If all goes to plan I will have a Bachelor of Journalism in less than six months, which is kind of scary when it feels like I only a graduated from high school the other day.
I’m in the middle of the period of 21st Birthday parties. I spend most Saturday nights surrounded by 20-something people that have completed their degree but are now left with no job, or still no definitive idea as to what career they want.
At my age should I be worrying about getting a full time job, or travelling the world, or both?
Throwing myself into work experience I keep coming across these lucky journalists that ‘just happen to – funnily enough – not have a journalism degree’ but just learnt everything when they ‘landed’ in a journalism role by pure chance. For example, Jane Cowan from the ABC who spoke to my class earlier this semester, or the beauty editor at SHOP ‘Til You Drop. And yet, there are hundreds of journalism students that graduate each year and don’t get a lucky break.
You could say that I am jealous – and it’s true. Sometimes I wish I could just close my eyes and wake up in 10 years – happy, married and a successful journalist, either as the editor of a fashion magazine or a news reporter on television. But then again I am excited, although mostly scared, to see where I end up when I finish university.
Experience, experience, experience is what we have been told by my lecturers, tutors and everyone else to get into the competitive industry. We need to have pieces of work to show we are interested in and good at writing. In preparation of wowing potential employees I started a blog called My Fashion Dreams and Truths.
I must admit that at first it was a requirement for one of my subjects. I had no idea what I was going to write about and thought of bloggers as nerds who didn’t want to get out into the real world. I was wrong.
I love clothes, accessories, op-shops, bargains, sales, high heels, sandals, markets, fashion festivals, models, celebrities and anything else to do with fashion. My fashion blog is all about the stuff I wish I had, for example from the runways of Milan to the things I do buy such as cheap second hand dress from local vintage stores.
In journalistic terms, it is probably not that well written or interesting for many people. But, I lay out the vital fashion facts that I believe fashion-minded people want to know; price, fabric, location and descriptions. I find myself always going straight to the images in magazines so I have tried to keep my blog full of vibrant photos.
Who knows if my blog will make or break my career when I start applying for full time work? Some of the best advice I have been given about blogs is not to put it on your resume unless you are 110% sure that your employees will be impressed with your skills. For example, if I was applying to be a political reporter for the ABC, I would not show them my blog. On the other hand, when applying for work at SHOP ‘Til You Drop or the fashion sections in newspapers, I’m crossing my fingers that my blog shows them my passion and initiative.
Lydia Sawtell is a final year Bachelor of Journalism student at La Trobe University. You can check out her blog here.
