(God,don’t you just hate that phrase??)
Despite the gloomy economy and the contraction of the media industry, three people I know were recently offered jobs!
And a bunch of others on Fairfax scholarships have guaranteed jobs waiting for them anyway, so they are well and truly set.
Man, it must be relieving to know you have full-time work lined up already.
Realistically, I need to leverage what I already have going for me – that I already work within a news organisation. So the next step I should be taking is to approach the higherups to see whether there are any journalistic opportunities for me, seeing as I’m about to become fully qualified. (Alternatively, whether I can simply carry on in my current role – which is mainly administrative – but full time.)
This terrifies me. It’s not a conversation I feel at all prepared for. I’m going to be swotting up on career resources, but if any of you high flyers with REAL jobs and REAL careers have any advice on asking for, and getting what you want, please feel free to throw your two cents in the ring!
I don’t know if it will help with the nerves, but I have never ever EVER regretted asking/negotiating for more money, more responsibility, the opportunity to learn a new skill, take classes, etc. from my supervisor/financial officer/company director. Get prepared, take a deep breath, and GO FOR IT.
I’d first approach my immediate supervisor and ask to talk about ‘my options at XYZ company after I graduate.’ Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, and then your supervisor can go to the higher-ups and spread the word that you’d like to stay. I’d probably say that I’d be willing to do that admin job full time, until a journalism position opened up.
Not sure I’ve ever heard the term ‘green shoots’ but I can guess as to its meaning…
Your going to be nervous, it’s natural, but I think approaching the higher-ups is the right way to go.
I did an unpaid internship at a PR/Marketing agency all of last May. At the end of May I was LOVING my internship and learning SO much that I decided to approach my bosses and see if I could stay on a couple days a week to continue learning. Well, they were happy with my work so they offered me a part-time PAID job. It was an amazing chance that I was not expecting but has been SOO beneficial for me!
You never know until you ask! Another bit of advice I have is looking into some freelance work. I’ve made a few hundred dollars over the last couple months doing freelance writing on the side!
Good luck!
Thanks for the support you guys 🙂
@Sense great advice. See I was a bit iffy about saying I’d be happy to carry on fulltime (didn’t want to sound unambitious, or like I’m happy to just settle). Definitely taking that on board. As for green shoots, maybe it’s because I’m always plugged into the media, but that phrase is just being bandied around far too much imo! And yes, i’m sure you can guess its meaning…
@Amber I have done freelance writing in the past, but none this year… everything really dried up when the big recession hit 🙁
I was pretty fortunate in that I too did a brief internship in 2007 and that’s how I got the job. I didn’t even ask – I was just brought in and offered work, and they were happy to accommodate me and my schedule. That’s the best thing about being in online – it’s just continuing to grow and so there are more opportunities than in print. I’m hoping that’s going to be the case again now 🙂