Work experience

Getting work experience is a great way of finding out more about what a career in journalism is really like. It also helps you get onto journalism courses and into jobs, because gives the impression to prospective tutors and employers that you are serious about journalism and have an idea of what it involves.

Getting work experience

The best way to arrange work experience is to phone up the newsdesk of a newspaper and ask them about it. Try to work out when the newsdesk is least likely to be busy. For example, if it is a weekly newspaper then you might want to phone on the day the paper comes out, because this is the time of the week when they are least likely to be on deadline.

You can also try to arrange work experience by writing a letter, but making a phone call is always preferable. This shows the news editor you are confident and have a good phone manner, both of which are important skills for a journalist to have.

Making the most of work experience

The key to getting the most out of work experience is to be keen, polite and not afraid of coming up with ideas. Often, the journalists who are meant to be looking after you will be so busy with their own work that they do not give you the attention you need. This is why you need to politely let them know when you do not have anything to do.

If it goes well, then you should aim to have an article published in the paper with your name on it, as this will look great in your portfolio.

You should also take the opportunity to look around you and try to listen to journalists as they discuss story ideas with each other and also when they talk to contacts on the phone. If you have had doubts about whether journalism is right for you, spending time in a newsroom can often provide the answer.

But also, make sure you impress them. After all, one day you may be trying to persuade these people to give you a job. This means appearing to be enthusiastic, even when the task they have given you does not exactly inspire you. I once heard about someone on work experience who was asked to write a string of news in briefs (nibs). His replied that he did not "do" nibs because they were beneath him, which did not exactly endear him to the rest of the newsroom.

Also, if you spend a few weeks on work experience, try to spend it on different newspapers. You are likely to get a wider perspective if you spend time at three newspapers than you would by spending three weeks at the same place.

Work experience - the pitfalls

Most journalists will have a horror story about being treated badly on work experience. Jon Slattery tells the story of a journalism student who was offered a week on a top fashion mag. Their "experience" was ironing the clothes for the fashion shoots.

Personally, I have less-than-fond memories of putting up shelving while on work experience at The Times.

It is an unfortunate fact that no matter how keen or talented you might be, there is a chance you will be ignored, demeaned by being expected to get coffees for everyone, or asked to do tasks that have no relevance whatsoever to journalism. 

Obviously, it is down to each person how much they will put up with but even with the worst work experience it is probably worth sticking it out for a week because of the value it adds to your CV.