Sunday, April 28, 2013

Want to get a job? Become an expert (at something)

In a time where finding a journalism job, or any communications related field, for that matter, appears to be getting harder and harder by the day, there's one way you can get an edge over the competition.

What's that, you ask? Become an expert in the field of your choice.

For instance, if you're interested in local and state politics, start a blog covering that subject.  If it's banking, business, and/or finance, start a blog on that. The same thing goes for fashion, pharmaceuticals, social media, sociology, etc.

The more experience (or knowledge) you have covering a particular subject, or in journalism terms, covering a beat, the better off you're going to be when it comes time to apply for a job.

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

An ironic twist on the journalism crisis

Here's an irony on mainstream journalism's downward spiral: it's actually helping journalism schools boost their enrollment.

According to a recent article in Crain's New York Business, many of the so-called "j-schools" are helping future potential journalists develop technical skills, as opposed to actual journalism-related skills like storytelling (and news writing), in order to compete in an ever-tightening job market.

If that wasn't enough, the same article in Crain's reports that the recent job fair hosted by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism had a record 135 companies taking part in it.  

Which shows, that even in the toughest of times, media companies and organizations still need talented, not to mention technically savvy, people to produce the news that many of us still take for granted, whether it's on air, on paper, online, and (increasingly) on mobile devices.

Feel free to comment on any and all posts at http://communication-careers-corner.blogspot.com/.

Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/commcareer

 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Treating the job search like dating, Part 2, or "You're not my type! (probably)"

In what seems to be an increasingly tight job market, treating the job search just like dating appears to be more important than ever.

For proof, read this article from money.usnews.com on this very aforementioned topic here.  It gives you a dozen tips (and change) on how to get your future spouse, uh, employer, to the altar.

Which leads to this question.  How do you know a particular company is "The One"?

Using "dating" techniques, you invite that potential special someone out to lunch, or maybe coffee (networking).  Don't talk marriage (or job) at this point.  Instead, find out what the company is looking for in its employees.

If, after the first or second date, things aren't working out, it might be time to move on.  After all, there's a difference between persistent, and being a pest.  You just to have to know when take a hint, and find someone else to pursue.

It just might be that the people you're dating (or the companies you hope to work for someday) just simply might not be "your type".

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Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

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