What To Do After The NCTJ’s pt 5 Patience

As a qualified journalist or recent graduate the final thing you need to do to get a job is stay patient, after all it is a virtue.

It is probably the simplest piece of advice that could be given to a recent graduate, but it is very important.

Things very rarely happen overnight and it could be a number of weeks or months before you get your break, but don’t panic you won’t be the only one.

Keep believing in your skills and your education and keep looking for jobs. Keep yourself fresh by blogging and networking in the mean time but stay patient, it will come eventually.

Try to keep yourself relevant during the time you are looking for a job, for example I enrolled on the NCTJ course to gain a further qualification and add another string to my bow. If you just look for jobs without keeping in touch with journalism you will only be hurting your chances.

Although it can be difficult if you are receiving knock backs or are just being ignored, stay enthusiastic as well. It can be easy to become pessimistic going into interviews after being turned down a few times, but put across your passion and your desire to succeed and, coupled with the things you will be doing in your spare time it won’t be long before you go from a qualified journalist to a paid journalist.

As I said at the start of this series I will be following my own advice as I hunt for my first job in the media, thank you to everyone that has followed the series and I hope at least some of it has been of use.

What To Do After The NCTJ’s pt 4 Availability

It seems so simple but you never know when an opportunity may crop up, but you won’t be able to capitalise on it if you aren’t available.

Some people, myself included, have to earn a living outside of journalism while they hunt for their first break. It can be difficult to try and get time off at short notice for interviews and calling in sick always causes problems, not least remembering what excuses you have used.

Try to arrange the interviews for a week in advance, if possible, and save at least five to ten days of your holiday for those occasions.

It’s not ideal but missing out on a few days holiday is definitely worthwhile if it means landing your first job.

Availability doesn’t just extend to interviews either. If your networking is paying off then, fingers crossed, you will have the opportunity to do the odd article here and there, and being able to say yes shows your commitment and your desire to work.

Advice on keeping yourself available can’t really be better put than by TV journalist Sarah Moore, guest posting on wannabehacks.co.uk:

If you don’t say yes to rushing out in the middle of the night to report on the flash floods, they won’t again. That’s just the way it goes. Say yes to everything and resign yourself to living in the newsroom.

You can read her full post here, which includes some great pointers.

Join us tomorrow for the final piece of the “What to do Next” series which handles the art of staying patient.