ASK The Recruiter. . .

Here is a recent answer that I provided to someone on LikedIn regarding the changing job market.

Question: With newspapers in a quick decline, where should my students look for internships and jobs?

Free-falling revenues and major cutbacks at many newspapers are a cause for concern for my students at the University of Oklahoma College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Granted, they are learning all types of reporting/editing styles so as to keep up with changing media but some are still looking for that paper clipping to add to their portfolios. I also starting approaching freshman and prospective students with the ideas of getting internships as soon as they could. How should I, as a Career/Internship Coordinator, change my teaching tactics to fit these changes while still providing the 1,700+ students with traditional and changing resources? I'm a firm believer in networking (personal and online social) as well as being connected to various organizations and daily email news feeds to stay current on industry trends.

Answer: I would focus my efforts on networking for not only you but your students as well. They should be attending meetings for professional organizations throughout college and building their contact base. Social networking is also a great route to direct them to as they are already very savy in this department.

Here are some sites that might interest you in the local OKC area: http://www.prsaokc.com/ http://www.greatergrads.com/ You might want to consider students having internships with smaller magazines like the Gazette or Norman Living here locally. This would allow them the opportunity to learn about all areas of journalism-ads, sales, editing, reporting, instead of one. I would love to come and speak to your students more about using social networking both traditional and online to their advantage.

Kind Regards, Jessica