Three who heard ‘You’re hired’

Special to chipsquinn.org

The Star Tribune in Minneapolis hired three interns into full-time positions last Summer. What made the difference for them? News Recruiting and Training Manager Brenda Rotherham describes the three and what made them special:

They have fire, passion, energy and zeal for the work we do

“And you can see it in their faces, their eyes, their movements,” she said. “That’s true because they feel it, they believe it and it’s something that you can’t fake. Newspapers really need that. Newspaper work is hard. It takes you away from friends and family on the weekends and holidays. To live that kind of life and be happy, you have to be committed. So, we want to see that from you right away.”

They made the most of their school years

“None of them had a perfect resume. Two of them came from really good journalism schools; the other one didn’t. But the one who didn’t had found a way to get good internships when he was in school. He edited his college paper. He found a way to make up for the fact that he wasn’t in a great journalism school.

“Two of them had great internships when they came to us; the other one did not. The one who didn’t have such good internships was coming from a good journalism school and had skills at a very, very high level.

“My advice to you is to assess your weak spots and find a way to overcome them. That will increase your chances that an employer is going to want to hire you.”

How important is it to come from a well-known journalism school? Doug Schneider, metro editor at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., and a listener on the call, said: “We've had outstanding interns, and some have come from highly regarded communications schools. But we've also had interns come to us from small journalism programs who arrived with decent school-paper clips, worked hard, got better and used their internships as a springboard to entry-level jobs at small, medium and large newspapers from New York to Michigan to Florida.

“Work as hard at developing your clip file as you do in the classroom,” Schneider said, “and you'll be every bit as employable as the folks who've graduated from prestigious colleges.”

They had other work experience

“It’s important to learn the give and take of a workplace -- to learn the simple responsibilities of being someplace and getting the work done and getting it right,” Rotherham said.

Other work can be most anywhere -- in a grocery story, a restaurant or a golf course. “The interactions of a work situation are quite different from those you find in a school setting or in your family life,” she said. “Our most successful interns have learned the workplace politics, interaction and communication quite early on. It’s the art of meeting other people’s needs -- the art of understanding that the world does not revolve around you.”

Their work was very good

“You’re not going to get the offer if you’re middle of the road. You have to be the best candidate,” Rotherham said. So learn as much as you can in school and take advantage of the teaching and coaching provided by internships. “Come to a potential employer with a certain level of capabilities for them to help you build on.”

If you’re not getting feedback during an internship, find a way to get it. Use a mentor. Or go to the people who helped you get there – a recruiter, editor or college adviser. “The No. 1 priority of an internship program is not to get the work done. It is to teach and coach and help the student. Whoever set up the program wants it to work that way,” she said. Speak up to get the help you need.

Cynthia Todd, recruiter at the St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch and a listener on the call, suggested that interns set up a specific time for feedback from an editor. “Everybody in the newsroom is extremely busy. But if they have a set time that they know they have to meet with you, then they and you will come prepared.”