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Success, careers and selling yourself

I caught up with a handful of other journo majors a couple of weekends ago. Out of all of them, I was the only one with a full time job. Don’t get me wrong – a LOT of others (albeit not in attendance) have found work, and in journalism. Even, surprisingly, in print. Something we discussed – in between bits of juicy, scandalous gossip – was that it’s funny how many of the people who got jobs right out of university are the ones who you least expected to. It just goes to show: you don’t need to be wildly successful at school to be successful professionally.

As time goes by, I think I’m starting to realise that where I’d really like to be is in subbing and editing. There’s nothing I get more satisfaction from than honing a piece to be the best it can be; spotting errors, fixing them, tightening up sentences. As much as I’ve learned this year, and as much as my skin has thickened (which admittedly is still not a lot) I still often find interviewing daunting. I’m not the most graceful of swans, socially speaking, at any given time. And when I’m facing people who don’t want to talk to me…

Right after I shook hands on the two projects I’m lined up to assist on (both technical in nature) some writing assignments came up. A few other grads from my class were brought on for those. The big boss apologised for how that panned out to me, and said my direct boss had been lobbying on my behalf and really believed in me. He’s the one who suggested me doing more writing, without even having to ask. And is giving me every opportunity to write as they come up. Can I just say how great it feels to have someone on your side?

And yet, I know I should be pushing for myself, you know, on my own. Except I’m not sure how to do that exactly. And as I said, a typical reporting job is something I’m slightly ambivalent about. But I guess I gotta do my time first, and surely the idea of my fellow grads being hired and surpassing me here will be enough to spur me on.

One thought on “Success, careers and selling yourself

  • Reply Jessica November 21, 2009 at 12:20

    You know what I like about editing? It’s like a puzzle to be solved. How do the pieces fit together best?

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