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Topic: Why can't I find a job? I will be kicked out soon!
| Author | Message |
| Keith | Posted – 2/18/2008 10:33:42 PM | show profile I've been going on one or two interviews and not getting any calls back. I want to kill myself. I graduated a year ago with a Bachelor's in Journalism, and my parents always call me stupid for majoring in this and trying to get a job in this field. They are threatening to kick me out of the house unless I get a job. I went to temp agencies, but they only have jobs for the office, which I'm not qualified for. I only have skills in journalism. I feel like my 3.8 GPA and my letters of recommendation from past internships don't matter to the interviewers. I really need help. I need a job soon or else I don't know what's going to happen to me. I even wrote a heartfelt letter to a family member who works as an editor for newsday. She refused to even give me advice because she doesn't want to see any one steal her spotlight in the family.I need some advice on how to interview, how I should apply for a job (applying via mediabistro.com is not working), etc. because I don't see a reason for living at this point. |
| aj | Posted – 2/18/2008 11:05:18 PM | show profile Where do you live? ------ Dream Big. Pay the Rent. www.makingitinthecity.com |
| Canadiana | Posted – 2/18/2008 11:34:27 PM | show profile Michelle: please take it easy. You will find a job and everything will be okay. Take a deep breath. People are really helpful on this board; we can work with you (: |
| Chamsah | Posted – 2/19/2008 12:11:48 AM | show profile Deep breath Understandably this is upsetting. But the more worked up you get, the less effective, confident and skilled you'll appear when you interview. And it will be self-fulfilling prophecy: you won't get hired. Take a deep breath. Try to put things in perspective. A job is not everything, and it's certainly not your entire life. Before you take further steps, you definitely need to evaluate what is important to you and why. This is a tough industry and you need to be able to stomach it long-term. It's not for everyone, that's for sure. Also understand that you are entering the job market at the worst time for publishing in a very long time. Plenty of great people have been laid off, mags and papers are closing left and right, few spots are available and the competition is insane. Not just for entry level but for all levels. Start networking now. A family member isn't enough. Have you done an internship? Do you know any editors? What about contacting alumni? Have you looked at the mentoring program at ED2010? Have you attended any networking events? Create a page on Linked In. Find people you know and connect up, even if they aren't in publishing. Brush up on your interviewing skills. Sit down with a friend and practice selling yourself. Why should I hire you as an editorial assistant? What do you bring to the table that other candidates don't? How do you come up with your story ideas? I'm a travel editor: pitch me a 500 word story for our front of the book. Stuff like that. Make sure your resume is great. Use a resume service at your college or through MB to evaluate its effectiveness. If you really want this, don't give up. Have patience, it could take more than a year to get a job. Good luck. |
| face | Posted – 2/19/2008 12:44:11 AM | show profile * Be a waitress. At least for the next few months. Apply now for unpaid summer internships at national mags/newspapers, and spend the next several months earning lots of tips to finance your unpaid summer. Even if you've had internships, if they didn't lead to jobs, you may need to * Apply wherever you want to work. Very few people get hired from job boards. Send letters to every magazine/newspaper where you want to work, to both the HR department and the ME. * Your letters and GPA DON'T matter to interviewers -- you're right about that. You need clips. If you don't have any (and even if you do) your cover letter should be full of story ideas specific to that magazine. * Speaking of specifics, use those journalism skills of yours to better report your own dilemma: if we know more about the where (you live) what (kind of reporting you want to do) how (online? print? editing? reporting? magazines? newspapers?) we can give you more specific advice. |
| face | Posted – 2/19/2008 12:45:32 AM | show profile you may need to... suck it up and take another unpaid until it gets you the clips, connections, or promotion you need to get a job. Sorry - this is why I shouldn't post immediatly after the gym on an empty stomach. |
| Bruingrl14 | Posted – 2/19/2008 9:01:04 AM | show profile You didn't say what kind of journalism you are trying to get into, but maybe you aren't aiming at the right types of papers. Have you applied to jobs with a small, local newspaper chain? |
| writer | Posted – 3/19/2008 12:02:57 AM | show profile First thing, breathe. Second thing is it will happen. Believe me, I know. I moved to New York in September 2006, I JUST got my first ed assistant job in magazines. And you know what it took an internship after I came from a newspaper background (2 yrs of experience there), temping jobs (from stuffing envelopes, 5 months of customer service at a publishing company and even wrapping gifts during CHRISTMAS of all times). It was hard, but I did it and guess what I'm still here. I took any temping job even though my experience was only in journalism because I did what I had to do to do what I wanted to. And you can to. I was almost ready for my plan B, but I couldn't give up on my dream, and I advise you do the same. |
| wineaux | Posted – 3/19/2008 12:32:51 AM | show profile It stinks looking for a job, but add the stress your family is shoveling on you, and it's compounded. I'm sorry your going through this. It's o.k. You've got a degree and good grades to show for yourelf. It's alright to take a step back and maybe find something temporary right now. Maybe an entry level marketing job? I often see ads for them around. I think you are more and qualified to temp and get a decent hourly wage. Get yourself an hourly gig doing something where your strengths lie, and approach some of your smaller local papers and mags and see about freelancing for them to help build your clip book. It's a tough market out there, so don't be so hard on yourself. I know that's hard, since your family is doing a pretty good job of beating you up, but don't give up! |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 3/19/2008 1:26:05 AM | show profile I can't offer much advice but I can offer some empathy...I've been chasing the "real job" thing for some time now and it is quite frustrating. But having continued to stick at it I have built up a small freelance network. I don't make enough doing that to pay the bills so I moonlight as a waiter and a bouncer--which is not fun most of the time. However, what keeps me going is knowing that the alternative is giving up and spending a lifetime thinking "what if?" So the only advice I can offer is to try to make enough money doing whatever to perhaps freelance a bit. Then you're still writing, still getting experience. If your parents are as unsupportive as they sound (no offense) perhaps you need to find a job doing ANYTHING that will get you out of that negative environment. That sounds like a must. Find a cheap studio apartment and stand on your own two feet. Shove a desk in your corner and make it your office and remember that you're simply a writer who has another job to help with financial matters. But I do strongly suggest getting out of that house. Wouldn't it be nice to leave on your own behalf than because they told you to? Keep us posted and good luck. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 3/19/2008 2:46:34 AM | show profile Freelance You need new clips. You need to freelance to get them if the job isn't coming. Why? you ask. Because, for some odd reason, employers think if you don't have a job then somehow you're not as good as someone coming from a job. And meanwhile, your clips get stale. My advice? Take any journalism-related job. They exist. It may not be at anything more than a 10,000-circ daily or weekly at first maybe even in a podunk town, but take it. You need to pay your dues. Freelance at magazines or larger papers, get clips. Then apply to other jobs. Make the rounds, network at events, introduce yourself to editors. Good luck. c. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| flight risk | Posted – 3/19/2008 4:30:35 AM | show profile Don't wait for the phone to ring. You should keep yourself busy every waking moment. There's a lot of ways to build up some credentials while you wait for the right job to arrive. You should definitely start pitching work. Learning how to pitch can help you nail interviews. Write even if you don't have an assignment. Come up with some good ideas and write something on spec. Start a blog. There are bloggers that have no journalism experience that have landed blogging positions with mainstream media outlets. And there are also paid blogging positions available. At the very least, writing every day will make you a better writer. |
| Decorama | Posted – 3/19/2008 10:33:44 AM | show profile Shelby Redux Guys, OP is the infamous "Shelby" of the paralegal debacle! She seems to have renamed herself Magaret. Perhaps she's still reading the board, or maybe this thread will be of assistance to someone else. |
| rhino writer | Posted – 3/19/2008 12:11:29 PM | show profile I thought the post sounded awfully familiar. Whatever. If you can answer the phone, smile, and type, you have the skills to temp and do office work. It's not that tough. Trust me, I've done it. If you're seriously suicidal, get professional help and/or call a suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-TALK is the number for the national suicide prevention lifeline. 24/7. |
| Unemployed-gal | Posted – 3/19/2008 1:47:52 PM | show profile Hey, don't freak out! Pretty much everyone is qualified for temp work, even if you're just at reception answering phones and sorting mail. It gives you something to do while you job-hunt and the potential to network. Most journalism jobs ARE office-based, at leats at the entry-level, so it gives you office experience, too. The best way to find jobs is of course to network. If you're looking for solamente only on mediabistro, you're NEVER going to get hired (no offense to the mediabistro folks or the people who post jobs, it's just that there's a very low chance of getting called in for an interview when you have tons of competition and very little experience). If you still want to apply online, write a kick-ass (oops, am I allowed to say that on these forums?) cover letter that plays up your strengths and what you can bring to the job and company. Same thing goes when you go into the interview. Be prepared; know something about the job and the company; and make it into something like a conversation rather than an interview. Hang in there! I know the job search can be tough (currently doing mine right now, two years and still going strong). One or two interviews isn't enough, get out there and be proactive about your search. As far as living with your parents goes, maybe it's not such a bad thing to move out--you're an adult, it's time to stand on your own two feet. If your parents think you're stupid for majoring in something you're passionate about, who needs to have them around, anyways? |
| tonyawilson_ | Posted – 3/20/2008 2:34:19 AM | show profile | email poster Lost My Job I have been working for a company for eight years now. This is an automotive retailer. After the last male manager quit, I was left in charge of the store for about a year, with no promotion and no pay increase. The owner hired a man and told me that he and I would be equals. I find out later that he is being paid twice what I am making and has no knowledge of the field I have been working in for seven years. I said something to the owners about the pay discrepency and they replied by saying they had to pay him that rate to get him to take the job..no further explanation or discussion allowed. I rolled with the punches and he quit after six months with the company. Again they left me in complete control. For almost another year, I still didn't get so much as a pat on the back. I put in my two week notice saying they had discriminated against me by violating the equal pay act. The notice was faxed to the owner on the 14th of February, on the 21st I found I could not get another job so I recalled my notice, again by fax. On the 26th of February, three days before my notice would have been up they let me, my husband and my brother in law go. We all worked for the same company. Did I quit or did I get fired. I have filed for unemployement but I know they will deny my benefits. I am a mom of three. I need money. Can someone help? |
| Decorama | Posted – 3/20/2008 8:34:38 AM | show profile tonyawilson Go to laborlawtalk.com Mediabistro is not the place for your question! |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 3/20/2008 1:41:08 PM | show profile I suspect the OP is a fake. |
| jobhunter08 | Posted – 3/20/2008 4:16:02 PM | show profile Question: I was aware my entire college career that the GPA really didn't matter outside of college, however it's been hammered into our brains now that YOU NEED AN INTERNSHIP to get a real job. If letters of recommendation don't even matter, why did we do internships? |
| brooke | Posted – 3/20/2008 5:32:25 PM | show profile re: jobhunter why did we do internships? well...maybe to learn something in the field in which we would like to work! if you are doing things just for the letters of rec or to be able to put it on your resume, you will probably not last in anything you do! |
| jobhunter08 | Posted – 3/20/2008 5:40:44 PM | show profile Brooke - Yes I agree, but I get the impression from the other responses that the "learning experience" was worthless, if employers are unwilling to look at the results of that. |
| dayjobluvah | Posted – 3/21/2008 5:07:59 PM | show profile i can relate to the depressed and unemployed thing totally. and, what you have to do to get that first job, or secure an interview at least, is take your internship, even classroom experience, and align the skills you honed there with the job responsibilities and requirements outlined in each job ad. home in on the ad itself and go line by line. how do your specific skills match up to their needs? how are you already qualified for the position and/or how much are you willing to take it upon yourself to learn? sell yourself based on exactly what THEY are looking for, not on what you could possibly bring to their team or how good other people say you are. look at it from the employer's point of view - you are a filling their need, not vice versa. |
| xialan | Posted – 3/22/2008 3:22:49 PM | show profile As well as all the other great advice here, develop a niche. Do you like gardening? Animals? Geology? Find something you're passionate about and learn and write as much as you can about it. Develop some freelance contacts. A lot of places have in-house trade magazines that are very focused. These days it's hard to get in there as well, but if you start building up clips now, when the position opens you'll be ready. I recently landed an assoicate editor job for a "rock and gem" publication. It's been an interest of mine for years and when I saw the ad I was able to go in with a portfolio of related clips. It's also a place I've wanted to work for, for almost 9 years now. So, the other bit of advice is don't give up. And don't be afraid to do something that seems unrelated. Like someone said, waitress. You never know when you're customer will be an editor. Good luck! |
