Application and Interview Suggestions,

[Turtle Wexler]

Yes, I'm reviving this thread again. The second post is Dave Kindred's link to his own column on the subject, so it's good to pop this back up top occasionally.

My recommendations from this round of hiring is to play to the keywords, quantify and use proper nouns. Read through the job description very carefully and 1) follow all the directions and 2) rewrite your resume/cover letter to match the words used in the description.

My organization has a very formal hiring process that includes scoring applications based on a matrix system. You get points for every qualification of the job you meet and to what extent.

For example, if the description says "2 years of making sprockets" you may get five points if you have "5 years of making sprockets" on your resume. The folks with the most points move on to interview rounds.

But if you say "5 years of making widgets" you may get zero points, even if widgets are basically the same as sprockets. If you don't use the word sprockets, it won't count.

Yes, this can get absurd and draconian, but it's the way my organization does it. Because if you don't follow directions or hit the keywords, there are a dozen people who do.

My suggestions:
-- If you're applying to a larger organization (instead of a small Podunk Press), it's perfectly acceptable to research their hiring procedures or even call their HR and ask about procedures. If applications are scored electronically or through a matrix, you have a right to know and prepare.

-- Tailor your resume/cover letter to match the keywords in the description as closely as possible. And hit every point in the description. If it says "looking for someone who can use Google" don't skip over that because you assume it's obvious that everyone can use Google.

-- Use specific names of software and hardware. Don't say "image editing software" say "Adobe Photoshop." Don't say "video camera" say "Canon XA10." And so forth.

-- Try to quantify things as much as possible: Supervised 3 people. Made sprockets for 5 years. Wrote 10 stories a week. Designed 6 pages a shift. Was acting manager for 4 months. Met 98 percent of sales goals.

-- Especially if you are female, avoid the impulse to write long paragraphs explaining intangibles. If you must do that, do it in a cover letter. Keep your resume to bullet points, keywords, proper nouns, short descriptions. Resumes don't get read, they get scanned. In the application process I've seen women score low on the matrix because they spend more time explaining how they collaborated and built relationships than listing the specific skills and tech they utilized to make sprockets. Yes, this is a stereotype, but it absolutely happens.

 

[NancyLou]

This is probably one of the single most useful threads on this board outside of the jobs postings.

Might I suggest to the mods they make this a sticky here?

And I have to say, as important as that little anti-spam picture it, sometimes it drives me nuts trying to put the pieces together.

 

[MiselisM]

I was going to start a thread with questions regarding applications for internships, but after reading this thread I figured that I'd address my questions here.

A simple summary: A college sophomore looking for my first true internship. I've had experience working as a veteran columnist for BleacherReport, and now doing some freelancing for Yahoo Sports. Also, I work for the school newspaper and cover games, interview players weekly for features,etc.

I've applied for a bunch of internships with national media organizations, since many of those deadlines occur in November.

Two of these internships with the deadlines in November said that decisions will be made by end of December. Thus, after submitting my materials, is it realistic to assume that if you don't hear back from them a week later to schedule an interview with you, does that mean I'm out of the running? Or is it fair to assume that it can take much longer to go through the process?

Regarding cover letters, I would say this is the most difficult thing to figure out as a college student who is getting a glimpse of what it's like to compete in this marketplace.

Positives: I'm checking, double checking grammar. I'm specifically addressing my cover letter to the person actually doing reviewing my application ( showing extensive research as a result).

Negatives: I'm unsure as to whether I'm hitting home the point that companies are looking to discover- what will I do for them? I try to emphasize my dedication to the field, and showing the willingness to be the first guy to leave the office and the last to leave. I try to explain some of my positions within the media industry as an example as to how I've immersed myself with the new forms of media, and is willing to put in the necessary work in to be successful.

For those who A. read many cover letters or B. have written many good ones, what would your advice be? Appreciate any feedback.

 

[Versatile]

I love writing cover letters. The key is to explain why you are a better fit for this company than the hundreds of people with similar or better resumes than you have. Go into it with that mentality. If you talk about how you're a hard worker and love journalism and want to tell great stories, your cover letter probably sucks. Everyone says that. Don't do that.

Make your cover letter memorable, in one way or another. If you can't make it stand out, you won't. And at that point, your only hope of reaching the next level of the process is by having a better resume than the competition. And you should assume entering any application process that you don't have the best resume. As you're a reporter, you also have clips. You also never should assume you have the best clips.

The competition is really intense right now for even mid-tier internships. If you can get the hiring editors to remember your name when they're discussing who to call or bring in for the second round, you've accomplished quite a bit. The cover letter, particularly the first few sentences of the cover letter, is a great way to do that.

Be specific. Be honest. Explain why you are better than that person from a better school who is coming off a better internship and has better clips. You might be. You might not be. If you're not, why would they pick you?

And you won't hear back from places until early December, usually.

 

[MiselisM]

I appreciate the feedback, Versatile. I guess the issue that I'm concerned with is the difference between being confident and arrogant. It's a tough act to accomplish, as I could very well come off as a narcissist when that isn't clearly my intention. Unsure how to do distinguish the two.

 

[buckweaver]

You can start by being humble and realistic about your experience, first of all. It's one thing to try to sell yourself (hey, if you don't, who else will?), it's another to call yourself a "veteran" columnist at Bleacher Report — which might get your resume thrown out of many piles because few people with any credibility in journalism take that site seriously.

So many writers for those sites don't use it to do any real reporting — it's just a platform for them to opine on the local pro team without any actual insight. Those clips are worthless. There's no job market for that skill, which is why millions and millions of people do it for free.

That said, I don't mind seeing someone list Bleacher Report, Yahoo Voices, Examiner.com and those types of sign-up-and-get-published websites, especially if you're young and don't have a lot of real professional experience yet (read: you've been hired by an actual editor before.) It's a good way to build your portfolio and practice building clips. But that's all it is, practice.

[/endrant]

 

[MiselisM]

Thank you for your thoughts. For the record, the reason I was emphasizing being a "veteran" columnist for B/R was because I'm a kid in college. If a senior or someone who graduated out of college was saying that, I would see the notion that you are coming from. But the point I was trying to emphasize is that despite only in my third semester of college, I've created a writing platform for myself since high school. I found some success from it, primarily being featured on some other media organizations.

 

[Ace]

Some keys on landing a Sports job, especially a first one:

* Assume the editor knows you want to work there, so shape your resume to skills and experience that make you a fit, not how much you want the job. (Ex: Experience shooting and editing video, covering a niche sport, your 10,000 Twitter followers)

* Referrals are a big, big help. If the editor or writer at the Podunk Herald can tout you to the editor at the bigger Podunk daily, you have an in over the hundreds of other candidates.

* May need to aim low the first time out. If a bigger paper has a full-time clerk position available but you really want to be a writer, it may be a way to get a foot in the door. Lots and lots of folks have done it.

* Clips are important, but make them a variety. If I see two clips on the same type of story (Guy With One Arm plays football, Guy With One Leg plays basketball) I wonder if you are a one-trick pony. Even if those may be your two best stories.

You would be surprised at home many candidates write that they are just graduating and looking for a job. And? What are your skills?

Or you want to cover a college beat and have virtually no social media presence. That's a non-starter these days.

Think about what the job entails and how you can be the best fit.

 

[Versatile]

What kind of college journalist has no social media experience?

 

[Ace]

What kind of college journalist has no social media experience?

You would be surprised at how print-focused some programs are. Some may have plenty of experience but never include it or rarely used twitter, video, etc. for work.

 

[wicked]

* Assume the editor knows you want to work there, so shape your resume to skills and experience that make you a fit, not how much you want the job. (Ex: Experience shooting and editing video, covering a niche sport, your 10,000 Twitter followers)

This is great advice, Ace, and it worked for me.

Where I work now, I'd applied there for years. Tweaks to the cover letter, the resume, saying how I love your paper, it's a dream destination, blah blah blah. Same old, same old. Thought I needed the honey to get into the small resume stack. In reality, I'd been trying wayyyy too hard.

I finally asked an old friend for feedback. She tore my cover letter and resume to shreds. We focused on what skills they wanted that I had, which were quite a few, not on how much I had a crush on almost everyone in the newsroom.

It worked. It's not quite so simple for everyone, but there's a lot to be said for it.

 

[Versatile]

Specificity helps. Your resume sats you're good at Twitter and have beat writing experience. Your cover letter should clarify how you have used Twitter to further your beat reporting. Specificity helps sort out the bullshirt.