If you are due to start a journalism degree in September, you will soon hear there's never been a better time to study journalism.
And it's true – the platforms many people now turn to for accessing news provide ample opportunities for experimenting with the way stories are told as well as sourced.
Many news organisations are aiming to reach younger audiences on the apps and networks they already use, which puts student journalists at an advantage – you may already have the knowledge of how these networks work and how the communities are built.
But you are entering a competitive industry, where paid work is scarce. The time you spend at university can set you apart, and your involvement with student media, hyperlocal news outlets in your area or work experience at major news organisations will help you not only understand in which direction you'd like to go once you graduate, but also make your job applications more attractive to prospective employers.
At Journalism.co.uk, we have collected advice from industry professionals for student journalists over the past couple of years.
In this post, you will find a list of our coverage so far. Following this advice is no guarantee you will graduate straight into a journalism job, but it will inform you of what to expect and how you can make the most of your time at university.
Join journalism communities online
Signing up to social media groups for journalists can be a good way to start networking and learning more about the industry, such as the ups and downs of working as a freelance journalist for example, or which skills are currently in demand in newsrooms.
Check out these 15 online communities and these 5 Slack channels for journalists.
Rather than trying to join all of them and potentially struggling to maintain an active presence, identify a handful that deal with a specialism or a topic you are most interest in and build a presence there. Here's some advice on how to make the most of these communities.
Freelance in your spare time
As a student journalist, you will quickly become very familiar with your local patch, and each assignment will leave you with many other ideas for related stories. You may not get to do all of them as part of your coursework, so why not start pitching your ideas to editors?
You will at least hone your pitching technique for when you graduate, and if you get commissioned, you will be able to build your portfolio and even get paid for your work.
Check out this guide to pitching as a student journalist, and these pitching tips for freelancers.
If you're serious about freelancing during your degree, have a look at our comprehensive guide to getting started as a freelance journalist, covering both the pitching process and the financial side of things.
Start thinking about work experience
The summer after your first year is a good time to start applying for work placements. Armed with the knowledge of what to expect in a newsroom as well as the newswriting skills you learned in the first few months, try to get your foot in the door at your favourite news organisation.
If you've got your mind set on a specialism, it's never to early to get started – and if you don't, what better way to figure out what type of organisation and what niche you'd like to work in?
We spoke to editors and recruitment experts to find out what news organisations expect from successful placement applicants – here's what they told us.
Some of their key tips include contacting someone at the organisation to discuss opportunities before you send a CV, familiarising yourself with a publication's style, and – of course – make sure your CV and cover letter don't include any spelling mistakes.
Not a fresher and still reading? We have advice for jobseeking graduates too.
There's also informal work experience
At the larger news organisations, the work experience application process is standardised and can feel very complex and daunting. There could be long online forms to fill and only certain periods of the year open for placements.
If you're unsuccessful with your first applications or if you're not sure where you'd like to apply yet, you can still get some journalism experience by getting involved with the student media at your university, volunteering, or contacting a hyperlocal outlet in your area to see if you can pitch in. Here are five alternatives to traditional work experience.
Have you recently graduated or are you a seasoned journalist who wants to share some tips for student journalists? Tweet us at @journalismnews.
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