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Reflecting On My Job Interview

c8linbaker

I chose to interview for the role of 'Social Media Journalist'. I chose this job because after reading the description I decided it was the most fitting to my abilities. The description states 'In this role you will be responsible for newsgathering via social media', I have professional accounts on a variety of platforms for my work; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. As well as having several social media accounts for recreational use of which I’ve accumulated a few thousand followers. This allows me to easily navigate social media platforms and need little to no training.


In order to prepare for this interview I looked at the 'Skills and Experience' section of the job description and listed reasons I was well suited to that particular skill. I also made a note of skills that I was not as advanced in so I could make a note in my interview that I planned on improving them within the company. For example:


A great written and verbal communicator

-I always make sure to communicate as clearly as possible with my peers as well as tutors on projects. 
-I want to make sure there is no miscommunication which ends up slowing the project down. 
-It’s important everyone is comfortable with their position.

Passionate about social media & An established social media presence.

-I have professional accounts on a variety of platforms for my work;
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 
-I also have several social media platforms for recreational use of which I’ve accumulated a few thousand followers so I find myself passionate about social media and find it generally easy to navigate.

Self-motivated and creative, with plenty of story ideas

-I find myself rather self-motivated, I'm always trying to one up myself and produce the best work I can.
-With regard to story ideas I do find it impossible not to find something to write about because I have many interests that have a wide range of possibilities to write about.
-Feminism for example is something I'm quite keen to talk about and there's so many different angles you can take that it's almost impossible for there to never be a new story as such regarding feminism.

Ability to write high quality at speed.

-I often find that I have projects with a quick turnaround resulting in me having limited time to research and write an article yet I still make sure that it’s to the best of my ability as prioritise I quality over quantity.

Track record of delivering imaginative content.

-I’ve produced many different types of content such as articles on Hook-up Culture and Its Consequences to the cancellation of women in social media from a feminist perspective, op-eds on men's mental health to the UK vape crisis, a variety of podcasts on feminism and video work on Nottingham’s pride parade to the 20mph speed limits in Wales. I have a wide range of ideas that I believe to be quite imaginative.

Interested in News, Current Affairs and Storytelling

-I definitely have an interest in current affairs and storytelling, it’s the main reason I chose to go into journalism.
-Sometimes it can be put across in a rather monotone and confusing way for young people but I want to change that and make it understandable for young people as they are the future of this country so it's somewhat worrying when politics is given no interest because the way it's presented is too complicated.

Organised

-I do find myself to be quite an organised person, it’s something that’s essential really to being a journalist having so many projects on the go with a very short turn around.

●Able to build strong relationships with key individuals and organisations

- I think I would excel in building strong relationships, so far there hasn't been any chance for me to build any relationships as such but when needs be I can be a confident and outgoing person while remaining sensible and feel I'd be capable of making such relationships is needed.
-I would like to better my experience of building strong relationships with key individuals within the company

● Experience in hard news writing and breaking news.

-I believe myself fully equipped to write hard news and breaking news I've had quite a bit of experience writing hard news such as articles and op-eds on feminism, men's mental health, and LGBTQ+ issues. Breaking news however, I have not had an opportunity to write yet. I do think of myself as fully able due to having experience in turning my current work in to meet quick deadlines.

● Good understanding of web and social analytics.

-Growing up in a generation that's on social media 24/7 I feel that I'm fully capable of understanding the web. I also fully understand the use of social analytics and would be more than happy to put that into use.
(Social media analytics is the ability to gather and find meaning in data gathered from social channels to support business decisions)

●Relevant knowledge in the area of digital journalism.

-Digital journalism is somewhat my specialty, I've never created any aspect of journalism that wasn't digital so I do feel that I indeed have the relevant knowledge for this aspect of the job.


I made sure to print these bullet points off and take it into the interview so I was well prepared to answer any question thrown at me. I also made a point of giving examples of when I used these skills, I thought that giving examples was a good way to show my experience, knowledge, and passion for social media journalism.


At this given moment in time I was unable to provide evidence for 'Able to build strong relationships with key individuals and organisations', and 'NCTJ qualification or equivalent'. The failure to build strong relationships is not for lack of me trying. I have reached out to several individuals such as university lecturers and small business owners yet none of them have taken it upon themselves to reply. However, I have not given up and continue to persevere. An NCTJ qualification is something I lack as it is acquired through university, I have not yet been but I am planning to in September 2024. Otherwise, I feel my skillset is up to the job.


Throughout the interview I felt that my strengths were politeness, eye-contact, sufficient preparation, and enthusiasm for the job. However, I did become overwhelmed early on in the interview which lead to me getting quite emotional. This did not hold me back as I chose to persevere throughout the rest of the interview. I managed to get back on track and answer every question efficiently. Another weakness I met was not asking a question at the end. In previous interviews I have asked a question at the end, this was a mistake that was very much not expected. However, I know to learn from this mistake in future endeavours.


From this process I have learnt that as a positive I put the upmost effort into the preparation of an interview, and as a negative I need to focus on the ability to build strong relationships with key individuals and organisations. This is not easily done as I have contacted many people yet none of them have replied, but I continue to try. I have also learnt that I don't too well under pressure, as mentioned previously I became very overwhelmed early on in the interview. This was unexpected but it taught me to take a deep breath, focus on the questions at hand and answer them the best I can.

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