Pat Henderson, 2010 Alumnus, Shares Advice On Networking and the Job Search
When Pat Henderson found a great job in his dream location—New York City—he did everything he could to get noticed.
Shortly after graduating from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism last spring with a degree in broadcast journalism, Henderson came across a job listing for NY1 news.
He quickly filled out the online application, but he said he never got a response. Then he went a step further and found the contact information for the person conducting the interviews.
“I did some cold calling, but when that didn’t work I went on LinkedIn and found a friend who had a connection at NY1 and had my friend introduce me,” Pat said. “After that, the NY1 contact called me and got me an interview and I was hired a week later!”
Although networking was the most effective way to get his foot in the door, Pat says experience was key for landing the job.
“I think what they really liked about my resume was the fact that I had a variety of experiences in news. I had several local news internships, a network news internship and several other small internships on top of my co-curricular work at WOUB (the student-run broadcast news station on campus)” he said.
After starting as a freelance reporter for NY1, Henderson was quickly hired on staff covering Manhattan community events, crime, high profile court cases, politics and, as he put it, “anything and everything you can imagine.”
“I’ve covered tons of cool stories this summer including Osama Bin Laden’s death from the World Trade Center site, the Anthony Weiner scandal, the NY state gay marriage from inside the stone wall, the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sex scandal, the earthquake and hurricane Irene,” Henderson said. “I’ve been really lucky to be able to be on-scene for so many huge stories.”
So what was the key to success? Experience, experience, experience!
“I was able to jump right into things without much transition,” Pat said. “My boss really liked my work ethic and knowledge of how things work in local news, so they hired me on full time after a month of freelancing. And I have to say, I love benefits!”
When on campus, Henderson was involved with RTDNA (Radio Television Digital News Association), WOUB, the Global Leadership Center, and the honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi.
“All these organizations helped me in different ways, but in general they helped me to become more prepared by honing my communication and technical skills as well as giving me the professional know-how to maneuver in the business world,” he said.
However, he says advisers and professors at Scripps might have been the most important element.
“The school taught me so much about networking and professionalism and I would argue that that knowledge is just as, if not more, valuable than the practical and technical skills I learned,” Henderson said.
So what’s Henderson’s word of advice to incoming journalism freshmen?
“Don’t waste any time and get as much experience as possible.”
Pat Henderson’s resume tips:
A resume is a one-page advertisement for you. This is (many times) the only thing they have to judge you off.
Don’t put classes or GPA on there. You are trying to sell yourself as a young professional, not a student.
Make a personalized resume for every job or internship you apply for. Create a folder on your computer and save each copy of any resumes and cover letters you send out and when you sent them—so you have that to reference if you get a call.
I have a lot of advice when it comes to resumes, but it usually depends on the person and the internship. People can feel free to email me if they want any help: patrickbhenderson@gmail.com.
This post was written by Tyler Duprey, a senior studying public relations journalism.
