Students enrolled in a journalism program at their college need to start working on their skills while they are still in school. Due to the growth of the Internet many people now demand to have access to the latest news all around the world. Because of this, many people have entered college looking to get a journalism degree and begin covering all sorts of exciting stories. Although it makes for an exciting career, due to the number of people graduating with journalism degrees, a student needs an extra edge to get the best job available.

One of the best ways to gain experience as well as gaining insight into the world of journalism is to work as an intern. An inexperienced journalist is unlikely to be hired when compared against a number of experienced journalists. For students looking for experience, a school newspaper or magazine may be a good start, but working with a local news station or newspaper will be even better. Students that can show an employer that they have previous work experience will show that they have had an exposure to the field. An internship is also a great way to establish a reputation with a company, and will make it easier to land a job in the company after school.

If a student cannot find an internship, the next best thing is to work for free. Although is may not sound that great, it is still a way to gain valuable experience and shows possible employers that a student has dedication to the profession. Many times small news organizations such as a town newspaper will not have the funds necessary to pay for an intern, but have a variety of jobs that need to be completed. This includes answering phones, covering night meetings, or even answering the phones. The experience provided will be valuable, as well as building a reputation with the organization for a letter of recommendation.

A final option is to work as a freelance writer. Many news organizations and websites that do not have any open positions may still need more stories written then their staff can handle. Often times they will pay people for each article that they accept and print in the paper. This provides another way to gain experience, as well as keeping a foot in the door of many organizations for a future job.

It may be difficult to break into the field of journalism as a recent graduate, but with a little bit of experience a student can land a great job in no time. It is important to remember to start small and not compete with the experienced journalists applying at major news organizations.