the young journalists section of Quill on the importance of networking in the job search.

As with virtually every field, many journalism job openings don't seem to be advertised. I know of one editor, for example, who said she won't post jobs on popular websites because she doesn't want to have to sort through hundreds of resumes. So, the only way to find out about some jobs is through word-of-mouth: by attending conferences, keeping in touch with editors, getting heads-ups from friends at other media outlets when a co-worker leaves (and they'll probably fill the position), etc.

Do you have any comments, anecdotes or experiences to share relating to this? If so, please e-mail me ASAP at mark@cubreporters.org.

Thanks.

-Mark Grabowski

Free N.J. Event: Reporter offers advice to college journos

Alex Biese, an award-winning young reporter at the Asbury Park Press, will speak at Monmouth University in Northern Jersey on March 24.

Biese, a 24-year-old MU alumnus, will discuss life as a professional journalist, offer advice to college journalists, and provide tips on landing an internship or first job. A Q&A will follow.

The discussion begins at 2:30 p.m. in Room 135 of MU's Plangere Center, in West Long Branch, N.J. Click here for directions. For more info, contact Professor Mark Grabowski at mark(at)cubreporters(dot)org.

Orlando Sentinel hiring editor offers advice

I asked the Orlando Sentinel's staff development editor if she had any advice for young journalists. Dana Eagles suggests that college journalists create their own opportunities by offering to intern somewhere for college credit:

"It might be worth noting that some newspapers and magazines will allow students to intern part time for academic credit for a semester at a time. This can be an excellent way for younger students to gain some experience even if they don't qualify for a full-time, paid summer internship. For example, every semester we have four or five University of Central Florida students working for us part-time as interns in reporting, editing, photography and online producing. These arrangements might not be formalized in every case. The student might need to take the initiative to invent an opportunity, armed with information about what sort of credit his school is willing to give and how many hours of work are required to get it."

Eagles has also written a must-read article, "How to get a newspaper internship," that outlines how to go about finding and applying for journalism internships.

For more info on both paid and academic internships at the Orlando Sentinel, click here.

-Mark Grabowski

Find UK journalism jobs

Here's a website that lists journalism jobs in the UK.

Mark Grabowski

Scholarships to D.C. summer journalism program

The Institute of Political Journalism is still accepting applications for its eight-week program in D.C. -- and has scholarships available, as well.

Basically, IPJ hooks you up with a first rate full-time journalism internship (e.g. USA Today, CNN, White House press secretary's office, etc.). You also take two night classes (worth six credits) at Georgetown University. And housing is provided.

For more info, visit:
http://dcinternships.org/ipj/about/index.asp

The program costs a few thousands dollars, but, as I said, scholarships are available.

I did this same program when I was in college, and it was a lot of fun. More importantly, it really helped my career.

-Mark Grabowski

The media on the media

I've added a new page listing publications that cover and comment on journalists and the media. Publications include:

The American Editor;American Journalism Review;Columbia Journalism Review; Editor & Publisher; Online Journalism Review;Quill; The Journalist; The Communicator; MediaPost Publications; Romenesko's Media News; Extra!; Media Monitor; Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; SPJ Leads; Press Notes; CovertAction Quarterly; The Daily Howler; AEJMC News.

Know of any others? Contact me.

-Mark Grabowski

Dozens of journalism organizations

I've added a page listing dozens of journalism organizations:

Alliance for Community Journalism; American Society of Newspaper Editors; American Amateur Press Association; American Copy Editors Society; Assoc. for Education in Journalism and Mass Comm.; American Journalism Review; American Press Institute; Amer. Society of Business Publication Editors; Amer. Society of Journalists and Authors; Asian American Journalists Association; Associated Collegiate Press; Association for Business Communication; Association of Electronic Journalists; Boston Newspaper Guild; Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism; Columbia Journalism Review; Committee of Concerned Journalists; Committee to Protect Journalists; DowJones Newspaper Fund; Eastern Canadian News Photographers Assoc.; Foundation for American Communications; Institute for Analytic Journalism; Institute on Political Journalism; Int'l. Association for Media & Comm. Research; International Center for Journalists; International Comm. Association; Int'l. Federation of Journalists; Int'l. Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Int'l. Press Institute; Int'l. Women's Media Foundation; Internet Press Guild; Int'l. Reporters & Editors; Journalism Education Assoc.; National Public Broadcasting Archives; National Assoc. of Black Journalists; National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association; National Scholastic Press Assoc.; Newspaper Assoc. of America; National Assoc. of Broadcasters; National Assoc. of Hispanic Journalists; National Conference of Editorial Writers; National Federation of Press Women; National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting; Native American Journalists Assoc.; Newspaper Guild of America; National Assoc. of Black Journalists; Native American Journalists Association; National Press Photographers Association; Nieman Foundation for Journalism; The New Precision Journalism; Pacific Northwest Newspaper Assoc.; Pew Center for Civic Journalism; Project Censored; Project for Excellence in Journalism; The Pulitzers Prizes; Reporters Without Borders; South Asian Journalists Association; Society of Environmental Journalists; Society of Professional Journalists; South Asian Research Centre for Advertisement, Journalism & Cartoons; Trade Assoc. Business Publications Int'l.


Don't see your journalism organization? Contact me.

-Mark Grabowski

Find journalism jobs in the UK and overseas

journalism.co.uk is basically the British equivalent of JournalismJobs.com. In addition to having lengthy journalism jobs listings that are updated regularly, it lists industry news, awards, freelance opportunities, advice and more. The focus is definitely on the UK, but there's plenty of useful info on there for every journalist, regardless of nationality.

For more journalism jobs and journalism job boards, visit CubReporters.org's jobs page.

-Mark Grabowski

The 8th way to get bylines

Quill recently ran a story on "Seven Strategies for Getting Bylines," which I wrote. There are actually eight ways to get bylines, but one got edited out:

Study abroad.

Help out in a newspaper’s foreign bureau. Or look into writing for English publications in the foreign country.

“While the crunch on foreign news budgets may limit the amount of staff correspondent posts available, it presents a golden opportunity for upstart journalists,” said Jason Motlagh, a freelancer who’s reported from West Africa, the Caucasus and Haiti. “I’ve met many other full-time reporters who broke in simply by showing up at a far-flung bureau and asking to lend a hand.”

Sorry about the deletion, Jason -- you know how editors can be.

I'm sure y'all can think of more strategies for getting bylines. Please share your ideas in the comments section below.

-Professor Mark Grabowski

Seven ways to get bylines

Don’t wait until you’re hired as a reporter to start acting like one.

Getting articles published is vital to landing a reporting job. Most editors want to see four to six — and sometimes many more — samples of your work.

“It shows much more to those hiring that you’re ambitious about being published, rather than having a resume with a college term paper that never was published attached to it,” said Joe Hight, managing editor of The Oklahoman. “And I can tell you it’s a lot more exciting to see your byline in a publication than the grade that you’ll receive for the term paper.”

While in school, develop a portfolio of good clips that demonstrates your journalism skills. Visit my journalism website to find out how to get bylines.

-Mark Grabowski

Advice from a managing editor

Wish you could pick the brain of a managing editor at a major daily newspaper? My journalism website recently did. Find out what advice Joe Hight, managing editor of The Oklahoman, has for college journalists and young reporters.

-Mark Grabowski

Want to be a Washington correspondent?

Come to this...

"Breaking into the Beltway: Careers in Political Journalism"

SPEAKERS: Ken Vogel, The Politico; Dan Parks, CQ Today; Davar Ardalan, NPR’s Morning Edition; Moderator: Professor Mark Grabowski, Monmouth University

WHEN: Saturday, December 1, 2007, 2:45-3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Columbia Ballroom, Holiday Inn Capitol; 550 C St SW, Washington, D.C. 20024

For more info, click here.

2007-08 Presentations

This academic year, I will be speaking at the following conferences:

• Society of Professional Journalists; Oct. 6 in Washington, DC.
• Journalism Education Association; Nov. 9 in Philadelphia, PA.
• Institute on Political Journalism, Decision 2008; Dec. 1 in Washington, DC.
• Garden State Scholastic Press Association; Spring 2008 in New Jersey.

If you're in the area, stop by.

Jersey or bust!

This fall, I'll be teaching journalism and various communication courses at Monmouth University.

The New Jersey school is located an hour from Philadelphia and New York and is listed by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s "Best 366 Colleges."

I have lots of journalism-related events planned for 2007-08, many of which will be open to the public. Check back for updates.

-Mark Grabowski, CubReporters.org Web editor

Praise for CubReporters.org

We've gotten some good press this week:

* fishbowl DC, a blog about the Washington media, wrote: "For newbie reporters everywhere, Mark Grabowski is here to help with CubReporters.org, "a tool to help young, student and early career journalists with their job search and to inform them about opportunities available to them."

* NewsCollege, a journalism education website, called us "A can't-miss guide to helping novices break into print journalism. Filled with useful tips and advice about applying and interviewing for jobs."

-Mark Grabowski

Web site re-launch

CubReporters.org is back and better than ever before!

The website, aimed at helping young, college and early-career journalists, was launched in October 1999. Over the years, however, it languished as I became busy working as a reporter and later attending law school.

Recently, I recommitted myself to maintaining the website. Broken links have been fixed, new links and features (such as this blog) have been added. The site has also received a facelift to make it more aesthetically appealing and easier to navigate.

Please let me know if I can assist you in anyway. Feedback on the website is welcome, as well. Email me at Mark@CubReporters.org.

-Mark Grabowski,
CubReporters.org Web editor