Landing that first job in journalism requires you to approach uncomfortable situations and go with it, a local editor said Tuesday, Oct. 16 at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
Ed Arnold, managing editor for the San Antonio Business Journal, spoke about ways to improve interview skills and how he got to his career today to a class of 14 students. Communications adjunct Teresa Talerico hosted the event for her Jag Tracks IV class, COMM 4101, in the Science and Technology Building.
“If you can’t be the person that starts the conversation to make the connection, you’re going to have a lot of struggles from the beginning,” Arnold said.
Arnold did not know his journey in life would lead him to a career in journalism. But his father knew all along.
When Arnold was a kid, he asked his dad what he thought he wanted to do, and his dad said “I think you want to be a reporter because all you really want is to learn all the secrets and tell all your friends.”
Arnold said, “That is still the case for me; I still want to learn all your secrets and tell all your friends.”
Still, Arnold chose a different path initially. For 10 years he owned his own audio and video store in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2010 he decided to go back to college at the University of Memphis. Arnold graduated on a Saturday in May 2012, and that Monday he started working at the Memphis Business Journal.
At the Memphis Business Journal, he worked in many capacities; he started off as an intern, later he became a digital editor and for a time period he did beat reporting on banking.
Arnold moved from Memphis to San Antonio 18 months ago to begin working at the San Antonio Business Journal. There, Arnold keeps the newsroom moving.
Every day at 10 a.m. Arnold manages a meeting where his reporters tell him what they are working on. Once the journalists finish their reports, Arnold copy edits, moves the work up and puts it on the web.
“That process of learning something no one else knows first, it still get me excited,” Arnold said.
Arnold went around the classroom asking each student what they wanted to do and gave each of them advice and how his work tied into the line of work they are hoping for. His advice to the students was “approach uncomfortable situations and deal with them.”
One student said she wants to have at least four internships before she graduates. Arnold said, “If you rolled up on me with a resume with four, I would be impressed.”
Arnold says it’s important for anyone to establish interpersonal relationships and maintain them. People are talking to you as a favor, and they don’t have to share their stories with you to write about.
Arnold says his job is extremely rewarding despite having to argue with editors from time to time. Arnold said, “We get criticized a whole lot and we get underpaid, so you know — congratulations, welcome to the biz.”
Good reporters — and public relations professionals — communicate by using the same media as sources and clients, he said.
“I have a reporter who I think the phone is semi-permanently attached to his head,” said Arnold. “I know no one talks on the phone anymore — like it’s all text work — but his sources want to talk on the phone.”
Reporters should connect with sources periodically to always remind them that the reporter exists and is around. Whenever it’s time to get a story, the reporter will have that source.
Arnold gave the class tips on how to do interviews, make resumes, write cover letters and create online portfolios.
Arnold said, “Even if it’s the smallest of smallest website publications, we want to see your best work at the top.”
He added: “Always lead with your best writing.”
Another tip Arnold gave is that students should get their byline repeated in newspapers or even magazines. He advised them to find what they can write about just to get their names out there more often.
When it comes to cover letters, Arnold recommended keeping them short.
“Get it out of the way in a paragraph or two, then show your best work,” he said.
When in a job interview, ask good questions, know the company and know what they offer, he said. The more you know what the company is and what you are applying for, the better chance you have at getting the job.
“Thanks for all of you for actually being interested in journalism,” he told the Jag Tracks students. “We need you. My future depends on people like you … joining my profession and being brave enough to do that.”
