My situation...

I worked at my internship 40+ hours a week starting May 29th and ending August 29th. That's a lot of hours without pay! But, I loved it! When I tell you I worked 40+ hours that means I sometimes worked up to 50 hours a week! BUT...I loved working every single day at NBC10 and I loved helping as much as possible. I wanted to be apart of all the different stories that the Investigators were working on.

Throughout my internship, I never thought, not even once, that it would turn into a full time position. I mean, those things rarely happen, especially since I'm still in college. But, ya know, I kept the advice that Professor Farney gave me in the back of my mind at all times.

I've always been the type of person that likes to smile at everyone and who works hard. But one of the best pieces of advice that Professor Farney gave was to make sure you always dress for the position you want really. Even on casual Fridays, I would wear a nice pair of jeans with a dressy, button-up shirt with high heels.

My internship was really over August 24th...

But, I called Lu Ann Cahn and asked her if she would like me to come in Wednesday, August 29th and Thursday, August 30th, because I had off from my serving job. She said she would love that! So, I went in both of those days...I was happy to!

Anyway, that Thursday, August 30th, Lu Ann called me and was asking me about my class schedule for the upcoming semester. She asked me if I thought about applying for the position that opened up in their unit. She told me that they may be able to work around my class schedule if necessary. First of all, I was honored. All along I said that whoever got that position would be extremely fortunate because the producer, Ed Dress, and reporter, Lu Ann Cahn, would teach them everything they need to know and make them a star!

I talked to my mom, dad, other family members, professors, and advisors who all told me that if this was something I could see myself making a career out of, I should take it. They told me I could handle working a full time job and going to school full time. So, I applied...But, not without some good advice.

What you need to know before applying...

• The title of the job, the position within the department, and what reasonable advancement there can be.
• Is it a true 40 hour/week job, or will you be carrying a lot more and doing it on a salary?
• (For those still in college)- will they be flexible for classes and if they say so, will they put it in writing in your contract?
• Talk to others who have had similar positions, have they moved up? And, to where? Or, did they leave and start somewhere else?
  

Are you looking for a job....

A good thing to do is post your resume on monster.com, careerbuilder, or, more specifically, journalismnet.com.

Posting your resume helps publicize who you are and what related experiences you've had related to your professional area of interest. And, it's important that you make sure you're constantly updating your resume and profile on these sites! It helps mold a resume that really shows eomployers what it is that you ultimately want to do with your life.

Not sure how to write a resume or cover letter...

I was SO confused when I first realized I needed to write a resume and cover letter. I remember I went straight to Rowan University's career and academic planning center to ask for help. If you're in college and you have a resource such as this on campus, take advantage of it!

The woman I spoke with went over my resume with me and showed me different styles of what a resume could/should look like. She also gave me a booklet on cover letter writing. However, this information is only beneficial if you take the suggestions and practice, practice, practice. Practice writing your resume and cover letter; it may take quite a few drafts before you finally come to a final draft that you are happy with.

One final thing...


Simply posting your resume on one of these sites, careerbuilder, monster.com, and journalismnet.com is not the only thing you should be doing in order to get a good job. If you have an internship you will receive inhouse emails that list different job openings within the market that are not open to the public. Therefore, an internship will really open up a lot more doors for you!

My next post...

In my next post, I will have information on how to write a good resume and what you should say in a cover letter.


Cypher, Joy. (2006). In-class notes. Introduction to communication studies.