Check out this
really insightful blogpost with terrific advice on how to get a job in (new) media from Ryan Geddes at IGN.com.
How to Get a Media Job: The New RulesI’ve spent the last few days looking through hundreds of job applications, and it’s sent my mind a-reeling. There are a lot of talented, creative people out there whose resumes, cover letters and writing samples paint them as the rock stars they likely are. But there are far more who have no idea how to apply for a job in the media business. The first 50 utterly off-base applications I read made me angry. Why are these people wasting my time? How could they think this OK? As I read the next 50, I settled into resigned apathy. Oh well. Delete, delete, delete. But then I realized each bored deletion I made was a lazy contribution to the problem. Clearly these people had never been taught how to apply for a job in my world. Even applicants with a fair amount of experience and interesting backgrounds were burying themselves under the dust of ancient rules about resumes, cover letters, references and introductions. Their colleges, parents and mentors had failed them.
I can’t tell you how to be a badass. I can’t mold you into a journalistic superhero. I can’t tell you how to develop a potent mix of personality, precision, thoughtfulness, talent and drive. That’s your job. But if you’ve already achieved a healthy mix of those things, then I can help you get noticed. So put down that Cover Letters For Dummies book you bought at Borders and read this instead. If you’re a recent J-school graduate, chances are your professors are still referring to online outlets as “New Media.” But my aunt had a baby boy 10 years back, and I stopped referring to him as “new” about eight years ago. New media is just media now, just like the PlayStation 3 stopped being “next-generation” the day it was released.
The Message is the MessageSpeaking of cover letters, let’s never speak of them again. E-mail is the main way you’ll be applying for any media job. And when was the last time you sent someone an e-mail with nothing in the body? The cover letter is now the body of the e-mail you send to the hiring manager. Imagine an inbox with 600 e-mails in it. Would you want to open multiple attachments for each e-mail without having the slightest hint about their worth? My ideal job application is an e-mail with a catchy (but not loquacious) subject line. The body of the e-mail serves as the cover letter. It is informative, intriguing, and professional but laced with personality. The signature includes links to the applicant’s social media sites, city of residence, e-mail address and phone number. There is at least one attachment: the resume.
I Don’t Care About Your GPAYou can’t hide from inexperience. I can sense it like Private Hudson senses aliens. So peppering your resume with lies is pointless. If you don’t meet the requirements for a position but feel strongly that something in your background still warrants consideration, show me why. Please do not include your grade point average (mastery of school is not a predictor of success in this business), fraternity/sorority affiliations or Microsoft Office proficiency. If you don’t know how to use Microsoft Word, I’ll know. Lists of software knowledge are fine, as long as they are relevant, but they’re pointless on their own. If you’re a PhotoShop hero, send me a sweet .PSD. If you know how to use FinalCut Pro, send me a link to a video you made. The key to a good resume is tailoring the description of your experience specifically to the position. If I haven’t read anything about gaming, writing, creating or publishing by the second bullet point, I’m out.
Give a Damn About Your WordsIf you looked up the definition of “loquacious” above, then you’re on the right track. Words matter, even if you’re writing for video. In our business, they’re the foundation for everything we do. But writing well is not enough. We’re looking for a voice. Who are you? What do you have to say? What motivates you? Who are you picturing in your head when you write? All this should seep into your words and the structures of your sentences. If that sounds ridiculous to you, then you should not be applying for a writing job. Notice I didn’t say the writing had to be perfect. That’s just because I haven’t gotten to that bit yet. I’m half kidding. We all make mistakes. Every day. You might have seen one on IGN today. But you (the applicant) only have one chance to impress a hiring manager. Keep the mistakes to a nearly transparent sliver. When I’m reading a job application, I overlook one typo. If I find another, I roll my eyes and start skimming. If I see a third, I delete the application.
Leveraging the Social Graph to Pilot the Zeitgeist and Incentivize User-Created EcologiesYeah, I get it. You think Twitter is dumb, and you’re bored with Facebook. So apply for a job as a bread maker or something. Media professionals live online now, and they straddle a strange line between always-on company representative and lone actor. You should already be active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or some new hotness that I haven’t even heard of yet. Can you share those links with pride? If not, why not? You should be building your own personal brand with an authentic voice, not because you feel like you should, but because you just can’t help yourself. Five years ago, local news channels reported breathlessly about job seekers whose potential employers looked them up on the Facebookers and were aghast at what they found. Old.
This Is Relevant to My InterestsYou might be a good writer. You might have an encyclopedic knowledge of a topic that matters to the hiring manager. You might be so creative that your pants hurt. Great! Now turn that into something I can relate to. Because I manage an editorial department, I’m looking for attached writing samples, links to your hilarious (relevant) video or a peek at the web site you tailored for me with custom CSS. And how does all that relate directly to the company I work for? Gone are the days when you could simply mail an editor a resume, cover letter and packet of clips. Things are immediate now, like it or not. I want the whole picture at once, and I want it now. I want to click through you. Make that easy for me.
You Again?Media companies tell stories. Is that what you’re truly interested in doing? If so, then start with your application. No, I’m not talking about kicking off your cover letter with, “It was a dark and stormy night…” After you’re done putting your application together, print everything out, lay it on a table, and think about whether it really tells your story. If not, mark it up and go back to the drawing board (hint: this is what your job will eventually be like). That doesn’t mean I want to know what you enjoy eating for breakfast, or who you slept with last night. I want to know what you’d be like to work with, what your strengths are, and who you might develop into professionally. If you’re convinced you nailed that and you don’t get a response to your perfectly crafted masterpiece, follow up a few days, weeks or months later. Hiring managers like to think they’re good at this sort of thing, but sometimes it’s a crapshoot. Oh, and no oversharing. Google it.
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As I mentioned earlier, this is not a secret key to media employment. If you don’t have what it takes (yet) then none of this will help you. But it’s a start, and I hope it will be useful to people who are about to enter the job market or are still toiling in the relative obscurity of entry level. Searching for your dream job is a tiny hell, but it’s one of the most worthwhile endeavors you can undertake. It takes time, effort and dedication. Each hour you put it off is one more hour you’ll have to spend getting it right once you finally decide you’re worth it.
I wrote this post because IGN is always looking for an amazing new editor (editorialjobs@ign.com), but I also felt the genuine need to reach out to new talent, wherever it may be. If you’ve read this far, then you’ve earned the right to read the less-than-140-character version: “Tell your story authentically. Respect your audience. Find your voice. Make it easy. Don’t be a jerk.”
-Ryan Geddes
