Research

Anxieties and worries for my future and currently.

Anxieties 

1.Not achieving the grades that I need to take me into my next stage of education, in this case, university. 

2.Also if being able to go onto university living by myself and having to take care of myself while working. 

3.Keeping myself healthy.

4.Managing to achieve my dream job.

5.Ability to have a stable income.

Resolving these anxieties.

1. Working hard and realising that I can achieve university if I just keep my head down, meet deadlines and put the work in.

2.Learning new skills such as cooking and life skills enabling me not to have to worry about living by myself.

3.Limiting bad foods that I eat, having a healthy balanced diet. Exercising regularly at least once a day.

4.Like number one working hard at university just as much as I do at college, managing my time and building up a portfolio at uni that I can really be proud of and show off when going for my job.

5. Like the previous questions working hard is key, starting off small doesn't matter you can work your way up.

In general, I can improve my well being by incorporating all these answers and working hard, while maintaining some sort of social life. Having a social life can be key to getting work done as just drowning in work would most likely lead to poorer quality.

Cover/Formal Letter.

Here are three examples of cover letters. 

Important things to remember for cover letter.

Job post doesn't have to be available/open for it to be sent.

Names, addresses, dates for you and the receiver. 

Always address formally Sir/Madam.

Begin with why you are writing.

Good typeface not too long, 3-4 paragraphs. Can be in bullet points but paragraphs are more formal.

Finish strongly, I look forward to hearing from you, yours faithfully/sincerely.

Your name and signature. 

Here is a cover letter for a journalism job I found on a website based in Newcastle.

S.T.A.R Interview Technique. 

Situation-Description of the event that you were involved in.

Task-Explanation of the task that had to be completed in said situation.

Action-Actions that needed to be undertaken to complete the task.

Result-What happened, the results of you completing the task?

Here is a short diagram with further explantion.

Here are my 5 Interview question for the practice interview. These come with related answers using the star technique to build on.

5 Interview Questions Related to Journalism

 

1)Can you tell me your name and why you would like to be a part of our team? 

Situation-Been engaging with journalism since I was young. Young walking round interviewing family, result passion for journalism.

 

2) How would you manage the stress of tight deadlines? 

Situation-College Deadlines, specific deadline FMP level 2? Putting the work in. Good grade.

 

3) How would you handle a hostile or uncooperative interviewee? 

Situation-Working in a restaurant dealing with customers. Able to calm people down and make them cooperate. Them Cooperating.

4) What topics would you like to cover at our institution? 

Situation- Research into sports journalism, already completed private research. Documentary.

5) How often do you use social media? 

Do you use it for identifying new stories? Situation-Major events on social media. It helps me identify all the stories and major events that are going on in the world, instantly. Result first news. 

 

 

Here is that interview is shown below. 

 

Telephone skills:

• Positive Tone.
• Answering business calls.
• Putting callers on hold.
• Preparation & research.
• Controlling the conversation.
• Leaving them satisfied.
• Mastering body language.
• Adjusting your voice.

Chosen career and research on it. JOURNALISM

To succeed as a journalist on a local or national newspaper you'll need determination and the ability to research and write accurate stories to tight deadlines

Newspaper journalists research and write stories for national, regional and local press. They report on news and politics, as well as on sports, arts and culture, science and business. They also cover national and local events, entertainment and human interest stories.

There are a number of roles within newspaper journalism. Junior reporters usually write up stories allocated to them by the news desk, which they then pass to the news editor before they're handed to sub-editors. Correspondents are specialists in one field or location, while feature writers, who cover topics in greater depth, often use a more personal style.

On smaller newspapers journalists have to multitask. They may work on layout, photography and sub-editing, as well as write stories.

Newspaper journalism is becoming increasingly multi-platform, making IT, web and broadcast skills highly valuable.

Responsibilities

As a newspaper journalist, your duties will include:

• interviewing people in a range of different circumstances
• building contacts in many areas to maintain a flow of news, such as with the police and emergency services, local council, community groups, health trusts, press officers from a variety of organisations and the general public
• seeking out and investigating stories via your contacts, press releases and other media
• attending press conferences and asking questions
• attending a range of events, such as council meetings, magistrates' court proceedings, football matches, talent contests, etc
• answering the phones on the news desk and reacting to breaking news stories
• working closely with the news team, photographers and editors
• recording interviews and meetings using shorthand or technical equipment
• producing concise and accurate copy according to the newspaper's house style and to strict deadlines - daily newspapers may have several each day
• writing shorter, 'filler' stories to entertain, and researching and writing longer feature articles, sometimes for subsidiary publications and supplements
• creating and uploading news content for the newspaper website
• 'live' online reporting or real-time blogging when covering important events - a growing area of work, especially on national newspapers.

Salary

• In the sector, reporters working in newspapers and magazines have the lowest average salaries. According to the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) the median income for a newspaper journalist is £27,500. When you're starting out as a trainee reporter, your salary could be as low as £12,000 to £15,000, depending on whether you're working for a local, regional or national paper.
• Although there's wide variation between regional and national newspapers, salaries for journalists with up to five years' experience generally rise to around £25,000, while those with a decade's experience or more can expect around £35,000 to £40,000.

Your salary could be higher if you're working for a national newspaper. Share options and bonuses, reflecting the paper's performance, may bolster salaries at senior editor level.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Journalists quite frequently work long or unsocial hours. Early in your career, you're likely to work an early or late shift pattern. You need to be flexible to accommodate for breaking news and deadlines.

What to expect

• Offices are usually open plan and may be noisy. Although you will spend much of your time working on a computer and on the phone, the work will also involve some travelling to meet people or to cover events, often at short notice.
• Many journalists spend part, or all, of their career working on a freelance basis. Demand for experienced freelancers is high, especially for feature writing. Young journalists often work freelance to build up experience and contacts; some retired journalists continue to work on a freelance basis. The NUJ issues a guide to freelance rates in its NUJ Freelance Fees Guide.
• Career breaks may be possible. Returnees sometimes move back into the profession via a sub-editing role or through freelance work.
• The NUJ reports a 60/40 male to female gender split in its membership. Women are underrepresented, although increasingly present at senior level.
• The profession is predominantly white, but efforts are being made to recruit from ethnic minority backgrounds, with initiatives such as the Journalism Diversity Fund.
• Opportunities with regional newspapers exist throughout the UK. Three in four journalists working for national newspapers are based in London. Geographical mobility is important, especially at the beginning of a journalism career.
• The role can be stressful. Competition between rival publications - and hence their reporters - can be fierce, and you may often need to put awkward or unwanted questions to people who do not wish to answer.
• Because of the need to sometimes work long and unpredictable hours, anything up to 50 to 60 hours per week, journalists' social and working lives may become intertwined.
• Journalists often travel within a working day, although absence from home overnight is rarely required.
• There may be opportunities to work abroad.

Qualifications

This area of work is open to graduates of any discipline but an undergraduate degree in journalism, English or writing may improve your chances. However, some editors may be more interested in graduates with a specialist degree subject, such as economics or science.

Experience and personal qualities are also considered extremely important.

Entry without a degree, HND or foundation degree is possible but is becoming increasingly difficult. The majority of new entrants to the newspaper journalism industry are graduates.

Graduates can choose from several pre-entry routes into newspaper journalism. There are full-time, one-year postgraduate courses, which result in a postgraduate diploma or Masters degree. There are also fast-track, 18 to 20-week postgraduate courses. Students should check that their courses will be well regarded by potential employers.

Courses accredited by the NCTJ are generally highly regarded and will usually include your preliminary NCTJ examinations. The NCTJ's Diploma in Journalism reflects the multimedia environment of modern journalism and includes mandatory modules on reporting, essential public affairs and media law and shorthand.

Students also need to take a minimum of two subsidiary modules in areas such as sports journalism and media law court reporting and provide a portfolio (logbook) of work.

You must pass the Diploma in Journalism in order to sit the professional senior qualification which demonstrates all-round competence in a range of journalistic skills, which you'd take once you'd been in relevant employment for 18 months. This is either the National Certificate Examination (NCE) or the National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ), depending on your specialism.

Entry with an HND or foundation degree is possible if you have relevant skills and experience. Some foundation degrees in journalism are recognised by the NCTJ, including the 17-week foundation course in journalism from PA Training.

You can be recruited directly by employers on to a two-year training contract, although these opportunities are increasingly rare.

Competition for the limited graduate trainee places with large newspaper groups and national newspapers is extremely fierce. Programmes vary from year to year and details may not be widely circulated, as editors rely on candidates to take the initiative to research opportunities.

Entry with a postgraduate degree is possible, especially if it's an NCTJ-accredited qualification or includes relevant work experience. Postgraduate students from subjects not related to journalism will still have to gain experience and writing skills and may need to consider a relevant pre-entry course in journalism. Search postgraduate courses in journalism.

Initiatives such as the NUJ's George Viner Memorial Fund aim to support black and Asian students through training. The Journalism Diversity Fund supports the training of journalists from ethnically and socially diverse backgrounds onto NCTJ-accredited courses.

The Scott Trust Bursary Scheme, offered by The Guardian Media Group, provides a limited number of bursaries to postgraduate students each year.

Skills

You'll need to show:

• strong written and oral communication skills
• a keen interest in news, current affairs, business and people
• accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation
• good organisation skills and the ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines
• an ability to grasp complex issues quickly and explain them in simple, concise language
• resilience, determination, flexibility, persistence, motivation and integrity.