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Job outlook: Sunny with a chance of few showersBy LEVI J. LONG Monitor Staff With résumés and newspaper clips or tapes in hand, some folks come to the NABJ 28th annual career fair with hopes of making an initial contact with a news company representative and then hope for a call-back interview. So far, hopes are high. Angela Connor, a broadcast producer and recruiter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, said that a lot of opportunities exist at the newspaper and that prospects will remain good in 2004. “Some are very strong candidates,” Connor said of those she has interviewed at the convention. “We’re going to consult everyone we’ve spoken with.” The Sun-Sentinel and some other media recruiters at the NABJ convention say they rarely hire anyone on the spot at the career fair, but most recruiters use the time to reach out to potential job candidates in the future. “This is a networking experience. Don’t collect business cards and keep them as trophies; use them,” Connor advises jobseekers. Dan Barkin, deputy managing editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., said his newspaper is looking for photographers, graphic artists, copy editors and reporters with three to five years’ experience. He said he has talked to some good prospects but had not hired anyone at the NABJ career fair Friday. “I can’t imagine doing a snap hire. I don’t think that happens anymore,” Barkin said. Most of the people whom he has interviewed are in their 20s and aiming for big newspapers, Barkin said. According to him, these young journalists understand the journalism industry better than he did at their age. “They’re way more sharp than I was in my 20s,” he said. “I’m impressed with their drive.” First-time convention attendee Abby Abiola said she came to the convention with low expectations for getting a job in a tight job market. She said that she knows recent graduates with master’s degrees who have not found jobs, and Abiola was worried that her bachelor’s degree was not enough. So, she was surprised when recruiters wanted to talk with her. “It’s not as bad as I thought,” said Abiola, an English and journalism graduate from California State University-Sacramento. Many recruiters have told her they don’t have entry-level positions but have pointed her to internships and development programs at the convention. “They’re absolutely encouraging,” Abiola said. James Causey, an urban affairs editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said recent graduates should not be discouraged because of the tight job market. “It’s like that everywhere, not just newspapers,” Causey said. Recent journalism graduates have better prospects in training and development programs, Causey said. Will Thomas, a 21-year-old senior broadcast major from Morehouse College in Atlanta, said his hopes for finding a job after graduation are higher this year than last. Thomas said that recruiters are taking more time to talk to young journalists than they did at last year’s NABJ convention in Milwaukee. “It seems like they’re looking for young blood,” Thomas said. Chrystal Caruthers, 33, a free-lance news producer from Chicago, is looking for an on-air job. Broadcast recruiters told her this week that her tapes are good and her résumé is impressive, but they have steered her toward producing positions because that’s where most openings are, Caruthers said. Still Caruthers said she remains optimistic. “This has to be a good year,” she said. The Radio-Television News Directors Association projected that 2004 will be a better year for hiring because it is an election year and because the economy is expected to be better. Levi J. Long can be reached at levinabj@hotmail.com |
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