Employers are seeing more and more resumes from people who have moved around a lot — and guess what? It’s OK. Today, having a jagged resume is fine as long as you show scale. We’ll hear from people who don’t stay in one cocoon but work on projects, dropping in for a period of time and then moving on.
Minkoff: Establish the pattern is “I stay untilI can no longer learn and grow.” Explain your motivations. If they feel the same way, it’ll draw them in.
Victor: Generally I say you need to look at the individual circumstances of each change. Layoffs, job changes, etc.
You can’t paint it as a pattern, you have to explain why the changes mattered to your career and why the next one is a good move.
Question: How do you deal with the “why have you moved around so much” question in interviews?
Minkoff: It’s a personal choice. She personally needs stability and insurance.
I talk a lot about mentors. I’ve not been one. It takes effort to be a mentor.
To seek change, I want to establish a rapport with key players in my newsroom. When you do that, you can start to change things.
You can also do that via freelancing.
Question: Should I do a couple of interesting part-time jobs over a ful-time one? Does that work?
Ode to Internet at #ona12 — blogs, twitterfeeds, online projects help discover talent among journalists #ONA12Career #onlinedemocracy
— Mila Sanina (@pgMila) September 20, 2012
Minkoff: On languages – you need to know how to learn it rater than just knowing it. It’s not just about programming, also design. Like it you’re making maps, you need to understand a bit about cartography.
It’s multi-faceted – depending on what you want to do.
Victor: It is a mysterious job. It’s different everywhere.
At NYT, they work with reporters day-to-day management. Work on certain projects, like he’s working with NYT Tumblr “The Agenda”. Being the social voice in the newsroom. For us it is about hos it is integrated into the newsroom.
When Empire State building shooting happened, he sat with Metro. Will be doing more with best practices, training, etc.
Question: What does aNYT social media producer do?
Also: What language can I get into to get into programming?
Victor: No blog post alone will get you hired.
There are a lot of people who market themselves really well, but don’t know how to interview or have no examples of their work to share. You can’t just focus on marketing. You also have to produce.
Minkoff: I was encouraged to start a blog during independent study during school. People notice these things. I wrote about AP, and it helped connect me with them.
Write about others’ work and pay it forward. Also make it educational. If I figure something out n my work and I can help you do it, I will.
I’m not a social media expert or producer, but I’m active on Twitter. It’s a ba;ance between casual conversation and that educational element. It helps build your network.
Victor: At first my blogging was about branding and it was kind of icky. His friends didn’t like it. Over time, I tried not to make it about me, but about what I’ve done. Maybe people don’t want to know my thoughts on paywalls or whatever. Instead, I’ll try new tools and ideas and talk about how it went. It helped him get into the Times.
Tauzin: You guys are good at self-branding, both blog. How do you do that to help keep employed?
Victor: I’ve never been out of work a long time. I was lucky at TBD that we got advance notice and a severance. It helped me get some flexibility in job search.
You can do networking without thinking of it as such. I respect Steve Buttry. We followed each other on Twitter, talked there and shared each other’s links. That helped ne get a foot in the door at TBD. Same thing happened at Philly.com.
Minkoff: If I know about a job opening, I want to talk to hiring editors or peopleI know there first. I won’t send a resume until I do that. I also tell them its coming so they know who I am.
I’ve never been unemployed since I left journalism skills. You can get the connections be being here.
At her first job, she was looking for a new one and saw a coworker laid off. It brought it all home. She wanted to leave on her own terms. That said, she also didn’t want to take a job just t get out, she doesn’t want to force it to be a temporary situation.
Treat the news community like the sources on your beat.
How does the job searching work for you? Was it a resume in hand situation? Have you gone without a job for awhile?
Minkoff has a blog post on finding your home at http://bit.ly/onajagged
Urges people to find her and talk to her in person or on Twitter at ONA. We’re here to help one another.
Minkoff: It’s helpful to have a mentor outside your organization. ONA conference is great for that. You can be more open to get feedback on your situation fromt he outside perspective. Also, don’t forget your college professors, they have no vested interest. They often also have job leads and connections.
Victor: You can make changes inside your job, you don’t have to leave. You dont have to go to the big places.
He liked blogging at the Patriot News, so he tried to expand it. He’d ask editors to try new things, got ideas from everywhere.
Minkoff: I’m looking ahead to future projects. It isn’t “where I want to be next”, it’s “what I wan to do next.” wherever I can do the thingsI want to do, hopes it’s at AP.
I like the idea of being able to move between jobs and duties. There are ways to make that happen. But right now, I like what I’m doing. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in Washington Bureau after the election – will it change? I don’t know.
Victor: He had this talk with talent development at the Times, about where he wants to go. He feels as if he gets tired in his current job, the Times will work with him to keep him. He’s confident in where he is and he doesn’t want to leave. Those opportunities at the Times will help keep him there.
Victor has been at the NYT 4 months. Minkoff at AP a year. Are they looking to move?
Both say no.
Minkoff: I felt awkward accepting a job 2 weeks before the midterm elections. I was afraid the work I’d done wouldn’t be finished…and I had to let go. There’s never a good time and you can’t let an opportunity pass you by because you want to wait.
Aside from the personal life changes, you have to rebuild your work relationships. Find new collaborators, new processes. Go through the same introductions again.
You never think, “Yeah, I’m going to screw my company with a job hunt.”
It’s a decision you have to make for yourself. Weigh the pros and cons of what you’re giving up for what you get.
Victor: It helps I’m a restless person. Also, I’m a single guy in my 20s. I don’t have a family or girlfriend to leave behind.
It is frustrating. You do have to start over with a new friend group every time you move. But it was a decision I made. I want to move to this city or I want to do this job, it’s what I’m willing to give up.
I don’t think you ever get to a place where you can make a clean break. You can’t wait to be “done” with your work.
Question: How do you conquer the fear of movement?
Minkoff: Her Bureau Chief knows she is more likely to stay if she feels at home – and she feels at home when she’s learning.
Victor: You have to be confident in the thought you will someday be a badass. Not that you ARE currently, or else there’s no incentive to learn.
You should always want to improve in some way.
Minkoff: You need to go somewhere where you can grow and learn. It’s very important. You want to learn from people. I went the AP to work with a mentor I respected, Jonathan Stray, and not long after he moved into a new position.
Find people you can connect with and talk to about your unease. Find ways to take on other duties and resources to expand and change your role.
It requires more investment on your part and courage to talk about your problems and tell people you’re thinking about leaving. Maybe they say, “Fine, go. Then you have a problem.” But you need to have the confidence to do that or else it’ll never change.
You need to still learn from people. If you just stay in aplace where you aren’t learning, you set a bad precedent for yourself. Our generation (she’s 26) wants jobs where we can continue to grow, lifelong learning.
We’re journalists, we do this because we are curious about the word.
Victor: In evaluating yourself, think, “Have a become a better journalist over the last year? Have I learned?” If not, it may be time to change your job or change your employer.
Talk to your editors and see what more you can do and learn.
Minkoff: There’s been a method to my moves. It isn’t a question of loyalty. You only have so many opportunities, especially at the beginning of your career, you need to jump at it if it will work out for you. It can, however, affect your trust when you get older to jump jobs a lot.
She says a mentor told her jobs are like marriage. You get in to be together forever, but if it needs to end it can. But if you get divorced three times before you’re 26, it can affect your relationships later on.
Question: Did you feel loyalty was questione in these moves? Was it awkward?
Both @michelleminkoff and @bydanielvictor are great about describing why they left jobs w/ out naming names. #ona12career #ona12
Both @michelleminkoff and @bydanielvictor are great about describing why they left jobs w/ out naming names. #ona12career #ona12
— Anna Tauzin (@annatauzin) September 20, 2012
Victor graduated from college in 2004, thought he’d be int he print reporting tack for a long time. He went to the Patriot-News in Harrisburg and enjoyed reporting, but after awhile he wasn’t learning or getting as much from the job and he wanted to move on.
He went fromt here to experimental and high;y-hyped local news start-up TBD. It on;y lasted 9 months. Fromt here he went into a similar role at Philly.com. The job ended up not being what he expected and his budget was cut early on.
He was offered a job at ProPublica, he was excited to work with a respected mentor. It was tought ot leave, but he was excited. Before he started, said mentor quit. He was promoted to management before he started. He missed that team element. He wanted to be part of a larger newsroom.
He reached out to the NYT because they had an opening. It turned out to be a good fit. He said he wasn’t the best fit for ProPunblica and it has worked out well for them as well.
He thinks he’ll be there awhile.
Minkoff says he’s been searching for somewhere that she could develop and fit her skills. She’s finally just stayed somewhere for a year for the first time.
And at that, we’re done! Contact the panelists if you’d like at their Twitter handles above.