As a junior in the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism, I feel the constant pressure to be a competitive journalist by seeking hands-on experience in my day-to-day classes, multi-media assignments and internship. Professors constantly harp on the importance of being competitive in order to attain the jobs we want after graduation, but it can become overwhelming to try and be great at everything. The fear of landing a dead-end job is terrifying and all too easy a fate without having an exact career path in mind.
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these pressures and career advice to inspire a more confident approach to finding a successful profession. In America’s first Japanese manga business book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, by Daniel H. Pink, a lighthearted but essential career guide is provided in six simple steps, as told through the perspective of Johnny Bunko. While the main character is an entertaining and identifiable perspective, his issues and concerns don’t quite nail specifics on becoming a successful journalism student, and that’s where I come in, to explain how these six career lessons can be applied to becoming an outstanding student journalist.
Lesson 1: There is no plan
Pink explains that having a plan for a career objective might seem like a good idea, but it generally can never be followed through entirely. People can easily map out the steps for what they think will lead them to a successful career, but the outcome usually doesn’t come out the way it was planned. Pink says, “a plan is like a path,” but only in the figurative sense. The path is really just the key factor on the way to making smart choices.
This theory can remain true for UA journalism students. When beginning the major, a set of guidelines are laid out for students by advisors to create a path for them to decide where in journalism they think they will fit in. Before classes are even selected for first-year student journalists, they are required to decide if a primary focus of print, broadcast or online is right for them. But how can you know yet?
According to Pink, there are two types of reasons for career choices, instrumental reasons and fundamental reasons, which is also applicable for journalism students. Instrumental reasons are motivated by the thought or hope that your choice will lead to something else whether you enjoy it or not, Pink says, and fundamental reasons are fueled by the idea that you think your choice is inherently valuable regardless of what it may lead to.
In my personal experience, I made an instrumental choice when I decided to take a print focus with my journalism major. I figured that writing is the foundation of everything and if I am good at writing than I can certainly tackle the rest.
Pink says that most successful people make decisions for fundamental reasons that often sound foolish to a lot of people and students alike. For me, I think it’s important to gain the basic skills in any field of study regardless of whether or not it’s particularly enjoyable because ultimately it can lead to something more worthwhile. In my journalism experience, the instrumental choice can often lead to a fundamental outcome because once you have a solid foundation of writing skills, you can branch out and venture into other areas of multimedia and broadcast. To me, a print focus creates a more solidified groundwork for journalists and establishes greater credibility for student work.
Lesson 2: Think strengths, not weaknesses
Pink reiterates the conventional wisdom in his book by saying, focus where you are weak to make sure your weaknesses don’t hold you back. He then refutes this idea and emphasizes how successful people do not work so much on what they are bad at, they focus on capitalizing on what they are good at. Pink suggests that in order to standout in the real world and be better than mediocre, people should utilize their strengths to make themselves “insanely great”. In order to achieve this, you must figure out how to match up your passion with your strengths to “find your remarkable”.
As a journalism student, Pink’s idea of focusing on your strengths is absolutely key. It is important to test the waters in each area of journalism, but once you find your niche and really understand what you are best at, you should run with it.
For me, I quickly realized my strength in feature writing for print publication and have set my sights on landing internships and jobs that allow me to show off these skills. I also have found strength in photojournalism and am working hard to develop more multimedia skills to become more competitive in the field. While I still take classes pertaining to other areas of print journalism, feature writing is where I have found my “remarkable” and I know exactly how to make myself “insanely awesome” as a journalist.
Lesson 3: It’s not about you
One of the most rewarding aspects of journalism is being able to inform audiences of important events in society and giving them material that they are interested in reading. That is why there are so many publications that cater to an assortment of interests. There is a huge sense of accomplishment when you know you have provided a reader with a solid piece of writing that adds value to their lives, a crucial point in Pink’s career guide.
Pink says that it is always about helping the client and improving your own life by improving the lives of others. By using your strengths and doing what you love Pink recommends doing work that is worth paying for so that problems can become solved and you can truly help others.
This idea is essential for student journalists. Journalism is no longer a profession that focuses solely on delivering news to the public. For today’s students, it is important to be motivated by the greater standard of providing audiences with information that they care about and that personally affects them.
Why should people care about boring, straight news stories? Unless there is a humanizing factor in a story or project, people are less likely to care and more inclined to stop reading after a few paragraphs, or worse, not read anything at all. This is why it is crucial for student journalists to develop a range of skills in journalism to creatively challenge audiences minds, and make them honestly care about what their reading.
Lesson 4: Persistence trumps talent
While talent is very important in any career, talent alone will not get the job done entirely, according to Pink. The world is filled with talented people who were not persistent on their dreams, gave up and were passed up by people with less talent, but more determination and persistence. This is why Pink says it is important to think about “continuous improvement”.
Regardless of how big or small an improvement can be, any little bit matters and can motivate people to grow as professionals. Pink classifies this type of motivation into two categories, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.
“The more intrinsic motivation you have, the more you are likely to persist,” Pink says. “The more you persist, the more likely you are to succeed.”
This motto hold true for journalists. It is important to be persistent when conducting research and reporting for stories and assignments. It is so easy for people to miss a single email or phone call when they’re functioning on busy schedules. Also, people can tell you “no” when you’re searching for information. Often times these people are wrong and can actually provide you with the information you actually need or tips on whom to contact for additional information. Student journalists must be careful on knowing their rights as reporters because it is possible they are in the right and their sources are in the wrong by trying to withhold information.
Persistence also comes in handy for students whoa re trying to become well rounded and competitive in today’s multimedia intensive society. It takes time to develop the basic groundwork as it is, led alone mastering online, broadcast and other multimedia skills. By taking multiple classes and expanding on each additional skill, students will easily develop competitive skills that will only aid them in landing a good paying job for the future. That’s not to say that these skills will come naturally to all journalism students, but if the effort is there and persistence is applied, then a greater chance for success will exist.
Lesson 5: Make excellent mistakes
Pink says, “if we learn from our mistakes, then can’t we learn even more from our big (excellent) mistakes?”
It is important to think big and take chances when you’re on a professional career path and even as a student in college classes.
Pink quotes Sir Ken Robinson in his book and says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
This is one of my favorite ideas from Pink’s book because I have definitely taken chances with my writing in the journalism department and finished with some pretty rewarding outcomes. Sometimes my ideas don’t always pan out and I don’t always get the A, but at least I know I took a risk and tried something new and creative.
There is nothing worse than conforming to a mold that you think professors or bosses want to see. How will there ever be anything new and innovative for the future if we as students constantly do the same things? I have had several professors encourage me to not only think outside the box, but think from the perspective of inanimate objects to gain an new and innovative concept for a story. Students are always told there are no stupid questions and in journalism there are no stupid ideas. Certain stories don’t always pan out, but it’s fun to write from weird angles and unconventional ideas.
Lesson 6: Leave an imprint
There could not be a more horrible feeling in life than growing old and realizing that you haven’t make an impact, contributed to society, or mattered to anyone.
Pink quotes Sydney J. Harris and says, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”
Once again, Pink is right on target. Journalism would be nothing if its contributors did not take risks and make a difference. Why not go for the impossible and try to contribute quirky ideas and create outlandish projects for the public to see? As Pink says, “why not make a contribution?”
In any profession, Pink explains that we all want to make a contribution, otherwise, getting out of bed seems pointless. If all you’re going to do as a journalism student is go through the motions and aim for the bare minimum, get out now. The same applies for anyone. If you don’t care what kind of grades you get in classes or worry about the quality of material you’re providing for professors, then what is the point?
With only a year remaining in college, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but I know that I can never be sure where I’ll end up. Journalism has provided me with the fundamental skills to be a good writer, and encouraged me to think critically and creatively on every assignment, and that’s really all I need.
