So many graduates...so few jobs
Every year, thousands of students like me complete journalism related courses in the hope of landing a fun and exciting job in the media industry. But with the combination of the economic downturn and a very competitive industry, most journalism graduates leave the comfy world of academia in a state of panic.
With hundreds of people applying for each post, competition is fierce and the need for an outstanding CV has never been more important.
Before entering university, I presumed that with good grades and lots of enthusiasm, a job would be guaranteed come graduation. However, I have come to realise that without a variety of placements on the CV, finding a job can be extremely difficult as experience has become the key ingredient when finding a journalism related job.
Unfortunately, the easiest way to land these placements is through the old “who you know” scenario (one of which I have managed/ have been forced to exploit). Throughout my time at university, I applied to every national newspaper time after time, never to hear anything back. But through using my parents/ parents friends/ friends of parents friends contacts (!!!), I managed to bag myself placements at two national newspapers (two of which I applied several times through the traditional route, never to have any form of response).
During all my work placements (both at local, regional and national companies), I have asked the standard question – “what is the most important thing to have when finding a job in the journalism industry” and I have yet to find any journalists that haven’t put experience right at the top.
Having graduated in July this year and with trust in these peoples advice, I have decided to take the year out to primarily focus on gaining more experience within the industry in order to spruce up my CV and up my chances of getting a job. Lets just hope it works…!
I’m in that exact position now, I graduated in July and all I’ve done since is try to find some work experience but the only thing I’ve managed to get is a placement at my local newspaper.