DEAR PEP: How High Should I Aim In My Job Hunt?

DEAR PEP: I am graduating soon and am starting to look for a job. (In this economy, wish me luck.) My question, though, is at what level should I aim? I was a Meredith apprentice my junior year and had an internship in New York the summer between my junior and senior years. I am now freelancing at Meredith. I held various editorial positions on Drake Magazine for three years, and am an editor on 515 this year. —GRAD TO BE

DEAR GRAD: You’ve prepared yourself well for a competitive market. Editors today do not have the time to train young editors—they need people to jump right into their jobs. Your Meredith and New York experience sets you apart from most new grads. You’ve already proven yourself at the editorial assistant level, so look for assistant editor jobs. Those often require 3-5 years experience, but folks with fewer years out of school often snag those jobs if their school years were as productive as yours have been.

It is essential though, that your letter immediately prove that you are already a professional, so the HR person who filters these things doesn’t throw you into the “no” pile as too inexperienced. Explain what you did at Meredith and in New York. Be specific. Show don’t tell. Start with an anecdote about being on a photo shoot or having to bat out a last-minute article when the page count changed.

Recognize, however, that New York magazines might be less receptive to your years of experience than good old Des Moines and they might expect you to start as an editorial assistant editor, no matter what. So don’t ignore those jobs if you’re heading to the big city.

Your best bet is to contact your old employers and let them know you are graduating and would love to be a full-timer. It startles me how many new grads assumes people already know this. Editors are busy. You need to remind them you’re out there and eager to join their staff.

And good luck. Yes, this is not the best time to hunt for a job. You might have to be more aggressive and plaster the world with your resume more thoroughly than you would have had to a few years ago. You have a great portfolio, though, and a huge edge over other new grads.

Drake's Magazines Once Again Finalists

Of the 18 national Pacemaker finalists, two are from Drake--Think and Drake magazine. The Pacemaker is the Associated Collegiate Press's top award--its equivalent of an Oscar. Go, Drake. And congratulations to the staffs of these two quality publications. See all the winners here.

Shut Your Motor While Kissing

Where is a woodburning editing tool when you need one?  This sign is at the entrance to Old Faithful Inn, but signs like it are all over Yellowstone National Park.  Either they have a real problem with folks smooching with their engines on, or somebody needs to learn to spell. 

Recent Grads Find Jobs

Editor and Publisher reports that, even in an uncertain economy and with significant layouts throughout the media, recent journalism grads are, indeed, finding satisfying jobs.   The story reports data from a University of Georgia study that indicates a healthy job market for newbies.   I am wondering who is studying how well more seasoned folks are doing--those in their 40s and 50s.  Are media cuts hitting them harder? Anecdotal evidence points to a resounding "yes" to that question.   Does anybody know of hard numbers on that?

Drake Tops First Batch of Student Magazine Awards

Drake-produced student magazines were winners in the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass communication Student Magazine Contest:

•Think won first place in General Excellence.

•Think won second place for Editorial

•515 won third for Editorial.

•515, Think and Drake Magazine all tied for second place in design.  (Odd, huh?) 

•Chelsea Hottovy won second place for a Service and Information Article for "How to Act
Swell in Every Situation" in 515.

All winners will eventually be online. .  I will post a link when that happens. Awards will be given at the AEJMC annual convention in August

News of the Magazine Sequence

I have received emails from several alums asking what is happening in the magazine sequence at Drake, so I ‘m doing my own news release here.

Angela Renkoski has left Drake to move to California to be closer to her sons. Some of you have wondered what this means to the sequence, given my retirement. Never fear. It is in good hands and the future is looking rosy.

Lori Blachford, who took over for me when I became director, will be a full-time faculty member for the 2008-09 school year. She will continue shepherding 515 Magazine and teaching magazine writing and will also take over as coordinator of the Meredith Service Journalism Apprenticeship Program. Lori was previously managing editor of Country Home magazine, so her Meredith roots are solid. She had been teaching part-time so she could finish Drake’s new Master of Communication Leadership degree.

Jeff Inman, who has taught JMC120, magazine freelance writing, for four semesters, will also teach magazine courses full-time for the 2008-09 school year. Jeff is a freelance magazine writer who just completed a Master of Arts in Education degree at Drake.

And Jill Van Wyke now teaches JMC91, magazine editing, plus a section of the capstone course, which produces Think Magazine. (Both are cross-listed with news-Internet courses.) Lori, Jeff, and Jill are all excellent teachers. Students consistently rank them as some of the best in the J-School.

I will also return part-time for the year, as director of the E.T. Meredith Center for Magazine Studies. In addition, I will chair the search committee to find permanent replacements for Angela and me and will do some fundraising. I will also be on hand to help Lori and Jeff in whatever ways they need. This will be a one-third appointment. I am looking forward to being back in the thin of things.

In terms of fundraising, we’ll have more information on how some of that is going, but the sequence is looking great, with some new financial support, plus the steady and welcome help from Meredith Corporation at the E.T. Meredith family.

Google 1, Print 0

Earlier this month, Scott Karp, of Publishing 2.0, posted a discussion on the disconnect between magazines and the Web, telling a story about chasing an online piece published in The Atlantic. It is funny, but sad, demonstrating how even our best print publications have a wobbly relationship with their Web sites.  I suspect many of you will relate.  Publishing 2.0, as a whole, is fun reading.  As is The Atlantic.  (The article Scott was pursuing is "Is Google Making Us Stupid?")

Jobs for Recent Grads, Seasoned Pros

I just received this from min (Media Industries Newsletter) and thought I would pass it on.   Let me know if it works/has glitches/whatever.  PEP

Recent Graduates :
Ready to show the Media Industry that you are the next big thing? Then visit min's Job Center today and have your resume placed at the finger tips of the best Media employers!

Employers/Recruiters:
Be the first to find highly qualified recent graduates by posting your openings on the min Career job board. Resumes are being updated everyday!
Special Savings: Post your entry level job today using the promotional code "Grad", and save 15%!

For more information, contact Job Board Coordinator Rachel Smar at 301-354-1613.

Check out these top listings:

Art Director, Traditional Home, Meredith Corporation
Manager of Events Marketing, TechInsights (a division of United Business Media)
Manager, Digital Media, Verizon
Plans Merchandiser - Magazine Division, Hanley Wood LLC
Regional Sales Manager, Ziff Davis Enterprise
Business Manager - Fiber Division, Interweave
Audience Development/Circulation Manager, Crain Communications
Online Editor, Advertising Specialty Institute
VP, Editorial Director, PC WORLD

Dear PEP: Portfolio and Emailed Samples: Should They Be the Same?

I’ve landed myself an interview for an associate art director position. I am stoked, as I have been wanting to get back into magazines, and this is my first portfolio showing. What are your thoughts as far as what I should present in the printed portfolio in comparison to the e-mailed work samples? Do you think they're expecting entirely new content or do they mostly want to discuss what they've seen and, when applicable, review it in its printed & bound form? —Looking for Work in All the Right Places

Dear Looking: If you have any excellent additional samples, include them in the portfolio. But if what you already emailed is your best work, just go in with the printed versions and let them digest those. You are right that they will be ready to talk about the whys and hows of what you already sent. Never add samples just for bulk—only include top-notch work.   And good luck.  PEP

Negotiating: Silence Can Be Golden

There’s a basic rule of negotiating that the person who speaks first loses. For example, you’re offered a job at $75,000, and that sounds like a salary you could be more than happy with. Don’t jump right in and accept it. Be quiet for a bit. You might say something like “Uh, huh,” with a pensive intonation, just to be polite and let them know you heard them. In some cases, if the person offering the job really wants you, the silence might make him uncomfortable and he might fill the void with something beautiful like, “We could, of course, look at the benefits package and see what we could do there.” If, however, they also know about the keep-quiet rule or they’re not that needy, they can wait you out. At that point, start talking and go ahead and accept.

Still, it is worth trying. The silence should be only a few seconds.

Silence is no benefit, however, If the offer does not meet your requirements in terms of salary, benefits, job duties, or anything else. In that case, you have to speak up and make your terms known. Preface your requests with something like “I am really interested in this job” or “I was impressed with your company,” or “I enjoyed meeting with you and your staff and I think I would enjoy working with you.” Then add the “but….”

“As you know, I am making $75,000 now and would really need more incentive to move.”

“That’s quite a bit less than I had been expecting.”

“I was hoping to be president, so I am not sure I can accept the vice-presidency.”

If you cannot negotiate a higher salary, see if you can talk about benefits—more vacation, flexible hours, 401K additions.

Silence can help with other negotiations as well. Say you are at an impasse with your boss on whether an article idea is strong or not. You have made your point. She has made hers. Neither of you is ready to give. Rather than just cave, be quiet and give her a chance to cave first. It can work.

DEAR PEP: Should I start with the Web or print?

I am graduating in May and planning to work abroad for five months starting in the fall, so I've been applying for internships for the summer until I go. Luckily, I ended up with two choices. I was offered a job at a Web magazine and a city magazine. The Web magazinet seems like a better internship career-wise—it's an editorial internship with lots of writing opportunities and a chance to  help with a redesign. The print magazine internship is primarily research and fact-checking.

So, my question is how important do you think the opportunity on the Web is for landing future jobs? I know Web experience is so valuable these days, so I'm having a tough time
deciding. — New Grad


PEP Says: Congratulations on two fabulous opportunities. I do not think you can go wrong in your choice.

The Web is the future. And the thing is, most people in management have no idea what it is or how to use it or why they have it--only that they have to because everybody else does. I think the Web mag would be excellent experience to prepare you for a field that is going to define the future.

The city magazine, however, would also be hard for me to turn down. If I were going to go to a print publication, it would be a city magazine. So that is a fabulous opportunity in a different direction and it will prepare you well in a traditional medium that is, I think, enduring no matter what some pundits say.

I think you need to ask yourself which fits you best. Which gives you entry into a world where you really want to spend your time? Your career is going to go in marvelous directions and you are going to have challenges and opportunities we cannot even imagine now. So go where you think you will have the best opportunity to grow the way you want.

Good luck with the decision.  And enjoy your time abroad.

Simple Site

Kaelin (Tripp) Zawilinski (‘06) recently set up a portfolio site  that’s an excellent example of simple yet effective. If you just want to get your clips out there and don't need a whole lot of hullabaloo, check it out. “Because most of my clips are online, I thought this would be a super simple way to show off my work,” Kaelin says. “I just used the iweb program on my mac, bought the URL and then a friend is hosting it for me on his server. It took me about 2 hours to set up.”

Kaelin was recently promoted to Decorating and Crafts Editor at bhg.com.

Esquire Covers At MOMA

Here's a reason to head to New York's  Museum of Modern Art within the next year:  "George Lois: The Esquire Covers" will run through March 31, 2009.

George Lois created some of Esquire's most memorable covers—Richard Nixon getting new makeup after his disastrous debate with JFK, who looked cool and calm while Nixon sweated; Svetlana Stalin with a drawn-on mustache; a composite cover of four different versions of heroes (JFK, Castro, Bob Dylan and Malcolm X).     

Lois designed 92 covers for the magazine from 1962 to 1972. The exhibit features 32 of them.

Mags launch social and professional networking sites

Forbes magazine online has launched a social network through which you can chat about "any topic from stocks to wine." This comes on the heels of other networking sites in Business Week (tied to LinkedIn) and Fast Company.

Companies use sites like LinkedIn for recruitment for full-time jobs, freelancing, and special consulting. The magazine sites add to the equation by allowing execs and interns alike a place at the virtual table.  They also automatically come with the added credibility of the magazine brand.