Q: You recently wrote on your blog that "talent is scarce" in business reporting. I am an undergraduate business student seeking a summer reporting internship. Long-term, I would prefer to write on matters other than business; short-term, I'll take anything I can get.
To this point, I have played down my business education in my cover letters. I've viewed it as a differentiating negative, not as a differentiating positive. Do you think that I should change tactics? For a first summer internship, does it even matter that I understand accounting scandals and corporate mergers better than the average j-school student?
Daniel
A: Change tactics.
Having some knowledge of business will not deprive you of metro reporting opportunities; it will open the door to business-reporting opportunities.
Use your cover letter to tell people you're up for either.
Several times now, I have met people early on at job fairs who had an interest in business but who were not playing it up. I told them to change their interviewing tactics to push their interest in business. In every case, they said they generated more interest that way.
