Diary Of An Unemployed Young Journalist: An Open Letter To Entry-Level Journalism Jobs Everywhere
Dear entry-level jobs ("ELJ"),
Where have you been?
I've been looking everywhere, virtually since the day I got my bachelor's degree in journalism from a reputable university. But I haven't been able to find you -- not on my university jobs database, not on New York Times Company Careers, not on Dow Jones Careers, nor Hearst Publications, Conde Nast, Time Inc., Rodale, Bauer, Hachette, Bonnier, Village Voice Media, News Corp., New York Observer, Manhattan Media, Gawker Media, CBS, NBC, ABC, Folio Jobs, Poynter.org, Mediabistro Jobs, Ed2010 WhisperJobs, Monster, Careerbuilder -- even the smaller companies of publications like New York, Interview, Radar and so forth.
That's newspapers, magazines, broadcast and online.
I feel like I've looked everywhere for you, ELJ. But I can't find you.
I've certainly tried my best to catch your attention. I thought my bachelor's journalism degree in New York wasn't enough, so I went to the top journalism school in the country and got a master's degree in New York, too.
You know, they don't really make journalism degrees any higher than that, ELJ.
Along the way, I interned at one of the Top 10 newspapers in the U.S. and three national monthly magazines, all under big companies (some might call them the "Big 3" of publishing). Everybody I know said internships were the big way in, so I went and did five.
I'm pretty lucky to have gone to school in this town. Wouldn't you say, ELJ?
But where are you when I need you?
Since I'm not receiving any handouts from dear old Mom and Dad -- especially with regard to the price of grad school and the incredible price of rent in this city, the biggest and most expensive in the U.S. -- I've even done some freelancing, some for notable publications in this town. It used to be a fun side gig, but when I'm depending on that $400 check that comes every couple of months, that's no good, right?
After all, every young journalist needs clips, right?
And hey -- my writing made the cover of a small national monthly magazine three times this year -- did you see, ELJ?
If you did, I wish I knew. Because I can't seem to find you.
Be well-rounded, they said. Be web-savvy, they said. Be flexible, be cheery, and most of all, be professional. Everyone loves a hard worker.
Well, I practiced my hard news stories. Inverted pyramid, soundbite quotes and all that. I've never even had a correction run for one of my pieces.
Then I edited stories by other people. I tried my hand at science journalism, technology journalism, business journalism, arts and entertainment, fashion -- even religion reporting. I challenged myself to see if I could cover everything equally as well, be it short news pieces, briefs, or full-on Rolling Stone-style profile features.
I researched. I fact-checked. I copy edited. I even tried blogging, both for the snarky and staid.
Then I went and learned Photoshop and InDesign and Illustrator and Dreamweaver. I learned how to shoot and edit video and photos. I practiced how to make webpages -- I even set one up for myself. And -- get this -- I learned Adobe Flash this year. How cool is that?
I trained my eye on my resume -- cleaned it up, made it classy, cut the junk. I practiced writing cover letters. I networked -- introduced myself to people, showed them my website, LinkedIn with them.
If you Google me these days, it's a trove of love letters to you, ELJ.
Then, when the time came to work in this big town, center of technology and media and finance and basically everything, I applied like a madman. I started slow, to test the waters, but when time started passing, I quickened the pace.
Editorial assistant jobs, assistant editor jobs, news assistant jobs, beat reporter jobs, online editor jobs, multimedia producer jobs, administrative assistant jobs -- I went after them all. And why not? Everyone told me it'd be a lot easier to find you if I had more feathers in my cap.
You must be allergic to feathers, though, ELJ. I can't seem to find you.
I asked my friends for openings at their companies, only to hear that they might be fired soon because of the economy. I asked my mentors for openings at their companies, but most couldn't find anything. Romenesko keeps saying all the positions for senior staffers were being cut in lieu of openings for young upstarts like me. The new generation of do-it-all journalists. But every time I search for jobs, how come the only ones open are for "senior editor" or "deputy page one editor"?
And gee whiz, there are a lot of internships available. But I think five is where I draw the line, ELJ.
Besides that, I just see freelance gigs that guarantee a lot of wasted time for little reward, or a lot of jobs that require three years of experience. But see, that's what I'm looking for.
ELJ, I'm looking for you.
I even bought a snazzy navy suit for the occasion. Your receptionist, "informational interview," said I look nice and I'm superbly qualified, but she said she can't find you, either.
Must be the economy. Must be the time of year. But let me tell you -- if there's one thing I've got, ELJ, it's information. Now I just need to find you.
I'm getting worried now. Rent's due soon, and $900 doesn't sound "stabilized" when you're not making anything. Who am I kidding -- it sounds like a lot to you too, doesn't it, ELJ?
Everyone says I should move out of the city. But why? I made so many professional connections here. And if everyone's moving out, and those jobs elsewhere are disappearing, who's left anyway?
I'm worried, ELJ. I can't find you. Where are you?
Sincerely,
An Unemployed Young Journalist
Where have you been?
I've been looking everywhere, virtually since the day I got my bachelor's degree in journalism from a reputable university. But I haven't been able to find you -- not on my university jobs database, not on New York Times Company Careers, not on Dow Jones Careers, nor Hearst Publications, Conde Nast, Time Inc., Rodale, Bauer, Hachette, Bonnier, Village Voice Media, News Corp., New York Observer, Manhattan Media, Gawker Media, CBS, NBC, ABC, Folio Jobs, Poynter.org, Mediabistro Jobs, Ed2010 WhisperJobs, Monster, Careerbuilder -- even the smaller companies of publications like New York, Interview, Radar and so forth.
That's newspapers, magazines, broadcast and online.
I feel like I've looked everywhere for you, ELJ. But I can't find you.
I've certainly tried my best to catch your attention. I thought my bachelor's journalism degree in New York wasn't enough, so I went to the top journalism school in the country and got a master's degree in New York, too.
You know, they don't really make journalism degrees any higher than that, ELJ.
Along the way, I interned at one of the Top 10 newspapers in the U.S. and three national monthly magazines, all under big companies (some might call them the "Big 3" of publishing). Everybody I know said internships were the big way in, so I went and did five.
I'm pretty lucky to have gone to school in this town. Wouldn't you say, ELJ?
But where are you when I need you?
Since I'm not receiving any handouts from dear old Mom and Dad -- especially with regard to the price of grad school and the incredible price of rent in this city, the biggest and most expensive in the U.S. -- I've even done some freelancing, some for notable publications in this town. It used to be a fun side gig, but when I'm depending on that $400 check that comes every couple of months, that's no good, right?
After all, every young journalist needs clips, right?
And hey -- my writing made the cover of a small national monthly magazine three times this year -- did you see, ELJ?
If you did, I wish I knew. Because I can't seem to find you.
Be well-rounded, they said. Be web-savvy, they said. Be flexible, be cheery, and most of all, be professional. Everyone loves a hard worker.
Well, I practiced my hard news stories. Inverted pyramid, soundbite quotes and all that. I've never even had a correction run for one of my pieces.
Then I edited stories by other people. I tried my hand at science journalism, technology journalism, business journalism, arts and entertainment, fashion -- even religion reporting. I challenged myself to see if I could cover everything equally as well, be it short news pieces, briefs, or full-on Rolling Stone-style profile features.
I researched. I fact-checked. I copy edited. I even tried blogging, both for the snarky and staid.
Then I went and learned Photoshop and InDesign and Illustrator and Dreamweaver. I learned how to shoot and edit video and photos. I practiced how to make webpages -- I even set one up for myself. And -- get this -- I learned Adobe Flash this year. How cool is that?
I trained my eye on my resume -- cleaned it up, made it classy, cut the junk. I practiced writing cover letters. I networked -- introduced myself to people, showed them my website, LinkedIn with them.
If you Google me these days, it's a trove of love letters to you, ELJ.
Then, when the time came to work in this big town, center of technology and media and finance and basically everything, I applied like a madman. I started slow, to test the waters, but when time started passing, I quickened the pace.
Editorial assistant jobs, assistant editor jobs, news assistant jobs, beat reporter jobs, online editor jobs, multimedia producer jobs, administrative assistant jobs -- I went after them all. And why not? Everyone told me it'd be a lot easier to find you if I had more feathers in my cap.
You must be allergic to feathers, though, ELJ. I can't seem to find you.
I asked my friends for openings at their companies, only to hear that they might be fired soon because of the economy. I asked my mentors for openings at their companies, but most couldn't find anything. Romenesko keeps saying all the positions for senior staffers were being cut in lieu of openings for young upstarts like me. The new generation of do-it-all journalists. But every time I search for jobs, how come the only ones open are for "senior editor" or "deputy page one editor"?
And gee whiz, there are a lot of internships available. But I think five is where I draw the line, ELJ.
Besides that, I just see freelance gigs that guarantee a lot of wasted time for little reward, or a lot of jobs that require three years of experience. But see, that's what I'm looking for.
ELJ, I'm looking for you.
I even bought a snazzy navy suit for the occasion. Your receptionist, "informational interview," said I look nice and I'm superbly qualified, but she said she can't find you, either.
Must be the economy. Must be the time of year. But let me tell you -- if there's one thing I've got, ELJ, it's information. Now I just need to find you.
I'm getting worried now. Rent's due soon, and $900 doesn't sound "stabilized" when you're not making anything. Who am I kidding -- it sounds like a lot to you too, doesn't it, ELJ?
Everyone says I should move out of the city. But why? I made so many professional connections here. And if everyone's moving out, and those jobs elsewhere are disappearing, who's left anyway?
I'm worried, ELJ. I can't find you. Where are you?
Sincerely,
An Unemployed Young Journalist
Written by Andrew Nuca
