Finding Journalism Work Doesn’t Have to be as Hard as You Think!

I remember when I was in my first two years in the journalism program at Carleton, there were always people asking me, “have you started writing for [this publication], or done any work for [that publication or blog]?” and feeling an immense amount of pressure to become a writer for everything I could think of, and feeling so far behind. 

Other students would sometimes say, “if you don’t start now you’ll never catch up.” 

Then I was told at the beginning of second year that if I didn’t do an internship during university, I wouldn’t be able to graduate, and that sent me into a spiral (ask any of my roommates). I panicked. 

I started to search for applications of publications that were honestly really far out of my reach because I had believed that I would never catch up, all due to peer pressure. I had no idea what I was going to do if I didn’t find something. 

Then one day after class I spoke to my professor of my second-year Fundamentals of Reporting class and basically asked him out of desperation, “please help me, where do I look?” He gave me some great advice. 

You don’t need to find something right away, but don’t be discouraged. 

When you’re looking for an internship in your first or second year, just keep in mind that most places are looking for upper years. 

You’re still new to the program, you’ll have your chance as you gain more experience over the next couple years! Don’t pressure yourself to find something right away just because you’re worried you won’t find something later on. Opportunities will come, don’t worry!

However, if you’re determined on finding something early on in your program, there are options.

You would be surprised how many publications might be looking. Check different job search websites, look on bulletin boards and be vigilant on social media. People are looking! You might just have to search a little harder.

Try starting out with something you’re passionate about – For me it was Her Campus! 

Her Campus was something that stood out to me right away as a place where I could write about things I was interested in and passionate about. It would help build up my courage to write publicly instead of mainly just assignment based. You’ll be surprised how much you can build up a portfolio through your Her Campus articles, so keep sending ’em in! (and it’s fun) :) 

Search Locally 

This was a huge piece of advice that was a game changer for me. I decided to sit down on the floor of my housemate’s room, take a breath, and just search for things in my hometown. It was so much easier than I ever could have expected. I remembered a newspaper that came to my house from my town and simply sent them an email! 

This is essentially what I said: 

“Good evening, 

My name is Elizabeth Mason, I’m a second year Journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa. I’m from [my town] and am looking to gain experience in the field! I am currently looking for summer internship positions and was wondering if this is something the [publication name] does, or if article pitches/stories are accepted? 

Please feel free to reach out by email or phone, I would love to hear about potential opportunities for gaining experience. 

All the best, 

Elizabeth Mason 

[my email]

[my phone number]”

Before I knew it, I was given a call back, had an interview with the paper a few months later when I went home for reading week, and got the job! I wrote for the publication all summer alongside my regular summer job and gained so much experience in the field. Even through the school year, I have been able to continue writing for them in my free time. 

Just take the leap and reach out to those publications you wouldn’t expect to hire a little journalism student, because AGAIN – you really never know who might be looking for someone just like you. 

Build up your portfolio

Something that was a huge help for me when doing my job search was having a solid portfolio to work with. Over the span of the few months before my meeting with the paper, I wrote for Her Campus and collected some of my proudest stories that I wrote for my classes. You’ll realize just how much you’ve done when you put everything together, and who knows! You might even need to weed some of them out.

As a third-year student I am so incredibly glad that I worked and built up the portfolio I did, including my summer work, because I don’t feel as worried about what to submit later on! I feel like I have some things to show my hard work and dedication to the field.

Building up a social media portfolio is also a great idea, when you have something published, post it on your socials!! It’ll reach way more people and, well, you created this! Be proud of it. :)

I hope this helps somebody who might be looking for a journalism job. Don’t be discouraged! Great and exciting things are ahead of you, put in the hard work and keep trying, because somebody will scoop you up! <3

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