This article is for all you aspiring journalists out there who are hoping to make it in the media industry.
This article is for all you aspiring journalists out there who are hoping to make it in the media industry. Now I am sure you have been told by your lectures or have heard that on many debate programmes how important it is to widen your horizons.
Just being a print journalist or just being a broadcast journalist is not enough anymore. Unless you are dead set on what you want to do then I know I have been told by my programme leaders that it is wise to be multi skilled in journalism.
Having knowledge and experience in a range of skills with in journalism can seriously raise your profile when it comes to applying for a job. Imagine how impressive your CV will look when the big bosses from the BBC (or any other media company) notice that not only can you write a concise piece of copy but you can create a package together with audio and visuals that have been edited by yours truly.
Having a wide range of skills is useful in that respect as it means that you are saving your editor some time. If you can edit a piece of audio together with having to hire someone else to do it for you, you are like a octopus with so many arms that multi skilled is your middle name.
Obviously if you are thinking of going into a specialist sector of journalism then you may or may not be sitting there reading this and thinking I don’t need to know how to edit and this does not matter to me.
Well it does, as now especially at the university I am studying at all the students who are studying a range of specialist journalism are being taught short hand, how to write/upload online and how to conduct interviews.
And why you may ask because it widens your horizons and offers you a different platform of journalism to work upon therefore makes you more suitable for employers.
Now not only being multi skilled in journalism is important but knowing how to use social media it to. There are numerous social platforms that if used correctly can act as a public platform to promote yourself and your possible published works. Just this week, I have found and updated some online portfolios such as IdeasTap, LinkedIn and Journalism Portfolio.com.
They all act as platforms to post your work or blogs etc yet they also update users of recent job vacancies that relate to your line of work.
Obviously I have done my research and I know I have not finished my research as there are so many social media platforms out there that can act as a place to support your career.
It is important for journalists to be multi skilled in a range of platforms as not knowing how to use them can hinder your chance on missed opportunities for gaining employment in the world of journalism.
Using social media improperly can reflect badly on your online portfolio, so make sure you do your research and understand the importance of social media platforms in relation to your employability.
You should use your multi skills in social media and journalism to your advantage, making sure that your future editor has no excuse but to hire you.
What do you think? Have your say in the comments section below.
