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Ask the Recruiter

Home > Careers > Ask the Recruiter
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Joe Grimm
Joe Grimm, visiting journalist at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, tackles the toughest recruiting questions.
I am going to a job interview next week at a place far away from my current town, and I want to stop by a nearby paper for an informational interview. The paper has a great writing coach who I always wanted to meet. Is it OK for me to do an informational interview during an all-expenses-paid interview trip to another paper? And if I get an informational interview, what exactly happens there? Should I be prepared to ask most of the questions?


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Posted at 12:05 AM Oct 7, 2008
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TO GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED on this page, send it to Joe. Please include your full name in your message. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate why.
 
 
If you're a student just getting back to school, now is not too soon to start thinking about internships for the summer of 2009. Get "Breaking In: The JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships." You can download a copy immediately.


Am I Just Being a Sucker?

Q. I am a busy freelancer who approached a major, well-respected newspaper for stringing work. A reporter there said that she was interested and would be assigning me stories to help out with and the pay would be X.

It turns out that most of what I do is provide story ideas and contacts, and some of the stories make it into the paper. I don't get to write for these stories, nor do I get paid for my time, nor get any credit.


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Posted at 12:05 AM Oct 6, 2008
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Recent Comments:
Shine the light sista! I agree. Expose these jerks for who they are and... More.
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Cracking the Newsroom Wall?
Q. I am in my late 20s and currently hold a manager position at a very well-known newspaper in a large metro area. However, I hold the position on the business side of the newspaper, in marketing. I like my job and I feel very lucky to be in this industry, but my real passion lies in becoming a writer on the newsroom side.

Obviously, with no prior journalism experience (except a communications undergraduate degree), this is not as easy as making an internal switch within a company and I am not quite sure how to best do this. I've already gotten over the fact that I will experience a decrease in pay, and I'm already used to job insecurity since I already work in the industry, but am not sure how to best make the switch.


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Posted at 12:05 AM Oct 3, 2008
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You have half of a foot in the door. If you already are working in the company, especially in... More.
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