Q. I am a recent college journalism graduate (graduated two years ago) and have been living abroad on a research scholarship ever since. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about getting back into journalism and I am unsure where to begin.
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During college, I had a couple of newspaper internships and was a photographer for the school paper. While abroad, I have done a small amount of freelance and photography, but nothing too substantial.
Most job openings I seem to be finding require two years of reporting experience, and I don't believe I could afford to do an unpaid internship. Do you have any advice as to how to best approach this?
Thanks,
Getting Back into the GameA. This will be as difficult as you suspect.
I would not recommend you pursue internships paid or unpaid. Instead, I would go after real jobs.
Your lack of consistent, recent experience makes it unlikely larger newsrooms will take a chance on you. Try to pick up where you left off by asking your old editors for help and applying for paid jobs at small dailies or, if that doesn't pan out, weeklies.
Try to get started any way you can -- even very small -- and to rapidly work your way up once you become re-established.
Joe on internships:
"Breaking In: The JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships."
Coming Friday: This mid-career journalist is worried about her career and wonders which new-media skills can help her save her career.
