Recruiters offer tips for landing next job in new media world

By Sara Kennedy

Business reporter, The Bradenton Herald

(Editor's Note: Kennedy attended the fall SABEW conference, held at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill on Oct. 20-21, and filed this report about a session on finding jobs.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The plus is that news organizations have jobs to fill. The minus is that they see too many applicants who lack the skills to win a job, say recruiters at the fall conference.

Some of the job-hunters lack the most basic of skills — they can’t write, and others don’t know how to interview. And one panel member seems mystified by job-seekers who promise to e-mail a resume and then fail to do it.

Those addressing the topic “Training and Recruiting in a New Media World” say such deficiencies leave them astounded.

“I’m amazed at the number who can’t have a conversation with someone,” says Beth Hunt, (right) manager of editorial operations for American City Business Journals. Such candidates seem to lack basic social graces that can help put people at ease and draw out their compelling stories.

“Tell stories with character, plot and conflict,” advises Dan Barkin, deputy managing editor for The (Raleigh) News & Observer. “Business is all about chaos and conflict and stories. That’s to me the writing training we really need to see. We need to help our journalists to do that. We don’t want ‘notebook dumps.’ Look for compelling stories.”

Barkin also abides by the “No Butt-Head Rule.”

“You don’t want complaints because someone is a jerk,” he explains, saying he does not hire anyone whose inconsiderate behavior routinely offends others.

Recruiters also want clean, well-written and proof-read letters and resumes from job applicants, evidence of curiosity and critical thinking, and enthusiasm for the various platforms that news now inhabits, such as audio and video clips, blogs and Internet multi-media packages.

Potential employees of Reuters America are asked to write amid newsroom chaos because those are the working conditions they will face, says training editor Greg McCune.

He enjoys encountering graduates of new business journalism training programs, such as those at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and other colleges across the nation, and seeks out students trained there, he says.

Still, Reuters expects on some level that it will always have to do its own training, he told the group.

“There’s times we’ll hire not a journalist, not a business writer, but someone with two good languages,” he says, pointing out that the company’s needs vary depending upon the position.

Still, McCune’s guiding principle is simple enough: “We’re just looking for talent.”

Some editors want to know during an interview how a writer might cover a certain topic or story. And candidates who are a fountain of creativity have a big advantage.

“Ideas can make up for a host of deficiencies,” says Hunt.

Hunt also notes another sought-after trait.

“You look for who’s the best on their beats.”

Other suggestions the panel offered for those seeking jobs include:

-- Determine who is the proper person to contact before you mail away clips and resumes.
-- Start a conversation with a recruiter at a firm that interests you before a job is available.
-- Be careful what you put on social networking sites. Refrain from posting pictures showing nudity or alcohol- and drug-use.
-- Learn how to look up information in courthouses and city halls.
-- Seek help from online sites, the Poynter Institute or take courses, such as accounting or a language, to improve skills.

Posted Oct. 25, 2007