Journalism Resume Example

Journalists are society’s gatekeepers of information, charged with the responsibility of informing and educating the public. It’s their job to present an account of events that is simultaneously even-handed, objective, and engaging.

The media industry is undergoing a massive shift toward digitalization, accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With fewer staff jobs available and heavy competition, it’s vital to make sure you do all you can to stand out when applying for a job.

Here are four tips to help you write a professional journalism resume that is sure to impress:

1. Keep your resume clear and concise

A journalist’s most important talent is writing well. Make sure that you display your writing ability in your resume by describing your experience using active voice, employing strong action verbs, and keeping your bullet points concise and easy to read.

Ideally, hiring managers should be able to skim your resume and get all the information they need about your work history, education, and skills in under 10 seconds.

When you finish writing your resume, proofread and edit until you’re positive that there are no typos or errors, because just one mistake could be enough to cost you an interview.

2. Craft an attention-grabbing resume objective or summary

Hiring managers in the journalism industry are busy people, and usually don’t have much time to read each applicant’s resume in detail. To make sure you get their attention, you need to highlight your key qualifications as soon as possible. That’s where a strong resume introduction comes in handy.

Use your writing chops to construct an attention-grabbing introduction that gives potential employers a sense of your personality, values, and accomplishments.

If you’re an entry-level candidate, you should write a clear resume objective that showcases your relevant skills and experience as well as highlights your career goals.

However, if you already have some work experience, you should write a resume summary to showcase your skills and some specific, career-related achievements.

A good resume objective or summary hooks potential employers instantly and convinces them to keep reading.

3. Showcase your relevant work experience and education

What newspapers or media outlets care most about when hiring a journalist is whether or not you’re capable of finding and writing interesting stories. The best way to show them what you’re capable of is by showcasing your achievements and credentials in the experience and education sections of your resume. Freelance work should be listed either in the experience section or in a separate “key projects” section.

If you already have experience as a journalist, the work experience section of your resume should be highly detailed. For your most recent job, include four to six bullet points that are specifically geared toward demonstrating competence in duties your new role will entail.

For jobs further in the past, limit bullet points to the three most important highlights.

To engage your reader, begin each bullet point with an action verb followed by a specific duty to help frame your experience in terms of your achievements and abilities.

If you’re not sure what action verbs to use on your resume, here are some verbs a journalist might use to get you started:

• Produce
• Pitch
• Demonstrate
• Perform
• Support
• Edit
• Proofread
• Develop
• Research
• Interview

Additionally, you should include hard numbers in your experience section to illustrate your accomplishments.

This could be how many articles you’ve published, a publication’s circulation, how many interviews you’ve conducted, or what increase in online subscriptions your articles have inspired. Any digital media metrics you can include (page views, visitors, or conversions, for example) are also becoming increasingly valuable as media companies turn to online business.

4. Include a list of skills that match the role you’re applying for

While you should be working your most impressive hard and soft skills into your introduction and experience sections, it’s also important to have a section dedicated specifically to additional skills that you want to emphasize or that may not have made it into the other sections.

Start with your journalism-related hard skills. Some examples include:

• Typing proficiency
• Google Drive and Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, and Excel)
• Video editing
• Content Management Systems (CMS) (WordPress and Joomla)

Some soft skills for journalism that you could include are:

• Time management skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Organizational skills
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Interpersonal skills
• Highly adaptable
• Networking

When considering which skills to include in your resume, pay attention to the job descriptions of the roles you’re applying for. Pick skills that align with the job duties mentioned to show potential employers that you’re qualified. Usually, hiring managers list the exact skills they’re looking for in the “Requirements” section of the job ad.