Students: our computer experience is obvious
Steve Safran April 22nd, 2007
(This piece originally appeared in the AR&D Media 2.0 Intel Report, April 20, 2007, and has been edited slightly.)
News Directors absolutely want to hire reporters, anchors and producers with online experience. Many consider it essential now, as indeed it is. Part of the transition to becoming a 24/7 local media operation is having people with online skills who don’t have preconceived notions that “TV comes first and everything else comes second.” So NDs are giving the edge to candidates who have computer chops. But, as Cory noted in his April 16th entry, many of the kids coming out of school don’t list their computer experiences on their resumes. Why?
At the RTNDA@NAB convention, students post their resumes on a bulletin board outside the meeting halls in the hope that a news director will take notice. Bergman noted that, of the emerging reporters’ resumes, “less than a quarter make any mention of the web… (although those people) likely have MySpace or Facebook blogs… (and) a lack of web experience on a resume is a non-starter for me if I were hiring for a TV reporter position — especially in a smaller market.”
So I poked around a bit at Wednesday’s career fair. Why the disconnect? If news directors wanted computer experience, and the young reporters had it, why weren’t the job candidates listing it?
It turns out that young reporters think it’s so obvious they have computer experience that they don’t even think about including it on a resume.
Here’s what Stevi Nelson, a broadcast communications major at Westminster College, wrote on her blog after reading Cory’s entry:
“I think, as an employer, you can pretty much assume that every recent college grad has experience with e-mail, Microsoft word, PowerPoint, and the internet (including either myspace, face book, blogging, or all of the above)… So, if you don’t see computer experience listed on a resume, it’s pretty safe to assume that the grad wanted to save the space for something that sets his/her resume apart from the rest.”
Isn’t that fascinating? She considers online experience so humdrum that she’d rather use her resume space to list something that “sets her apart.” Talk about a disconnect! It’s that very online experience that sets apart this generation from the existing generation of newsies.
So while we’re looking at resumes that don’t list computer experience and thinking “non-starter,” they’re writing resumes and thinking “well, OBVIOUSLY, I have computer experience, so I better put down something that will set me apart.”
The lesson - for both sides - is the classic “don’t assume.” News Directors should specify in their job openings that they are looking for people with online experience. That can be as simple as having a MySpace page, a blog or a Facebook page. Students, in turn, should not assume we’re all that bright. They should understand that their online skills are the most valuable part of their background right now.
19 Comments Add your own
1. Michael Rosenblum | April 22nd, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I cannot imagine hiring someone who is not ‘computer literate’, whatever that means. I cannot even imagine running into someone who is not computer literate at this point. No?
2. Amanda | April 22nd, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Steve, I work in education and I would not put too much stock in the assumption that kids fresh out of school “know computers, internet, etc”
For example, here in my territory - Eastern Washington State (the state, not the university), kids are taught computer by rote out of a book by teachers who quite frankly, are afraid of computers.
You change one thing on their computer (both kids and teachers) and they are lost because it doesn’t follow the straight and narrow steps they were taught (a shining example is to remove the shortcut to MS Word off the Windows desktop - I’ve seen thousands of high schoolers who would not look in the start menu for it and instead whine for a tech to come and fix their “broken” computer).
If you want kids who “know computers and the internet” fresh out of school - you’ll need to wait another 15 years until the teachers who where hired during the 1970’s hiring spree retire and the younger teachers who are not afraid of technology step up to their place in the seniority ranks.
If you think they are going to learn computers and the web in college, from looking at the course schedules for various degrees, guess again - unless they minor in something web related.
3. Jason | April 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 pm
And I think the student blogger (who triple posted her blog entry) has the wrong idea about which web skills make you stand out. Knowing MS Word is not important. Knowing newsroom computer systems is important (ENPS, Avid, etc). Knowing HTML or how to design a web page would make you stand out. Using RSS feeds and a newsreader to track top stories would be noteworthy, as would participating in a network of bloggers to develop new sources.
Taking a course in writing news for the web would be noteworthy, as well.
4. Dave | April 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 pm
As a student I only just recently put my 3-year-old blog on my résumé. Until I saw what was done in an online newsroom where I interned (and am hoping to work), I hadn’t really realised that, like some people have been saying, I already had the skills they were looking for. I thought my blog would be looked at by traditional news organisations as a bit of self-involvement, and they would rather just see the ‘real’ news experience I had - simply the newspaper article, or the show reel.
But it’s only because of my blog that I have a basic knowledge of HTML coding, I use RSS to publish my own blog - not just read other published content, I have experience with varied video and audio editing software from experimenting with podcasts and vlogging, and have recently gained a little more experience with industry programs like Avid, CyberPage, and Premiere because of my internships.
It’s true, I did think it was obvious an employer would know I understood computers - because I hadn’t thought beyond the ‘Word’, ‘Excel’, ‘I can email’ sort of knowledge. I thought they would have no interest in the experience I’ve gained through a blog. I’ve changed my mind though - I know I’ve got what they want, I gained some of that experience through my blog, and I need to say that in my résumé.
5. Howard Owens | April 23rd, 2007 at 5:05 am
There’s a difference between computer experience and online experience.
And there’s a difference between online experience and a passion of online news.
Online passion may appear on a resume, or maybe not, but it certainly will appear in Google.
6. Bryan Murley | April 23rd, 2007 at 5:50 am
I think the assumption here is incorrect. I’ve come across something of a disconnect between what students do in their own time and what they consider important in their career. Until fairly recently (and still the case more than we’d all like), i know of a lot of students who use text messaging, facebook, im, etc. every day in their personal lives, but didn’t see the connection between those things and their position as print or broadcast journalists.
Likewise, it’s only fairly recently that a focus has been placed on students knowing these types of skills to get a job. As recently as October 2005 I was at a convergence conference where hiring editors from broadcast and newspapers in Utah were telling the conference - “we don’t so much want new hires with these tech skills, just good basic reporting skills.”
So there’s a lot of “catching up” that needs to happen on everyone’s part.
7. Rob | April 23rd, 2007 at 8:01 am
Most students would discount their actions on the web as a hobby, not as anything work-related. That’s the first disconnect right there … anything from knowing how to create and publish a blog entry, upload pictures to Flickr or video to YouTube to modifying the code to change the appearance of your MySpace page shows you have some talent in understanding how the web works.
The second disconnect would be if an employer doesn’t ask about web experience, a potential candidate won’t list it on their resume.
Third, there are some people who might not want to list their web experience because they don’t want to be embarrassed by it. Note to all students: If you want a job in the media industry where your life will be under a microscope, try avoiding those tequila-fueled photo ops in New Orleans and Cabo that one of your close friends will be uploading to Flickr as soon as you get home.
Fourth disconnect … employers might want to hear about it, but students often don’t get exposure to it in the classroom. There might be classes in computer programming, there might be opportunities to post stories to a college news website, but is there training that combines those two disciplines - technology and publishing - to give students a well-rounded appreciation of the web and its role in their careers?
8. saundra | April 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
Okay, how about us old farts who are trying to keep up with these young whipper snappers, to keep our resumes current and to avoid being labeled digital dinosaurs? What course or courses should we enroll in that will scream, “I’m keeping up” to the next employer? What online experience from our personal lives is relevant to add a resume full of traditional call letters?
9. Steve Safran | April 23rd, 2007 at 8:52 am
I’m not talking about MS Word or Excel. LR doesn’t preach “know spreadsheet tables and paragraph indentation to make yourself a better journalist!”
The fact is that students are *online* and engaging in online behaviors that are relevant to new media. That’s the disconnect I’m talking about. They assume we all know how to use the computer as a social networking tool. We do not. We have 1.0 websites, we do not know 2.0.
They don’t need to know computer programming. I’d expect any kid with those kinds of skills to have that on a resume. But if they have been setting up Facebook, MySpace, Blogger pages, WordPress stuff or their own classroom intranets - TELL US.
Rob has it right in comment #7 - this shows a skill in the web that they discount which is actually valuable.
10. Rob | April 23rd, 2007 at 9:01 am
Saundra, here are a few ideas that are by no means comprehensive but may help you get started. These ideas have helped a few of the reporters I’ve worked with.
First idea … keep reading Lost Remote.
I know its a shameless plug for this site, but I stay fresh on industry trends by coming here daily to find out what’s going on. There are some other good portals out there, some of which you can get to from here, to get more information on how the web is impacting / influencing the media industry.
Second idea might be to start blogging. Find a site where you can post blogs and learn everything there is to learn from blogging … how to upload photos to your blog, how to add links within your blog, et cetera.
Third, if you have a digital camera that you can connect to a computer (with ‘net access), or better yet a cellphone with a camera, get in the habit of taking pictures in the field (if you’re a reporter / photog). Make it part of your news gathering process to take pictures primarily for the web so your site gets imagery from breaking news ASAP. You might also post pics on your blog - if you’ve started one - or get a Flickr account.
Fourth, more often than not, people who take TV scripts and re-write them for the web have to do a good deal of re-writing. Writing on the web (in my experience) is akin to print journalism … long form, more details, you have to write out what’s going on instead of relying on video (”As you can see in this video …”). If your station has a web staff, check with them on how they write stories for the website. Try it out yourself and you’ll see there are differences between writing for broadcast and the web.
Fifth, get a Google account and learn all the ins and outs of building a customized homepage. Some swear by independent news readers to aggregate content, but Google is an easy, turnkey solution to learn how to customize a page and aggregate content. That will help you understand RSS feeds and aggregation of content for starters.
Sixth, think beyond the newslink. Many reporters might think that giving a producer or the web staff a newslink is being in touch with the web. Use the web to do research and then build up that additional information to give to the web producers to further enhance your story when it gets put on your station’s website.
There are probably a lot more ideas out there from everyone else, but those few might help you get started.
11. Mindy McAdams | April 23rd, 2007 at 9:32 am
If the job applicant ONLY has “e-mail, Microsoft word, PowerPoint, and the internet (including either myspace, face book, blogging, or all of the above)”, then he or she does NOT actually have any important Web or Internet skills. Might as well NOT list those. What you want them to have are HTML, CSS, XML, database management, Final Cut Pro, video compression for online, content management, community management and — of course — SEO. And the fact is, very FEW of the broadcast news students have ANY of those skills — with the exception of Final Cut in some programs (but not all). So yeah, if they didn;t list any skills — you can assume they DON’T have them. Just my two cents.
12. Adam | April 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 am
What you old farts have to realize is that listing “I use” Facebook, Myspace, youtube ect. on your resume is like you listing use of telephone, television, radio ect. on your resume.
These websites are more like hobbies then skills, it doesnt take an MIT genesis to post a profile on myspace, it is very simple you follow the step-by-step instructions.
If employers are looking for these social networking websites on resumes then they need a reality check. ANYONE YOUR HIRE COMING OUT OF COLLEGE HAS THIS “EXPERIENCE”
You old farts can take a lesson from Ferris Bueller “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
Go on myspace and create a profile
experiance
13. Danny Sanchez | April 23rd, 2007 at 11:43 am
Funny enough, I ended up getting an online internship at a large news site a couple years back because I HAPPENED to list that I was the (self-taught) Webmaster for a school organization. I only listed it because I had later become the president. Yet, that’s how I ended up being a Web producer instead of a metro reporter.
Nevertheless, am I supposed to put that I’m “proficient in AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace” on my resume? Perhaps I think differently because I’m one of those young whippersnappers, but I’d laugh myself silly if I saw something like that on an applicant’s resume.
Just because a student has a MySpace account doesn’t mean he knows a single thing about producing impressive editorial content for the Web. We can’t allow the lack of Web experience in our industry to cause us to be impressed by what really are everyday non-accomplishments. Having a simple Facebook profile is NOT significant online experience for college grads. If a student has graduated from a journalism school, one can safely assume he or she has experience using a computer, unless you know of any j-schools that still rely on — what are those durned things called again … oh yeah– typewriters.
14. Steve Safran | April 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Here, again, I have to counter what seems obvious: nearly any online experience you have will trump the majority of the people in the newsroom. Don’t think knowing how to set up a MySpace page counts as experience? Ask anyone in the newsroom how to do it. They have no idea. Don’t think it’s a big deal to set up a blog? You’re smarter with online skills than 90% of the people in the newsroom.
I love Mindy McAdams’s stuff, and she is teaching all the right things. Yet I am going to disagree with tremendous respect on this point - it’s not as important to me that someone knows coding language as that someone is familiar with what kind of content the audience uses online. She’s right though - if you know FCP or other advanced stuff, by all means list it.
It’s just a tip, jobseekers - you’ll notice that no news director is on here saying : “Yeah - that’s ridiculous. Everyone knows how to set up blogs and webpages.” You may not believe it, you may think it’s silly, and you may - rightly - say “get with it, old people,” but you heard it here on LR: you have the edge.
15. Jason | April 23rd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I’m a reporter in a top 15 market. Trust me, what Safran is saying is true.
16. mark | April 23rd, 2007 at 3:26 pm
This “old fart” has got to second a lot of what I’m reading here, but I want to add a note to Adam: playing the social space is one thing; understanding how these skills apply to journalism (what these folks are trying to get hired for) is another. Example: All my students IM, but when I asked how many had ever done an interview by IM, they looked puzzled. I’ll know my students come to me with computer and internet skills, when they come in understanding not just how to use, but how they can be used.
17. mel taylor | April 23rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
i work in a top 5 market tv station. most are petrified about the web because they feel it will detroy their livelihoods. do they even know what RSS is ? — NO.
18. Rob | April 23rd, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Mel - If they’re petrified and do nothing about it, it will destroy their livelihoods.
19. NE | April 23rd, 2007 at 6:55 pm
I got a comm degree and after reading LR alot and other web sites learning the web seemed like a requirement when advertising goes more and more towards the web and away from TV. Have to stay competative.
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