Joe Grimm's News Jobs Café: Ask the recruiter

What Kind of Ownership is Best?

Q: I am a recent graduate with internship experience. I just received a job at a small family owned newspaper. I really want to move up to a larger newspaper after I work here for a couple of years.

Does the fact that the newspaper is family owned make a difference to recruiters at 100,000 circulation size newspapers when considering candidates that they will hire? Would I have a better chance at getting a job if I worked for a smaller paper owned by say the McClatchy company?

Hilary

A: Ownership does not make the difference. Quality does.

There are some excellent newspapers owned by families and some excellent ones owned by large corporations. And, as we have seen lately with the breakup of Knight Ridder, the nature of ownership can change in a wink. Some of those newspapers are still part of McClatchy, while about a dozen went off in different directions, to ther companies or to private ownership. The ones that went private seem to have suffered most, but in the process, McClatchy sold its largest paper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. We don't yet know what changes that will bring.

Focus on doing the best work you can with the best people you find at the best paper that will hire you.

A Master's Degree While Working?

Q: After thinking about it for a few years, I have finally decided what I want to get a master's in: urban planning. I caught the bug while writing a growth and development column during one of my internships, and I think it's something I would like to pursue after I make my nextmove to a newspaper near a larger city.

I'm hoping that additional training will make me a good fit for a development beat of some sort, while giving me a fallback in case my journalism career goes south someday. I don't intend to leave journalism unless I'm forced out.

I'm wondering how to go about getting this master's while still working. Some of the programs I've looked at require a part-time internship. I will no doubt have scheduling issues.

Do I tell a prospective employer that I intend to get a master's while working? Do editors take kindly to reporters who work bizarre shifts?

Would I just be better off taking two years to get my master's and come back to journalism?

Looking Ahead

A: You've clearly done a lot of thinking.

I don't think you should have to quit a job to earn a master's degree. I work with several people who have done just that, learning and earning all at once. (Sleep comes later, I guess.)

You'll scare off a potential employer by seeming more interested in school than in the new job or by asking a lot of schedule-related questions at the interview stage. After all, no school will have accepted you by then and you're unlikely to have a picture of the finances.. Save questions about the compatability of work and part-time schooling for your negotiation window, which occurs between the time when they make an offer and when you give them your decision.

When you ask, find out whether they offer full or partial reimbursement for college tuition.

And don't be too worried about working a weird schedule. Journalists already have them and someone who is in an academic program often asks to work the least-popular shifts to free up time for classes. Your problem will be balance and overwork; the newspaper will have a problem if your needs keep changing on short notice -- nlikely -- or if you have to drop stories to get to class.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" has moved to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Should I Push for More Feedback?

Q: I'm looking for some advice regarding freelancing.  First, I have a bachelor's degree in communications/journalism from a local university.

During the time I went to school, I wrote for the school newspaper and also had an internship.I didn't write for three years and now I have recently began freelancing at the newspaper I interned for.

My question is, since this is terchnically my first reporting job, how attentive is your editor supposed to be when you're a freelance writer?  I always feel like I'm bugging him, he never returns my calls or e-mails but he does publish my work. Besides it being plain inconsiderate, I'm wondering if I'm supposed to be more independent than what I have been?

I don't think he knows that I stopped writing after my internship because he never asked if he could see a resume when I contacted him about freelancing.

He just started sending me assignments. I guess I could try and talk to him about it but I dont want to come across as incompetent. Also, how much freelancing experience do you recommend I have before I start job-hunting for a full-time job? Should I go for a small newspaper to start with? I have clips from my school newspaper and internship but they are all three years old. Now, I have three articles published as a freelancer, but I'm wondering if it's enough?

Amy

A: Attentiveness is a characteristic of the editor and not a function of how new or experienced you are.

Generally, editors will invest more in a full-time staffer than a freelancer because the staffer is right there and will be sticking around; the freelancer may get a job somewhere or can be easily replaced.

As he is not returning calls and e-mails, he does not seem to be the attentive type. I'd push a bit harder, but I wouldn't expect much. Attach a question to the top of your story, as he does seem to read those. Also, look for an excuse to stop by the office to drop something off so he has to meet you.

At this point, don't expect to show him a resume. He has decided you're good enough, and that is good for you. Keep writing as much for him as you can and pay attention to how your work is getting edited. These three clips are not enough to get you hired -- but they are steps in the right direction.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Surviving a Killer Workload?

Q: Thanks for writing this terrific column! I've always appreciated your advice. I keep a Detroit Free Press rejection letter from you on my fridge -- it's more inspirational than many acceptances I've received.

I recently started working for an award-winning small-town daily. I'm learning a lot, but the pace is a little overwhelming: I write two stories every day, in addition to covering any breaking news and writing our police blotter. I'm afraid that, at the end of the day, I won't have any clips I'm proud of to show for it -- just a lot of hurried work. I've been told that the pace is a little slower (one story a day) at larger dailies -- is that true? Should I just tough it out until I can move to a bigger daily, or should I start looking at weeklies instead?

Again, thanks! I look forward to hearing from you.

Emily

A: The quality of our work depends on many things. Three are talent, time and training. Others are passion and practice, and you seem to be experiencing plenty of those.

Large dailies, which seem to be especially under the gun these days, generally demand fewer stories than smaller papers do, but that's not to say the work is any easier. Weeklies can work you just as hard as any daily, so I wouldn't necessarily think of them as safe havens.

For now, work with what you've got. Your workload is likely imposed by top management, not your immediate editor, and seems unlikely to change. Working with your editor, identify one or two special stories a week that you think merit extra time. Those would be part of your normal workload, but by borrowing time from less difficult or important stories and spending it on these specials, you can report and write some clip-worthy work.

If you decide to move, grill the reporters you'd be working with about their working conditions. They should level with you. And remember to check out the quality of the editing they get. It can be just as important as workload.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Moving to Assigning Editor?

Q: First off, thanks for your Web site and recruiting column. I discovered it in college and your information was a big help in getting my internships and first "real" job. Now, my question:

I've been a copy editor at a metro daily for 2 1/2 years, basically since graduating college. The paper has a Sunday circulation of 300,000. I usually love my job, but I miss getting to work with reporters closely and perform more macro editing, things I did regularly in college. I'm also not sure how many more years I can handle working nights, weekends and generally every holiday but one. I would really love to move into a line editor's position, but I'm not sure how many people are willing to hire a copy editor for those jobs, especially since I haven't reported since college. I don't see any positions opening up at my current paper, so I'd have to go elsewhere. What do you think is the best plan of action to reach my goal? And do you think I simply need more years in the business before I can make the leap?

Ready for a Change

A: We won't know whether you have enough years in the business for people to get interested in you until you stick your toe -- and an application -- in the water.

I'd want you to first try a few things where you are now.

One great thing about your career history is that you are in a high-demand job now -- and thinking about moving to a position where there is an even higher demand. Talk to your editors about doing some cross-training or filling in on some shifts. You would benefit from some time as a reporter and the paper would benefit if you could pick up some shifts on an assigning desk. With holidays, vacations and sickness there are never enough editors on originating desks. An ideal situation might be to work an originating desk shift into your regular week. Maybe you could slide into an early-Saturday shift as a fill-in assistant city editor, giving you some immediate relief on the weekends while you grow your supervisory skills.

An unsolicited word of advice: Assigning editors can help more with the reporting if they have their own experience to draw on, but this is not essential. Someone who comes up through  the copy desk can have a lot to offer, too. Remember that and use the knowledge to bolster your confidence when working with reporters.

Resources:Lousy Listeners, a News University online course
The Effective Editor: How to Lead Your Staff to Better Writing and Better Teamwork by Foster Davis and Karen F. Dunlap
News Leadership at the Head of the Class by Jill Geisler
Poynter's media leadership bibliography

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Taking Charge of My Career?

Q: I’m so glad you started this column. Hopefully, you can help me out.

Here’s my situation: I’ve been with the same newspaper group for four years. I started out as a reporter for two years a 13,000 circ. daily that is part of our four-paper group. I moved up to copy editor on our centralized copy desk, then wire editor. Now, in addition to coordinating wire content for the four papers (one’s 25,000 circ., the other three are each about 13,000 circ.), I’m coordinating content for the larger paper’s Sunday edition and I’m the on-duty Saturday editor. I’m thinking if I just stick it out over the winter, I’ll have some managing/assigning experience and multimedia skills and be in a better position to find a job in spring.

Here’s my problem: I have no idea where my career is going. I’ve always felt that it’s been my editors, not me who have carved my path so far. I don’t know if I want to be an editor — I definitely don’t want to be a city editor, mostly because of the schedule. I really have a problem working nights, weekends and holidays. The only newsroom job I can think of that might fit is features editor, but these jobs seem few and far between.

Here are my questions:

• With my experience, where do I go next?
• Is there any newsroom job that will allow me to have nights, weekends and holidays or am I just kidding myself (will things get better at a bigger paper schedule-wise)?
• What size newspaper can I/should I aim for next?

Thanks,

Kate

A: Most career paths are a hybrid of accident and design. Surprise opportunities, editors' recognition of your skills and your own self-direction push things along. Generally, more experience has led to greater self-direction over one's career. But we are now in a period of rapid change. The landscape is always changing. New needs and jobs seem to develop overnight. This throws a little more accident into the equation. Keep up with what's going on in the industry and invest in your own development to keep greater control over your career.

As you evaluate your options, think hard about how you can increase your opportunities in a digital, continuous newsroom. People with editing and production skills could become even more valuable.

I would not say that hours are going to get better in a world where we are trying to cover more hours of the week. And I don;t think that a tight focus on schedules is an effective way to drive a successful career. However, that may be necessary to have a good work-life balance.

Consider which hours you can work. When our children were young it was beneficial to work nights, and a 3-year-old doesn't know anything about weekends. So-called lousy hours helped us share child care responsibilities. When they began school, of course, nights and weekends became very important -- but I also needed flexibility for daytime parent-teacher talks and after-school sports. Now, with children grown, I work early -- but can work nights again. And I have been taking on a little more weekend and holiday work. The secret is to consider your real needs, to be flexible -- and to understand that we never really get entitled to certain shifts.

I understand what lousy shifts you don't want to work, are there shifts that others want to avoid that wouldn't inconvenience you?

The larger question, career-wise, is what you should do next. Ask the editors who know your work best to engage in some career sounseling and tell them what you like and feel you're best at. Ask them what jobs are developing and how you can get ready for the ones that are best for you.

You may not need to change papers at all. If you decide you need to for a greater challenge, a bigger arene or whatever reason -- and if you like your present company -- see about mnoving up within the rou. Good editors should help with that, too.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Studying Literary Journalism?

Q: I have been a reporter at a small daily in California for two years and have also worked as a reporter at an English-language newspaper in Costa Rica. I am seriously considering a graduate degree in journalism, in part because I would like to improve my writing, which is not much of an option at a small paper with few editors. I am also interested in learning more about literary journalism techniques I could translate into longer freelance pieces.

Despite the debate over the merits of journalism school, I also want to use the experience as leverage for later career moves into public relations or teaching. With all that said, I am interested in hearing anything you know about good graduate journalism programs focusing on literary journalism, especially for reporters who have already done some 'real world' work. Do you think this kind of degree will be helpful in the future or is it still too unknown? How do you think editors would respond to someone with an MFA instead of a journalism degree?

I am looking now at NYU, Stanford, and Oregon, which seems to be the only program with a focus in creative nonfiction.

Amanda

A: Given your career goals -- to vault out of daily journalism and into teaching or public relations -- a master's degree makes sense. It will certainly open some doors for you as an educator.

The degree, in and of itself, will not matter much to editors. Your enhanced skills will, but newspapers these days are much more interested in Web skills than in literary journalism. So, this sounds better as an exit strategy than as a way to advance your career within journalism.

Your inititial list sounds solid.

There are single courses in literary journalism -- Boston University, the University of Maryland, Indian University -- but Oregon seems to be most extensive. Also take a look at the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism in Grapevine, Texas. Its conference for nonfiction literary writers of the Southwest suggests it may be of interest to you.

And, look into the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism at Harvard. It generally is held each December and may give you the fix you're looking for. Most of the speakers are working journalists. It gets great reviews and keeps up a year-round, on-line presence.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Becoming a journalism teacher?

Q: How would you suggest I approach my future in teaching? Should I go for the master's now, or should I get another three years under my belt first? I've been in the business professionally now for almost two years. Let me know what you think.

Andre A: Many journalists teach at local universities part time as adjuncts and have no master's degrees.

Try to teach as soon as you feel ready. If you'd like to build more confidence before you face a roomful of college students, practice in high schools that are looking for journalists to come out for career days and the like.

The master's degree become critical if you want to go for a full-time, tenure-track position.

Time for a bigger newspaper?

Q: I'm at the point in my career where I now have 5 years of reporting experience at a daily with a circulation of about 160,000. I've accomplished just about all the goals I had in mind for my immediate 5-year plan when I was first hired at my current job. Now I'm thinking about my next 5-year plan and wondering if I'm out of line in thinking about moving to a larger paper.

I'm not in a huge rush, but I believe I have compelling clips showing a wide-range of topics, talent and experience. Having said that, there aren't a huge number of larger organizations to move up to. How high can I aim at this point in my career without being unreasonable?

I've attached my résumé, which includes the Web address of a site with some of my selected clips to give you a better idea of where I'm at career-wise.

Jim

A: You seem to be in a good place. You have built a solid work history and win in-house writing awards.

There are about 70 dailies larger than the one you are now working with, so that should spell some opportunity.

Three thoughts:

1. Bigger is not always better. Some journalists find better jobs at smaller newspapers. This should expand your horizons.
2. You're already at a decent paper. If you like where you are, keep growing at that paper.
3. If you decide that you'll move to a larger paper, aim higher now. You seem to be using in-house awards as a yardstick for your progress. Start using state, regional and national contests in the same way. They'll make you reach higher and prepare you for an eventual move.

Am I on the right track?

Q: I just completed my sophomore year in college where I am pursuing a journalism degree.  I have been freelancing for the Daily Herald in metropolitan Chicago since my senior year in high school (paid), and before that I was a high school columnist (unpaid).

When I moved to Milwaukee for college, I joined the campus newspaper as a reporter. My sophomore year I left the campus paper (there was only one at this time) and started another newspaper with some other students. We publish twice monthly and are independent of the university whereas the other paper is twice weekly and is run on university money.

I am editor-in-chief of the new newspaper. I also interned for the local business newspaper (weekly) as a reporter my sophomore year, but this was not the most positive experience. By the end of the semester I was so overworked and left on a bad note because I refused to work extra hours to save my grades in school.

The alternative paper is going well and I am freelancing still for the Daily Herald but I am still only getting event stories, the same as I always have. The alternative paper takes up a lot of time in the school year so I don’t think I could take on an internship at school. I hope to work for a bigger paper like the Chicago Tribune or Sun Times someday.

Am I on track? Am I spending my time right? I have attached my résumé to this e-mail if you’d like to see (I also have a campus job... Gotta pay my own tuition... Doing design work and teaching classes, and work for the local AP but in more an administrative assistant role).

Working

A: You are SO on track.

Let's see:

• Freelancing since high school
• Does news as well as business
• Founded a new paper, which you now edit
• News, business and design
• Paying your way through college

You have a ton going for you. Remember that when you feel overworked. You need to get a good internship -- and have time to do it. Get one next summer or doing a non-summer semester. Line up someone to run the paper for you so you can get away.

Don't stress about having been overworked in the past or by the fact that people are not advancing your assignments to keep up with your growing talent. You'll find the next levels in other places.

Your résumé could more succinctly outline the points I outlined above and, as long as it links to your website -- another nice touch -- update that website!