Pittsburgh Public Schools' Visions...Clouded?

I'm rarely on my Twitter account (which is @EyeoftheWriter by the way), but when I am, I come across some interesting Tweets. I'm from Pittsburgh, and a journalism major, so I follow many Twitter accounts from the Pittsburgh area like officials and journalists. Scrolling down not but five minutes ago, I found this little gem from the Post-Gazette Education editor:

Before I continue, I want to say that this post is not targeted at the editor or at any specified individual. It is meant to be editorial in nature only.

When I read this post, at first I thought it was a fantastic vision. All schools envision their students graduating from some college or getting some level of workforce certification. It's drilled in our heads from the time we're in elementary school that we're going to grow up and get "big people jobs." I'm not disputing that. What I am disputing is why they are possibly going to push all their students into getting some kind of special paper saying they learned something.

Not every job requires some form of certification. Let's take writing for example. There are writing majors and minors in many colleges, and several writers have a degree of some sort. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you need a degree to be a writer. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, dropped out of law school to pursue a career in writing. William Faulkner, author of The Big Sleep, also dropped out of college...twice. Both writers lacked a college degree, and they wrote beautiful works that won awards and are read by high school and college students everywhere. Am I making my point?

If not, consider this. What about all of the entrepreneurs in today's society?  What about the people who work from their home without a degree as a start-up business? You may get technical and say, "Well, they need documentation for these things." That point I'll give you. However, they don't always necessarily have "workforce certification." Look at Steve Jobs! He was highly successful, highly intelligent, and highly creative. Guess what? He dropped out of college. You know of something called a Big Mac? Next time you order one at the only place these are sold, McDonald's, you can thank high school drop-out Ray Kroc, the founder. The list of people who don't have any certifications but made a successful living for themselves is endless (but for a small taste, you can click here).

It's great that these schools want their students to succeed. I'm not arguing against that. I'm just arguing about the methodology and the psychology behind it. Options for students aren't just black and white. They don't have to go to college and get a degree. They don't have to get any sort of workforce certification. I understand that many if not all jobs nowadays requires it, but there are plenty above examples to demonstrate my point that you don't need certification to be successful.

I was going to close with advice to parents and teachers as well as students, but I'm not going to tell a parent or teacher how to do their job. That isn't my place. However, I can give advice to all of you students out there. Don't think you are limited to getting some form of certification. If you want to go to college or a trade school, that's fantastic. If not, that is too. Look at your options, explore possible careers, and do what makes you happy. That's the most important thing, because it's your life.

How I Look for a Job: The Prologue

For those who don't know, I am a senior journalism student at Pitt who will be graduating in April. From there, I'm looking to move on to a career in journalism or public relations, hopefully in Las Vegas. Now, I know it's a tough job market out there, especially when students have gone to specialized schools and programs for journalism and public relations that surpass my own education, but I'm not giving up. I've applied for six or seven jobs already, and I've heard back from one: The Wynn. I received a no for a position as a special events coordinator, but they said that I should look at other opportunities available through their brand, which as I type this I am doing.

Either way, I wanted to write a blog post about how I determine what jobs to apply for and which ones not to apply for. It's actually a really easy process for me.

1. I look at the title of the job. I'm a journalism/PR student. I'm not going to apply for a job as a data analyst or a financial consultant. I stick to keywords like "writer," "marketing," "social media," and "relations." Those are usually key indicators of a job my degree will be tailored for.

2. I look at the requirements. If a job needs 3-5 years of experience, I automatically say no (unless it's customer service, because I've been in that industry for five years). 1-2 years I apply, because I have 1-2 years of journalism experience or work in PR.

3. I finally read all of the job duties. Some job posts are tricky. They oversell their open position, or they throw in additional responsibilities/licenses that you shouldn't need. I applied for a special events coordinator job, and I was asked if I'd be willing to get a valid Nevada Gaming License if I got the job. Why? I would be a special events coordinator. I wouldn't be operating any machinery. As it turns out, licensing is a way to weed out the bad eggs in Las Vegas, because it was a mob/mafia hot spot before. It keeps things clean and fair for everyone, so I can't just give special benefits to family and friends. I also was looking for a PR job, and I got a post to be a sales consultant for a gift shop at a casino. They were overselling working at the shop by giving certain activities flair, like selling merchandise. If something doesn't fit or seem right, I'm skeptical and usually just bookmark the job for a later date.

What are your own specifications you go by when searching for a job? Let me know what you do in the comments below. I could always use more strategies!

Sources

I love talking to people and listening to their stories. I also love compiling stories of my own. Sources come in many shapes and sizes, and that's what I've dedicated this entire post to. You might be a journalist student if you encounter these types of sources:

1. The Blabber. This is the type of source who's extremely enthused about the article you're doing, and sometimes ends up telling you their life story instead of focusing on the questions you're asking. Try to polite steer the conversation as best as you can, but don't be rude. Chances are you may need this source again.

2. The Information System. This type of source knows everything about the subject of your article, and isn't afraid to tell you all about it. This source is slightly related to the Blabber in that they tend to talk a lot, but every piece of information could help with your current story and give you ideas for future articles, which is why keeping in contact with this source is a must.

3. The Micro-manager. This is the type of source every journalist tries to avoid dealing with, but sometimes it's just inevitable. This person loves to give you press releases, omit information, backtrack and even tell you what you should and shouldn't put in your story. Keep them as a contact, but only to obtain those precious press releases for a possible story idea or two.

4. The Delayer. This is the type of person who doesn't get back to you in the amount of time you need them to in order to get the information for your story. This person gives you a valuable lesson in keeping multiple stories open, and never assign yourself to just one source. It could spell disaster for you and your publication. This source, however, could make up for it with different sources to interview, so don't cut them to the quick immediately. Keep your options open, but never forget either. Try making appointments with them earlier, too. That helps.

5. The Neglectful Nellie. This is the type of person who never calls you back, never emails you...basically never responds to any communication with you or your publication whatsoever. You would have a better chance at getting a letter from San Francisco to Pittsburgh via the Pony Express than getting information from this contact. Chances are this person is a creature of habit, and they won't talk to you or anyone from your publication because of a bad experience or some other reason. It's better not to heckle them much, because that could hamper any kind of relationship you're trying to build with them. This is why you need multiple sources of multiple types.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few of the other types of sources out there, but these are just a few I've run into during my time. Have any others you'd like to share? Leave a comment below or share this post and get friends involved! I'm curious to hear your opinion!

Keep Calm

Thanking My Mentors

I don’t have a formal mentor per se. I have several people I do look up to in my profession that have helped me along the way, and I would like to mention them and thank them for what they've done, whether they realize it or not and whether they read this or not.

First of all, I want to thank my senior English teacher. We had our ups and downs, of course, but she really made a impact on me. She was a journalism major herself, and she taught me about the many things I can do with my journalism like public relations and so on. I thought of journalism as this broad thing and I was confused about what I truly wanted to do. She set me straight, and I am where I am today thanks to her guidance.

Next, I want to thank my magazine editor for the experience. I've been with the Johnstown Magazine since May, and the experience I've gained is priceless. I've learned how to edit pages and how magazines run, plus I gained public relations experience as well and continue to do so. She’s been such a help and an inspiration that I feel much more prepared for next year, which is rapidly on its way as we speak.

Finally, I want to thank two of my professors: my journalism professor and my public relations professor. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to journalistic writing and public relations, even social media in general. I have changed as a writer, a journalist, a PR specialist, and even as a human in general. I feel completely prepared for my future career thanks to them, and I couldn't be more thankful.

The INFJ Personality and My Career

Many of us have been exposed to the Myers-Brigg personality test at some point in our lives, whether we found it online and took it for fun or we took it for a class. I've taken it a couple times (because my memory slipped me what my precise personality type was) and I am an INFJ personality.

INFJs are known for being caring, creative, and extremely organized. This is highly accurate of myself, especially in the journalism field - my chosen field of study.

In journalism, you have to have some form of empathy. You don't want to interview a murder victim's widow with cold eyes and only focused on the story. I pride myself on having a high level of empathy in any situation. I can listen to a story someone tells me, and - usually - I can feel what they were feeling when the situation happened and/or how they feel at the moment relaying the story to me.

I recently conducted an interview with a man who is the spokesman for a biker group that hold one major ride every year in August. He told me stories of heartbreak, and stories packed with joy and pride. To describe my emotions in short would be impossible, but I could feel everything he felt about those topics, which is something crucial to the field in order to obtain contacts and keep them in your Rolodex. You never know when you're going to need them again for another story, or just to get to know them better.

Creativity is also key to my field. You have to be creative with transitions and descriptions, or you'll quickly lose an audience. I used to make all my stories straight news stories, and now I'm honing my descriptions and making my writing more creative. This is all thanks to not only my journalism professor, but also Rust Hills, who is the author of one of the books we have to read for class. I'm gaining a better understanding or journalism as being short story nonfiction writing, and I'm becoming a better writer because of that.

The last crucial piece to having extreme organization. I won't lie. I'm obsessive-compulsive about certain things, but in a good way. I have to have a clean workspace. If I don't, I can't let my creative juices flow. A cluttered area leads to a cluttered mind, and a journalist's mind is already cluttered enough. I also like having my stories organized as well, using the inverted pyramid, of course. I like having a plan laid out for me as well, one where I can see what's coming up and prepare for it. It makes my life easier because I know when to schedule what.

These are just some aspects of my personality that help me in my industry, of course. I didn't mention extreme determination or passion, which I have about my field or else I wouldn't be going into it. These qualities also carry over into the public relations side of my career, because most of my PR work is derived from my journalism background. It's quite interesting to see how my personality fits in with my field. It just shows that I have made the right choice for me.

My Professional "Aha" Moment

I already posted this to my Tumblr, but I felt it should be posted here too, to my professional blog. It explains how I got into the field I did, and the career choices I passed up along the way. Hope you enjoy!

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Rarely does a person enter the career they told their relatives they were going to go into when they were young (i.e. when they were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up). I certainly am no exception. When I was four I told my grandparents I wanted to go into meteorology, and here I am attending university for my last year for my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

The switch from meteorology to journalism wasn’t a simple transition. Between then, I had several different occupations in mind for what I wanted to be: a travel writer, an archaeologist, and a psychologist.

The idea for travel writing came after a three-week adventure through Europe when I was 12. I love writing. I’ve been doing it ever since I was 3 and trying to learn how to write in cursive. I kept journals throughout my life and wanted to have stories published and become a writer in general (in addition to the meteorology gig). I had to face the facts, though. Writing doesn’t pay the big bucks unless you were lucky. I severely doubted my luck.

Around the same time, I had aspirations of becoming an archaeologist. I had this fascination with Ancient Egypt as well as World War II. I wanted to go on excavations and find jewelry and other things, maybe some bombshells in Germany, something! I wanted to have my own little museum of treasures in my home, but I found out that you don’t really get to keep the stuff you find (darn that childhood rule of finders keepers). That idea flew out the window, and I began to think about becoming a psychologist.

Psychology was a rash decision itself. I always listened to other people’s problems and offered them advice (which I don’t follow myself even though it works for everyone else). I didn’t think about the amount of schooling it would take to get there, nor did I really know what field of psychology I wanted to go into. Thank God my high school offered journalism, or I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I suppose as a small point I should mention how I went from straight journalism to going for journalism with a public relations. I had to pick a related area, and I figured I could become a publicist for someone. Maybe I would move to London or New York, somewhere, and become Jason Statham’s or Jensen Ackles’ publicist (only in my dreams). I took Public Relations I at my university last year, and realized this was what I wanted to do. I now plan on graduating next year with my degree, and moving out to Vegas soon after.

The key lesson to take from this is not to settle your heart on one profession unless you are absolutely sure this is what you want to do and are dedicated to the chosen field. Do something you’re going to love 10, 20, even 50 years down the road. I’m planning on it, and I couldn’t be more excited.

What I've Learned During The Last Three Years or Journalism Education

1. Be thankful for criticism. It may seem like the professor or editor is being mean and harsh about your writing, but there are certain standards in the business. They are honing your skills so you don't land flat on your face in the real world.

2. Save the French for the French. The French add additional worlds to phrases that we don't (i.e. they say "the room for class" and we say "classroom"). Lady X of Y Township is always Y Township resident Lady X.

3. The Associated Press Stylebook is your bible. Keep it by your bed at all times, and take it with you on vacation. You never know when the paper or magazine is going to need a last-minute revision or story, and that stylebook is going to be your best friend.

4. Journalism is creative writing. You don't have to stick to the same boring news stories without details. Liven it up a bit with the use of senses and imagery.

5. Just like in photography, journalism has a rule of thirds. Interview three of each type of person (i.e. wives, husbands, children) or one of at least three types of people (i.e. one husband, one wife, one child). This keeps the story from being stale or being biased by only talking to one group of people.

6. Edit, edit, edit. Wait a while after typing your story before you give it a good look-over. Nothing is worse than when you want to say "public" and it comes off as something totally different. Not only does your credibility go down, but so does the credibility of whatever publication you're working for or submitted to.

7. Be ready to have to defend yourself to your contacts, your readers...anyone, really. You will always be questioned on where you obtained your information, why you published this, etc. etc. No one said this job would be easy.