Become a more active member of the paper. Attend all staff meetings, and speak up to volunteer ideas. Give words of encouragement and praise to your colleagues and superiors, and compliment them on a certain aspect of a recent article they wrote or an idea they had that you found particularly interesting. Have a positive attitude, and refrain from complaining about your assignments.
Paul Oberjuerge, former sports columnist and sports editor of the San Bernardino Sun, advises taking on a role in the paper that will distinguish you from others should there be layoffs.
''This is an awful time to be an enterprise or general assignment reporter, or a graphics artist, or just another copy editor. Those were important jobs a decade ago; now, they’re fluff. Ask to take over the most basic beats: cops, city hall, schools, recreational and prep sports. If you’re a production person, make sure you’re the number one copy editor; otherwise, make sure you’re a primary layout/pagination editor. If you’re a features person, consider taking a news-side beat. Hard news reporters and inner-circle production people will be the last fired,'' he says.
Have something in addition to a journalism degree to give you an edge on the competition. Reporters with law degrees are highly sought after, and a master’s degree in another field or real-life experience in the Peace Corps will always look impressive to employers.
Market yourself as a generalist even if you have a certain specialty. Include your area of expertise on your resume but be enthusiastic about covering basic news.
Keep writing. Make sure your beat provides you with at least three or four articles each week, and get your byline in the paper as often as possible.
Save your newspaper money. If you travel for work, offer to keep the budget down by eating fast food, staying in a less expensive motel, and renting the least expensive car. Editors remember whom it costs the most to send on a trip.
Oberjuerge also suggests making sure your editor hired or promoted you to ensure you are part of their team.
''Employers everywhere want ‘their’ people around them. You become one of theirs by getting them to hire you, or by having them promote you. Then they feel as if you are instinctively grateful toward them, and your open contempt for them might go unnoticed or dismissed as an incorrect reading. And if you can’t get New Guy to promote you . . . strongly consider changing papers,'' Oberjuerge advises.
Maintain a well-kept appearance with professional business attire to send the signal that you take your job seriously.
Network. Keep in touch with schoolmates from journalism school, former journalism professors, and any former editors who directed your past internships. Such contacts are valuable in learning about new jobs before they are posted.
