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Topic: desperately seeking entry-level journalism/PR posi
| Author | Message |
| katestarrr | Posted – 12/14/2007 1:25:24 PM | show profile a grammar mistake was pointed out to me, and thinking 'who cares, its a messageboard' i pointed out one in the same post that corrected me. if in an academic setting, leaving out the preposition is not acceptable, then what was the point in pointing out my original mistake in a post on a messageboard? ...thats why we don't listen to you. |
| katestarrr | Posted – 12/14/2007 1:29:10 PM | show profile and by the way, from the very source that you cited... "In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, like using prepositions where they are not necessary. It would be a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal, academic prose." highlighting this part... "but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal, ACADEMIC prose." i think i'm ready for a fight. |
| catlondon | Posted – 12/14/2007 1:34:20 PM | show profile Sigh. Kate, you misread my post: "Both are correct, but often people prefer to omit a preposition if it's not necessary. In academic writing, that's generally the standard." I was pointing out that in academic writing, omitting an unnecessary preposition is often the standard. But I can see how you might misread that. Your orignial post was very absolutist in tone, by the way, which I why I pointed out that there is an alternate opinion. |
| katestarrr | Posted – 12/14/2007 1:39:10 PM | show profile i read it just fine. the source that you cited disagrees with you. |
| katestarrr | Posted – 12/14/2007 1:44:46 PM | show profile it really sucks not being able to edit your posts, huh? |
| catlondon | Posted – 12/14/2007 2:49:34 PM | show profile In what way does my source disagree with me? |
| fourfold | Posted – 12/14/2007 2:59:42 PM | show profile | email poster suggestion Have two resumes: one for applying for PR jobs, the other for journalism. Right now, your experience seems to be much stronger in PR. Yet you say you would prefer editorial. If that's the track you pursue, be prepared to back to the very, very beginning. PR experience is not relevant for an editorial job (sorry, it's just not). If you want to bolster your editorial experience, start pitching and writing freelance articles. An entry-level position in a consumer magazine would be editorial assistant. Lots of grunt work. Be prepared for that. You might have more success breaking in at a trade publication. |
| fourfold | Posted – 12/14/2007 3:00:23 PM | show profile sorry, I meant "go back" |
| katestarrr | Posted – 12/14/2007 3:58:06 PM | show profile nevermind. this is dumb and we're way off topic. |
| Chachiness | Posted – 12/19/2007 7:31:08 PM | show profile | email poster I read all of the posts underneath the original and I found the battle of young people who can't commit riveting. I am admittedly one of these recent grads who can't decide what I want to do because I haven't had enough experience in any particular field to make this choice. What to do now? How do I get into the interview to convince the hiring manager I am gung-ho about a particular position? At this point, I would be super excited for ANY position which involved any print at all! I'm hard-working, dedicated, and will do the crappy hours, no health benefits situation. Any help? |
| sjr | Posted – 12/20/2007 2:07:33 PM | show profile | email poster Okay, young peeps, listen up: Yes, it helps to have a focus when you are looking for a job, but when you are looking in large cities like NYC and LA at larger houses, it helps simply to have ambition (especially if you are looking in PR). I'm not saying that you shouldn't understand the differences between the mag and newspaper industries, et. al.--that is VERY important--but it's the spark that most employers are looking for. Ask questions about a specific job on the board if you don't understand. Does the phrase "will consider an exceptional young hire" ring any bells? They are typically going to hire you for your great phone skills so you can do the grunt work. I said typically. Clearly there are superstars on this board who will show me up on that point. I'm just telling you how I hire for people below me. I look for those whom I can mold and shape and twist into a journalist in the magazine industry. If you are going into publishing, you WANT one of these grunt jobs because this is where you learn the ins and outs of the publishing biz. You'll find your strengths and weaknesses fairly quickly. Your salary will be crappy. You probably won't be able to buy a house until your 30s. You may make more if you go into PR, but still expect to be a grunt. I say it again: Your salary will be crappy. $35K is friggin incredible for a new hire. I would expect less than $30K. If you have a boss who is in his 40s or older (or is just old fashioned), then expect that he will expect long hours as your ticket to get ahead. That's the way it "used" to be done. But if you consistently improve and dazzle, you will see bigger and better gains in the salary and responsibility departments. If you have no experience outside of school, I would strickly stick with entry level. That said, there are tremendous ops for newbies to come in on the web end. You know the technology better than some of the dinosaurs who are refusing the change (you know who you are). BUT, you had better respect those "dinosaurs" because they will guide you and maybe along the way teach you a thing or two. They have the experience and the skills, more so than any college class or cool liberal prof ever gave to you. To the original poster: do you have any web skills? Does your resume simply tell people what you've done, or does it tell people what you can do FOR THEM? Hopefully you are working with several different resumes, tailored for the different types of jobs you are looking for. There's nothing wrong with looking in other fields, but your resume should be reflective of that particular field. Don't tell me that you were on the dean's list 12 out of 16 semesters. Not caring. Were you ACTIVE on the school paper? Maybe you were president of your frat/sorority and successfully fund-raised for a local charity? Or maybe you worked full-time while paying for college? Even the dumbest jobs can show skills: fast food/cafeteria jobs manage deadlines, work in a fast-paced environment, deal with people, etc. Most places don't care how smart you are coming in; they want to beat the tar out of you and see how much stress you can handle. I also recommend that your resume be in a font other than Times New Roman (yawn...Word default font), but nothing exotic that an electronic reader won't pick up the characters. We're in the final stages of hiring a graphic designer, and the resumes that caught my eye were the ones that showed that they were thinking just a little differently than the others. Oh, I recommend spending a lot of time on that cover letter. I know it's a PITA to have to really hone in on a fabulous letter from a 1" job ad, but learn everything you can about the business before sending in the letter. AND--VERY IMPORTANT--if the job ad says include cover letter, references, clips, and/or salary reqs, don't forget to include them!! I've thrown away many perfectly great resumes because the candidate didn't bother to follow my directions in the ad. Stupid. Amen. I'm shutting up now. Good luck. |
| df | Posted – 12/20/2007 3:24:34 PM | show profile ... and now I am going to get bashed just like the other old people... but I am going to make another list of who gets hired by me for the whopping 35k salary plus HI: at least 2 years experience in a PR agency (full time) at least 4 internship of at least 3 month full time, preferably 6 month plus transfer in that company into a full time position while in college excellent spotless writing, lots of clips to prove it at least 2 whopping references from former employers which I can actually call a dedication towards my industry - PR/Marketing - and a real will to build a career in it. I will spend a lot of time and effort on someone, they will learn a lot and I am not going to waste that on someone not sincere. And I can tell after 20 yrs in the industry. plus, a well adjusted personality with good values. My clients are moody and not nice all the time, at least in my office I want a good vibe. So manners, mood and presentation are also a must. And yes it is only 35K. And yes I can chose, I always have more then 5 canditates who actually have all the above and more. So all the ones who don't don't even stand a chance. And for many of you its just simply too late, because if you start interning after college, I take you out of the maybe pile, I mean, why didn't you manage to hold at least a part time internship for the duration of your college time? go and become a bank clerk. To the OP: two years of search should tell you something. make alternative career plans. best advice you ever got, and its free. |
| neekah18 | Posted – 12/20/2007 3:52:47 PM | show profile It's not too late. Many of us had to WORK to PAY for college instead of doing numerous unpaid internships on our own dollar. I am glad you find candidates who meet your ghastly demands for a paltry $35k salary, but the majority of us were busy working full-time jobs to pay our tuition all the while maintaining a 3.0 gpa, to spend 25-40 hours a week doing employee work for an upaid internship . However, I do agree that if after 2 years you haven't made any headway in your chosen career, it's time to move on to option number 2. |
| sjr | Posted – 12/20/2007 5:11:23 PM | show profile | email poster Neekah, I totally understand that it's frustrating. We've all been there, and trust me, you are not saying anything that those of us who are in publishing a while haven't felt, heard, or experienced. Even now, with years of experience, switching jobs is not so easy. While you might take some offense to what some people are saying, they are really trying to help. At the very least, have you considered working for a temp agency? It's not always a straight line to your perfect career. Some detours may round you out and make you marketable. How about a middleman marketing research firm that handles and analyzes the fielding of studies? Understanding ads and PR from another angle is always helpful. Or maybe start applying for jobs for administrative assistants. You can gain organizational and corporate experience, which will look great if moving either into PR or journalism. Or how about working retail for an industry that interests you? If you want to go into fashion/women's mags, try working for a high-end clothing store or cosmetics. Just a few suggestions. We really do want to help. |
| sjr | Posted – 12/20/2007 5:13:05 PM | show profile And don't forget to freelance! Crack open the Writer's Market and start sending ideas to small pubs..then work your way up. |
| Big Boss | Posted – 12/27/2007 5:51:08 PM | show profile Desperately seeking entry level position... Do any of those recommending the temp route know of any agencies that specialize in editorial assistant placements? I am looking for an entry level position in journalism myself, only I am 34 (!!), and am a little concerned that I might be rejected for an entry level position based on my age. Ay thoughts? |
| writerandeditor | Posted – 12/28/2007 9:14:54 PM | show profile I rarely agree with Matt, but he's dead-on about this one -- it doesn't matter what your major/minor was. Pick one -- PR or journalism. They're not supposed to be one and the same. He's also correct about entry-level salaries. |
