How to get a job in journalism

Most graduates in Ireland will start their careers on local or regional newspapers.

Most graduates will start small on local or regional papers. The two main sources of employment are newspapers and news agencies. Under Fair Employment legislation, jobs have to be advertised in other newspapers.

In Ireland, the Sunday Independent has the most widely read media section and therefore would offer the lion’s share of advertisements for media and journalism positions. Some positions are advertised in the Business Post. Throughout Ireland and the UK, The Guardian media section is the most widely read media section. UK positions are advertised here, but also more senior positions for Irish publications. As advertising in The Guardian is extremely expensive, more junior Irish positions would not usually be advertised, but sometimes if there is a ‘cluster’ of vacant positions, these will all be advertised together.

There will be many applicants for positions advertised, but do not lose hope: typically, quite a sizeable number of applications are completely unsuitable, as they come from people with no training or experience. However, do bear in mind that, as with other industries, many posts advertised will have internal applicants, who often have a distinct advantage. One way around this is to ensure that you yourself are an internal applicant, through taking on voluntary or low paying work to get started with a publication.

For those trying to make a start in broadcast journalism, the path is much less straightforward. Job opportunities tend to be in specialised areas. Very few jobs are to be found in the advertisement sections of newspapers and those are for top positions. A lot of jobs in the industry are filled by promotion from within. A good strategy is to get a foot in the door doing just about anything, even answering phones, and then show initiative and make a good impression.