Q. I have a question that has been bothering me for a while. I will be graduating from school a year from June ... at that point I will have completed a master's degree in journalism. I live in the Chicago area and really do not want to leave. It is
difficult to break into such a large market with your first job. I understand this point, and I see many of the people who previously graduated from my school taking jobs throughout the country.
I really want to know if you have any advice that could keep me around the Chicago area. What would you say is my best course of action to secure an entry-level job there? I have previously interned at a large market TV station in Detroit, a small weekly magazine at my undergraduate school and a large market news/talk radio station. I believe that after graduation I will have plenty of hands-on experience and a strong resume.
I want to get a jump on my job hunt so that next year at this time I will have a plan and a job lined up. Any advice is great.
MattA. Almost every big decision involves compromise. You clearly seem to understand that if starting out in a highly competitive market is your bottom line, you may have to compromise on the type of work you'll be doing. You didn't talk about money, but I'm sure you have also considered whether a beginner's paycheck can cover big-city living costs.
You have experience in several media, which is very good; I would now home in on a
high-demand job in one of those areas and try to begin working in it part-time before graduation. In magazines, that would likely be editing; in broadcast, it would be producing. Also be looking for cross-media opportunities. A video producer for a newspaper's Web site can start larger than someone who applies only to TV stations. The real key is to become well-known to a company that might hire you after graduation so that you're more than just another application.
Consider one more tactic for starting in a large market: Look at suburban jobs or reverse commutes. Would you be happy working for a company 40 miles from the city's center and living midway between them, commuting one way for work and the other way for play? A reverse commute means living downtown and, while others are driving into the city, you drive out to the smaller companies in the suburbs for your job.
Stay hopeful. While you are attempting the difficult, people do it every year.
Coming Wednesday: As news editor for a group of weeklies, she became responsible for a daily's coverage. How can she show that on her resume?
