Club 181: Did you know?

The College of Communication Arts & Sciences has its own career center to aid students in applying for jobs and internships.

Stop on by Club 181 (in Room 181 Comm. Arts) with your questions/concerns or any help you need in polishing your résumés, cover letters or portfolios.

That's what they're here for -- Take advantage of it.

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Please take a few minutes and complete our survey, so we can continue expanding this site to serve you better:

Take survey here.

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And don't forget, just one more week till November deadlines hit - check back to that post for full details.

Good luck!

Tips on clips, cover letters and resumés

Michigan State instructor (and former Detroit Free Press recruiter) Joe Grimm offers tips to internship applicants on his highly acclaimed JobsPage.

As you're putting together your portfolios, check out the site for helpful hints - or if you're in a hurry, here's some highlights Grimm offers:

Clips:

• Send the amount of clips an editor asks for - no more, no less
• Cull your clips with four things in mind:
  1. Recency: They should have been produced in the past year.
  2. Variety: They should reflect different subjects and story types.
  3. Grabby: They should grab attention immediately. The lead or a quick first impression may be all an editor will give you.
  4. Quality: More than error-free, they must be remarkable in some way.
• Present them cleanly and consistently and keep packaging simple.

Cover letters:

• Bare necessities: A good cover letter is just one page long, is dated, and it has all your particulars -- name, address, phone number, e-mail address -- in case it gets separated from the resume. The cover letter should be addressed to a particular person and should have that person's title. (It's always smart to make a phone call to make sure you have those correct.)
• Stand out: Be specific, write well and tease the editor into your clips or back to the resumé. ... The secret to a good cover letter is to seize on the most interesting work you've done or experiences you've had and to tell about them in a brief but compelling way. Give your cover letter a strong lead. Remember to use nouns that people can see and verbs that they can feel.
• No errors: Check spelling and grammar, and use appropriate newspaper style.

Resumés:

• No errors: Edit your work, proofread the final copy and then double-check everything. Twice.
• Order: The categories' chronological order is less important than relevance. However, follow chronological order within categories, most recent to oldest.
• Go beyond simple job titles: Describe your jobs. ... These accomplishments distinguish your resumé from others, tell the newspaper something about your interests and abilities and could open the door to an interview.
• Use a clean and simple design: Be bold if you can, but not flashy. ... Tricked-up resumés suggest you lack experience or sophistication and do not give you any advantage over other applicants. (More tips, here.)
• What else should I include? Second languages (but you better have more than the obligatory school minimum), awards, scholarships, extracurricular activities that highlight leadership and personal achievements -- if they demonstrate relevant qualities such as resourcefulness, tenacity or responsibility.

The advice doesn't stop here -- for more resources, check out the JobsPage Interns site.

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Washington Post editor talks internships with potential applicants

Former Washington Post executive editor Len Downie held an online forum this afternoon to talk about the Post's summer internship program with potential applicants.

You can read the full discussion here.

Even if you aren't applying to the Post, you might find the discussion interesting to get a look at what professionals are searching for in the ideal intern and how an intern program can be affected by troubles in the journalism industry.

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Don't wait -- Start searching NOW!

Don't wait until it's too late - most deadlines for summer internships are in the fall semester, usually between November through January.

But have no fear: There are still plenty of deadlines rolling into the spring and leading up to summer - but applying early and often might increase your prospects.

Joe Grimm, former Detroit Free Press recruiter and now MSU journalism instructor, offers a helpful timeline to keep intern seekers on schedule for their searches:

	If you're still looking for an internship	If you have one
Oct.	Mail your first applications. Earliest deadlines for summer internships are Nov. 1 and creeping earlier. Do on-campus interviews -- even if just for practice. Ask professors and editors for critiques. Diversify and improve portfolio.
Nov.	This is your busiest month for sending applications. Most deadlines are between Nov. 15 and Jan. 1.
Dec.	Big month for internship offers. Interview at a newsroom or two on winter break.
Jan.	Mail remaining applications. Check for application dates. Write thank-you notes for winter-break interviews. Start calling prime papers	Celebrate! Take the rest of the month off.
Feb.	Still no offers? Stay calm. A few deadlines remain. Phone calls to your prime newspapers could help.	Begin reading the paper regularly. Identify staffers you want to meet. Remember to read paper on-line.
March	Begin trying weekly newspapers Line up free-lance jobs with newspapers or magazines. Volunteer as a journalist with a local non-profit.	Ask for newspaper's stylebook and begin learning it. Get maps and information from the chamber of commerce.
April	Call your prime newspapers to see whether anything opened up unexpectedly.	Arrange for housing. Line up transportation.
May	No internship and out of school? Look for another way to break in. Available for an internship next summer? Free-lance to beef up portfolio.	Try to arrive early to look around community. Arm yourself with a list of story ideas.
June	If you haven't lined up stringing work, set something up by visiting editors at local papers. Experience may be more important than the money.	Request a mentor, or ask someone to mentor you.
July	Talk to papers you plan to apply to for the next summer. Visit, if you can.	Work hard and ask for more. Actively seek feedback, advice.
Aug.	Evaluate your portfolio. Make plans to give it what it needs by working in student publications and freelancing when school resumes.	Ask for a written appraisal. Line up references. Seek advice on your next move.
Sept.	Get your résumé together. Have someone edit it before you send it anywhere. Make sure your portfolio is up to date and tightly edited. Decide where you want to apply, learn the deadlines, meet the application requirements. Begin regular checks for campus interviews and postings at the journalism department and career center.

c/o the Detroit Free Press' JobsPage.