A Bump in the Road

Well, if I could fix my resume to open correctly on any computer, I could get this job search rolling a lot quicker. Hopefully today I will have the complications ironed out.

I did however find some useful sites such as journalismjobs.com and careerbuilder.com. These fancy sites gather handfuls of journalism jobs that are available. The only problem is half of them are in random states such as Alaska and Minnesota. The site can even narrow it down to Pennsylvania jobs, but mostly are asking for high editorial positions. Blah!

Hopefully my resume will be fixed shortly and I will have a new experiencing to blog about: applying. In the meantime, check out these handy dandy sites if anyone is in the job market:

www.journalismjobs.com

www.careerbuilder.com

Internet or Print…

While my resume is being looked over by 18,839 people, I was interested to research why exactly is the journalism field is crumbling.

I will never forget sitting in class one morning during April 2010 and my Magazine I professor storming in to ask us what was so significant about that day. Well, that was the day the IPad was released, meaning journalism would be changed forever. It was the start of the world not needing print anymore. It is safe to say the first place I find out news is Facebook. News on Facebook spreads like the plague. When Michael Jackson passed away, Facebook was how I was informed. It appears that social networks are doing journalist’s jobs for them. However, after reading about Jackson’s death, I still navigated to a notable news site and turned on the television where I could trust the sourcing.

According to an article on www.journalism.org, large and small newspapers have been cutting their staff numbers in half. In 2008, the article claimed that two thirds of foreign news had been reduced.  The article also stated that national news was trimmed drastically and business coverage was also considerably shortened.

Sitting here, I started to brainstorm the different characteristics of print and web.

Web:

While looking at an article online, it is very hands-on. A viewer becomes easily distracted by links to jump to other pages, advertisements popping up and surveys beginning to be filled out. I feel as though articles online are for multi-task savvy readers. Online articles also appear shorter and not as detailed.

Print:

When I read a printed newspaper or magazine, I feel safer. Although all newspapers/magazines may make mistakes, it is more guaranteed than material on the web. This is because the Internet is full of people who can be journalists whenever they want. Reading a printed article, I also noticed that there are not as many distractions, it is considered more hands-off. A printed article also can go in-depth and share many details.

In my opinion, it seems that quality isn’t the main priority anymore when it comes to publishing on the web. Instead, the goal is how fast can news be posted and I am not sure that is the best strategy.

 I will stick with the good old-fashion newspaper. Reading on the Internet makes me feel like I have ADD; I just can’t concentrate and hate reading from a computer screen, but maybe within time my habits will evolve like the rest of the world. It may not necessarily be a bad thing that all news is transferring to the web, maybe after the government finds a way to set laws and boundaries on the Internet, it will all come together. After all, we will still need to gets our news from somewhere, paper or not.

http://stateofthemedia.org/

A Beginner’s Mindset

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the journalism field is more bloodthirsty than ever before. “Employment is expected to decline 6 percent between 2008 and 2018.” Gasp… I am not really sure of how to prepare myself to tip toe through a field of landmines.

After reading this information, the wheels in my head started to spin. Where is a good place to squeeze into this hectic field? I almost feel as though I am at a crowded concert trying to work my way into getting a better look at the performer.

Well, I am going to have a mindset where I cannot be greedy. Randi Glatzer, a professor I once had at Temple University who had a successful journalism career, once told me to start by writing for local newspapers and work my way up. “Don’t go to grad school right away, instead go out and work in the field first,” Glatzer said.

Since then, I have always had her advice in the back of my head. With competition being so cutthroat, I cannot have the mindset that I will score a high salary job out of college like so many of my colleagues think.

In the meantime, I feel it is important to latch onto any experience I can receive, paid or not.

Bureau of Labor Statistics:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos088.htm#emply

The Joys of Constructing a Resume

I never realized how much constructing a resume would make me want to punch a hole in the wall. Regardless of how many hours spent, there is always something missing and one additional touch to be added. Then, when you go to add that last final touch, the whole resume becomes discombobulated by the imaginary lines and boxes.

And you cannot help but dwell on the small details such as what goes first on the resume, “Experience” or “Objective.” Do the different font colors and fun graphics really make it look more professional? What’s wrong with just putting down all of your work and experience in Times New Roman like we do for everything else? It is overwhelming to think that regardless of the experience and education I have had in the past five years has to be dressed to the nines or employers may not take me seriously.

Not to mention, I had to create a list of a few people to look it over for me. This is more complicated than being graded on an in-depth analysis.

Just out of curiosity, I had to do some research on the going rate for having a resume professionally done. For a college graduate resume on http://www.resumewriters.com, their lowest price for just the resume is $169.95. It is guaranteed to be e-mailed to you in less than 72 hours. Wow.

So would anyone out there consider paying this amount for the sake of sanity?

After thinking it over, I cannot help but think I would not feel right having someone else write my resume. I would feel as though I cheated or plagiarized. Only you can build your resume to reflect your own character. Maybe these painful hours are worth it, but that’s just me, sigh…

For all of you who may disagree with me on this, check out www.resumewriters.com.

What I’m Working With

According to Pennsylvania’s Workforce Statistics Report, there are roughly 500,000 people without jobs in the state. As intimidating as that number sounds, it can be considered progress considering Pa broke a frightening unemployment record of 8.7 percent in 2010.

Slowly, we are climbing back up the ladder of employment. In 2011, Pa saw a 50,000 employment increase (one percent.) Hey, it’s better than nothing right?

My generation partly blames the baby boomers. According to reports, when the recession began in 2007, many citizens, age 50 and up, were forced to remain in the workforce rather than retiring because of the weak economy’s harsh reality. Therefore, jobs are not easily being given up. Predictions can only suggest that there will be a massive wave of retirement from the baby boomers, creating many job openings for people such as… me!

As a newly graduated college student, I can only hope that the number of employment keeps rising. It’s bad enough my professors at Temple blatantly would admit to us, “The journalism field is going to hell… sorry to break it to all of you spending 1,000’s on tuition.” Call us crazy, but for those of us who have stuck with the field must truly have our hearts in it.

“I am seriously considering moving to Boise, ID for a job,” Genevieve LeMay said, a Temple graduate. LeMay, an excellent student who finished with impressive grades and internships, such as spending a summer at the Larry King Show, has been jobless in the journalism field for six months now.

“Too bad this industry is so competitive and selective,” LeMay said.

LeMay is one of the many jobless graduates I know. She said she will continue to job search in between every nook and cranny even though she is losing hope more and more by the day.

So now that all the homework has been graded, the test scores are final, and the grey hairs I have collected aren’t going away, it’s time for me to find a way to break into the field of journalism. I can only hope that sooner or later, that number can be 501,000 with me included. I guess first things first… start with a resume.

 

http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/ETA_Report.pdf

http://bls.gov/oco/oco20024.htm

 

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