Caroline Ceniza-Levine, media recruiting expert

(Dec. 8, 2008) I ran campus recruiting for Time Inc from 2002-2007 and also recruited interns and entry-level briefly for ABC News but my first background was financial services so I came to media as an outsider observing in.  What struck me most about journalism jobs was the range of experience and skills that interns/ entry-level brought.  Unlike banking where there is very much a rigid profile, in journalism, there is no one background -- journalism major isn't required, advanced degree isn't required, school paper is typical but may be substituted by good freelancing.  There is also no one career path -- many freelance first but some jump in on the admin side.  So the verdict is out on what the best tactics are.  Networking is huge; editors move constantly and assign stories to people they know.  Staying in the game via good organizational and money mgt skills is huge; the best entry-level and interns I saw were able to juggle school, making money and ad hoc jobs.  The only common denominator I saw was that you should be writing all the time -- with so many online sites there really is no excuse not to have current clips.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart (www.sixfigurestart.com), a career coaching firm that specializes in working with Gen Y young professionals.   Formerly in corporate HR and retained search, Caroline has recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide, and others.  Caroline is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Professional Development at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs and writes an Executive Careers column for CNBC.com, the Classified Information career column for Conde Nast's Portfolio.com, a college recruiting blog for Vault.com, and the Ask A Recruiter column for TheGlassHammer.com (2008 Stevie Award winner for Women's Blog of the Year).