How many clips should u send w/ resume

[Matt Stephens]

A lot of postings will tell you how many are wanted, but generally no more than six. When I was applying for jobs and it didn't say how many, I often emailed the editor and asked and I almost always would get a response.

Definitely send a variety of clips. If you are linking to them, make it clear that this is a feature whilen that is a gamer and so on. Personally, I included columns because I knew they were a strong suit for me. Even if you don't get to write columns at the job, you'll likely blog a bit.

Don't know if it will help you, but as a pretty recent college grad new to the "pro" world in terms of print, it worked well for me.

 

[doodah]

How hard was the job search for you coming out of college?

 

[Matt Stephens]

How hard was the job search for you coming out of college?

It wasn't too bad, but I had quite a bit of experience under my belt. In addition to being SE of my college paper, I had worked for Rivals.com/Yahoo! for more than four years. I graduated in December 2010, started my first post-college job in May 2011 at a 55K daily, which is where I'm at now.

The main thing is, don't get discouraged. You can't take things personally if you don't get the job after interviewing, and just because the interview went great, you're a shoe-in, and just because you think maybe it didn't go well that you won't get it. Easily what I thought was my best interview was with a well-established entity. I was prepped, he and I seemed to have good chemistry, but I didn't get the job. So what do you do? Move on to the next one. You have to remember, there are a lot of great writers out there with more experience/talent than you that are out of a job.

And honestly, even though I felt like I was going to be able to start my career at a paper that had a really high circulation just due to some of the interviews I was able to land, I couldn't be more thankful that my first job is where it's at. I work with a lot of good people in an area that really cares about sports. It's also helped me relearn the ropes, so to speak, being out in the "real world," as I'm able to go to my editors with some of my stories if I feel like I need some advice on how to take a story in a direction I didn't think of. Plus, I get to write columns whenever I want, which I likely wouldn't most other places without paying my dues for a long time.

Once you get your first interview, likely by phone, the rest will start coming together.

 

[Stitch]

I like making PDFs of my clips off of a newspaper's website. Use the print-friendly feature if available.

Word. Dawg.

 

[doodah]

I like making PDFs of my clips off of a newspaper's website. Use the print-friendly feature if available.

Word. Dawg.

Yes but is putting the actual text of it on a word document acceptable? I do that in case the site randomly decides to delete articles.

Also, I applied to three jobs yesterday and haven't heard back from one yet.....

 

[Stitch]

Also, I applied to three jobs yesterday and haven't heard back from one yet.....

Don't worry, you will.

Glad you started this thread. Was thinking of starting a similar one.

I applied for a job 20 minutes ago. I haven't heard back.

 

[Matt Stephens]

I like making PDFs of my clips off of a newspaper's website. Use the print-friendly feature if available.

Word. Dawg.

Yes but is putting the actual text of it on a word document acceptable? I do that in case the site randomly decides to delete articles.

Also, I applied to three jobs yesterday and haven't heard back from one yet.....

You're not going to hear back right away. It generally takes a few days, often a week. A lot of times, the paper/editor will have a deadline for when folks can apply and won't start sorting out all of the resumes until after that.

And a Word document is fine, but convert it to a .pdf so even if the company doesn't have Word, or only has an older version (I hate you, .docx), it can easily be readable. If you save something in .docx format, sometimes older versions of Microsoft Word will get your tabs wrong or can't open the file all together. PDFs (printable document format) are universal and can't be edited after they're saved, so what you see is what everyone else will see.

 

[doodah]

shirt I sent out 3 job apps in word document form. Does that disqualify me?

 

[Matt Stephens]

No. And now I'm starting to think you're not a real boy, either.

 

[TwoGloves]

Got laid off about six weeks ago and had to reapply for my job. I gave them six clips and six videos I shot. Not only got the job back but got another (better) job I also applied for. The videos helped with both interviews.

 

[HanSenSE]

Don't forget the 8 story ideas.

Story ideas? And sorry about the word. I was trying to sound street

Keep this in mind when you get your first job. You're not there to sound "street." You're there to report. OK, the tweens, teens and even some 20somethings may think "street" is cool, but that's not your whole audience. You're also writing for grandmas who may not know much about football, but want to see how their grandkid did. You're writing for the guy who's sat in the same seat at the Podunk Bowl for 40 years and can not only tell you everything about this year's team, but what kind of players their fathers and great grandfathers were. You're writing for the girlfriend who didn't know a thing about the sport until she fell in love with Little Jimmy. And they're all entitled to a clear, concise account. In English.

[/soapbox]

 

[BobSacamano]

Dismissing the value of sounding "street" -- when done properly -- is neglecting an entire audience. The wrong writer can sound condescending. The wrong personality (via the Stephen A. Smith School of Speech) will be sniffed out as a clown pandering to the "street" demo. But it shouldn't be each journos goal to cater to Louise from Richmond Lane by ignoring our ever-evolving vernacular.

Sports, not religion. New ways to report shouldn't be disregarded because out-of-touch folks don't want to feel left out.