Slides for a webinar on finding a job in journalism

1. Job-hunting in today’s
journalism market
Steve Buttry
Society of Professional Journalists
July 29, 2015
#jjobhunt

2. Questions for you
• What’s your job (1-3 words, type in
chat)?
• What’s your experience level (poll)?
• What’s your job-hunting situation (poll)?

3. Questions for me
• Ask or share in chat box
• Tweet w/ #jjobhunt
• Ask for “a friend”
• Private questions:
stephenbuttry@gmail.com

6. • Positioning
yourself for your
next hunt
• Network
• Digital profile
• Resumé
• Finding right job
• Pitch
• Prep
• Interview
• Follow-up
• Q&A
We’ll discuss …

7. My job-hunt history
• 13 journalism jobs
• 6 promotions
• 10 offers turned down
• Key role in 50+ hires
• Countless unsuccessful
pitches & interviews
• Webinars, workshops,
blogs, collecting tips

8. For more tips:
• I won’t discuss all points in slides (they’re on
slideshare.net/stevebuttry & my blog)
• Social media (& email tips will show during
Q&A)
• Check links in Monday’s blog post (I’ll update):
stevebuttry.wordpress.com

9. Your job search is a story
• Watch for oportunities
• Research online. Thoroughly
• Work your connections
• Nail the face-to-face interview
• Be resourceful
• Try multiple approaches
• Never say no for someone else

10. Prep for your next job hunt
• Do good work
• Develop & tend your brand
• Network
• Excel in traditional journalism
• Excel in digital skills
• Build good will
• Blog & social media

13. Network
• Connect digitally w/ people you admire
• Especially on Twitter
• #wjchat, #dfmchat, #muckedup etc.
• Follow up (social media, email)
• Comment on blogs
• IRL (conferences, seminars, etc.)

15. Build your digital profile
• Google yourself. What do you find?
• Twitter
• Google profile, About.me, LinkedIn
• Facebook, other social media
• Blog (when did you last post?)
• Personal site (“about me” or portfolio)
• Use new interactive tools to tell your
career story

17. Find the right opportunities
• Spread the word
• Apply (or ask) even if nothing’s open or
advertised
• Ads (Poynter, journalismjobs.com,
LinkedIn)
• #journojobs
• LinkedIn, Facebook groups, etc.

19. My job offers
• Primary connection was through
network: 13
• Learned of job through ad/posting: 7
• Applied when no position was open or
listed: 5
• Network gave me advantage before
posting (or precluding posting): 11

20. Make your pitch
• Strong lead for your cover letter (proof &
then proof again)
• Can a third party introduce you to
decision-maker?
• I pitched for a job by Twitter DM
• Never say no for someone else
• Show your creativity

22. Show, don’t tell
• Hyperlink résumé (but make sure it reads
well w/o links)
• Don’t send hard copy by U.S. mail unless
asked
• Creative pitch (video, animation, map,
interactive)

23. Guy Lucas tips
• In the cover letter, give your first and last
names
• “If any sentence in your cover letter
begins, ‘Anyhow,’ delete it.”
• “No matter how good you think your
writing is, have someone else you
consider to be a good writer proofread
your cover letter and your resumé.”

24. Why ask someone to proof?
A cover letter I received this month
described the applicant as an “enthusiastic
person … having multiple personalities.”

25. Deb Gersh Hernandez tip
“I was applying for a comms job that in its ad listed
four specific areas of expertise sought in a
candidate. … The HR person, she said that my cover
letter really stood out because I used bullet points
to address each of the criteria, making it easy for
her to see how my skills fit into what they wanted.
(For example: ‘Branding: Oh, yeah. I do that. ...’ I'm
paraphrasing, of course.) It's a format I'd never used
before -- I'd always just done a regular narrative
letter -- and it's one she said she'd never seen
before.

26. Little things are big things
• Customize your resumé
• Spell the prospective boss’s name right
• Proofread (resumé and cover letter)
• Take initiative (can you schedule your
own interview?)
• Include Twitter username, other social
media links on resumé

27. Prep for interview (& pitch)
• Read/watch/study the product you hope
to work on
• Do some reporting on the people who
will interview you: background, interests,
recent work, social media
• Come prepared to show them how you’ll
help achieve their goals

28. Nail the interview
• Prepare thoroughly
• Listen effectively & respond
• Answer honestly
• Don’t filibuster
• Ask tough questions
• Don’t fake: “I don’t know” beats BS

29. Follow up
• Thank the interviewer(s) at least by email
• Handwritten thank-you cards are nice,
too (and rare so yours stands out)
• Elaborate on an answer
• Provide more details
• Persistence is a job skill
• Don’t overdo it

32. More from Jann Nyffeler
We all think that "networking" is a dirty word, so
don't think of it as networking. It's about working
hard and being nice to each other. And listening to
each other. Charles and I worked together almost
20 years ago and haven't seen each other since I
left the News & Observer in 1996. We collaborated
spontaneously, as a copy editor and a graphics
reporter, and had each others' backs in Raleigh. So
down the road, when jobs came up, it was
apparently easy for him say, "Geez, Jann, here's a
job for you. Interested?”

42. Read more
• @stevebuttry
• #jjobhunt
• stevebuttry.wordpress.com (“career
advice” category)
• Check links in Monday’s blog post
• slideshare.net/stevebuttry