Q. I read your column each week with great interest and it has helped me get through many bumps in my first year as a professional journalist. Thanks for what you do.
I was very lucky and found a job as a reporter right out of college, but now I'm ready to move on and I'm afraid that the specificity of my current job is hurting my chances elsewhere.
Right now, I work for a weekly newspaper for a Catholic diocese. I cover all sorts of news that affects the Catholic people of the state –- from small parish picnics to hearings at the State House to school closings. I have a wide variety of clips now that highlight different types of writing, and have even won a few awards this year. In addition to writing, I've gotten an excellent education in page layout and design as well as photography, video, and Web site maintenance. (The beauty of working at a small publication is having your hands in everything.)
Given the chance, I think I can sell this job in an interview. The experience has been great and I know I am capable of doing bigger and better things because of it.
My problem is this: How to make this very niche, religious job on my resume less off-putting and more enticing to potential employers. This job is a job to me, not a mind-set, and I am not only willing, but very eager, to move on from religious writing.
At a recent interview I was asked by the editor why I had stayed at "that Catholic thing for so long." Her attitude opened my eyes to a potential reason why, despite numerous applications, I haven't gotten any other interviews -– "that Catholic thing" has pigeonholed me and I'm afraid that, to mainstream newspapers, I appear too one-note on my resume.
How can I sell this job on my resume so that I can get to the elusive interview stage? I can't do anything about the name of the paper (which is a dead giveaway), but how can I explain the depth of my experience here in just a few lines so that the person on the other end of the resume will want to know more?
Send a thank you note to the editor who made the comment about "that Catholic thing," because she said out loud what others are only thinking.
You have good instincts on this. Make over your cover letter, resume and "elevator speech" to key on the skills and knowledge you have acquired that are of interest to editors in the secular press. Even consider who you are using as references. Key on community, beat coverage, balancing specialization with general assignment work and your broad range of skills.
Draw a clean line from what you're doing now to your next job. You clearly have to overcome some pigeonhole thinking, but have the skills to do it. Without that bridge, you might not have a prayer.
Got a question? I'll answer it here, just e-mail it with your full name. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate why.Coming Monday: She experienced some bait-and-switch when she came to this small weekly not long ago and now the job she wants is opening up. Should she go for it?
If interviewers are focusing on your place of employment and...
