The do's and don'ts for graduates to get a job in online sports journalism

Credit: Photo by Edoardo Busti on Unsplash

Rarely do you find a graduate who, after three years of studies, can do more than put a few coherent paragraphs together. If it is the responsibility of universities to prepare students for jobs in the workplace (and surely that is one of the main reasons for going to university), then unfortunately many of them appear to fail when it comes to preparing students to enter my line of work.

It is frustrating when interviewing recent graduates that they mostly know nothing about content selection and the importance of headlines, little about what sources of traffic an online journalist needs to exploit (and how), nothing about the importance of reader engagement (what it means and how it is measured) and they have almost nothing but a very basic level of SEO optimisation knowledge. In short, companies like mine (GRV Media) have to teach many graduates most of the tools of our trade. Maybe I am naive, but I expect more.

• Read more: how one journalism graduate got a job through a LinkedIn comment

I have lost count of the number of graduates who tell me that they have applied for dozens of online journalism roles and do not get an interview - sadly, most don not even get a reply. And that brings me on to the subject of CVs. Mostly they are awful. Do universities not have careers officers who can offer support advising on CV preparation? If so, from what I have seen, it is a good job these career officers are not having to think about changing jobs themselves.

The CVs I receive from recent graduates are mostly too long, full of waffle, and often bury deep within them those aspects of a CV employers might actually be interested in - namely details of the degree, and any relevant voluntary or paid work undertaken that might demonstrate some level of experience or expertise. And does anyone use spellcheckers anymore?

This is all a very sad state of affairs. People like me would love to give our graduates a break - but 'the system' does not always make it easy. Fortunately, not all universities are the same, and I do rate places like the University of Derby and St Mary's University, Twickenham (which runs a great post-graduate course). I am sure there are others. But mostly, from what I have seen.....

The DOS and DON'TS for recent graduates submitting a CV for jobs in journalism

DON'T

1. Send a generic letter with your CV - the number of times I have received CVs from graduates who tell me in great detail why they want to work with my company, only to have our name spelt wrong, or a different company altogether mentioned in the copy. This is not a good look.

2. Send in a CV more than one page long. You are young; no-one expects you to have a lot to include. I refuse to wade through a CV that takes me more seconds to read than the age of the person who wrote it.

3. Start the CV off with a load of generic waffle which says what a wonderful person you are, who has great work qualities. Believe me, no-one urges me to hire them because they are lazy and work-shy.

4. Fill up a CV with boring details of non-relevant part-time jobs at Sainsbury's, McDonald's or Boots. Yes, I am interested that you were motivated enough to work and earn some money during your studies, but I do not want all the details - just a list that says: 'Part-time work at University, including stints at X, Y and Z'. Simples. This should go at the foot of your CV, just ahead of any references you provide.

• Read more: How student side gigs can be a career kickstarter

DO

1. Spell check your CV and accompanying letter - silly typos good journalists do not make.

2. Start off with details of your degree(s) - type, class, where. 

3. Detail what you learned on your course that is relevant to the job you are applying for.

4. List individually every part-time job / work experience that you have undertaken that is directly relevant to the job you are applying for; include internships, volunteer positions and any paid work.

5. Showcase your talents by writing a sample article. But do not send in the same article with every job application. Look at the websites of the organisation you are applying to, review the house style, the type of content published (if most articles are 350 words, write an article with a similar word count). Demonstrate that you know the basics - internal and external linking, use an enticing (but not misleading) headline, show you have put some thought into your content selection. Come up with something unique. Move the narrative on - do not just report the news; add value - express your view, back it up with data where possible.

• Read more: How to prepare a killer CV

Now all this will not guarantee that you will get a job - or even an interview. But it will give you a better chance. People like me receive hundreds of CVs each month - make sure yours is impactful. Good luck to you all.

Vic Daniels is the co-founder and executive chairman of GRV Media, an independent online sports publisher

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