FleetStreetBlues picked up on the second advertisement and noted that it looked like a good position for a starter looking to get into the B2B sector. Young reporters also thought our jobs were worth having, because we received hundreds of applications.
Many of these applications were from people who had clearly invested a lot of hope, time and money doing journalism degrees, courses and work placements. Yet most were disappointingly poor. In fact, I’d hesitate to call a lot of them applications at all.
As FleetStreetBlues noted, our job ad was quite long and included both a job and person specification. It concluded by telling potential applicants to look at our website, to write a covering letter saying how they fitted the bill (using that job and person specification...) and to send the letter and their CV to me. I doubt a dozen people managed to do this.
The rest of our ‘applicants’ pinged off CVs with covering letters that had the words ‘eHealth Insider’ (or variants) dropped into them (often in a different font or type-size), CVs with covering letters that went on for pages without mentioning EHI or the job (instead referencing the ‘position you are advertising’), and CVs on emails that were wrongly addressed (‘to whom it may concern’) or unaddressed (‘hello’).
This made it almost impossible to compile shortlists for interview. Yes, I could plough through people’s CVs, looking to see if they had the training and experience we wanted. But with nothing else to go on it was, frankly, hard to tell one 'enthusiastic', 'committed' individual from another.
So, my advice to people who really want to get into journalism is: read the job ad; do what it tells you to do; spell the company name right; send it to the right person. And do things none of our applicants did. Follow up with a call or email. Show off your social media skills by following us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
I’m sure some people will respond to this post by saying that they don’t have time to do all this, because it’s tough out there and they just need to get applications out of the door. But I’d say: make time by focusing on the jobs you really want.
After all, being a reporter is about being able to get a foot through the door, make an impression, collect information and present it to a reader in a concise, distinctive way. A job application is a chance to show an employer that you have these skills by telling a compelling story about yourself. Why miss it?
Want to write for FleetStreetBlues? Email us at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.
2 comments:
At last some commonsense from an editor, but in defence of journalists applying for jobs, many companies seem to have very little recruitment skills.
Job ads rarely have job descriptions or person specs attached. There is an expectation by editors that applicants should ‘dazzle’ them with the brilliance of their CVs and covering letters despite only giving the most basic of information about posts. Lyn Whitfield’s approach is much more professional and the standard in many industries but unfortunately uncommon in journalism.
Why this is so I can only surmise.
The culture of the ‘editor’ I think has a lot to do with it. Too many believe they have an instinctive nose for a good journalist in the way they believe they have a nose for news. They are often as influenced by perceptions and stereotypes of journalism as those outside the industry.
Fast paced, enthusiastic, young people who can turn out copy to tight deadlines and can fill holes in pages are perceived as model reporters. Research and an analytical approach, the ability to build and work contacts, specialised knowledge and being able to take the long view come a long way down the skills list. Without a systematic recruitment policy, editors’ personal prejudices and foibles come into play. So it’s not surprising that CVs and covering letters emphasis ‘I am a fast hack who can turn my hand to anything.’
The example of the editor who wanted reporters to apply for a post using twitter is an example of the poor recruitment practices in the industry. What with pensions, employers national insurance contributions, etc the real cost of a reporter on £21,000 salary is around £25,000 to a company, yet that investment is often decided by an editor with no more to guide him at interview stage than his ‘nose’. No other major industry would accept such practices
I hope more companies follow Lyn Whitfield's approach. It will save time for editors and applicants and in the long term be better for journalism as a whole
Conflicting advice all round...I'm two years out of university and I've always been told *not* to follow up on CVs and job applications as it'll only pester an overworked and frazzled manager who will be more likely to roundfile my application. What are your thoughts on this?
Additionally, what are your thoughts on emailing applications to the relevant person, compared with following an online application process? I've always been told to do the former.
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