Q. I just want to first say I like how your column is so adaptive to the time of year. I've enjoyed reading a lot about finding internships or jobs after graduating, as I'm simultaneously going through all this myself. I had one quick question that is also related to this specific time of year. In particular, I'm wondering how to capitalize on a good experience with a spring career fair.

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Recently my school took part in a regional career fair (Central New York Communications Consortium), and I was selected for an interview with Conde Nast. It was specifically for an editorial position, and I left the interview feeling really, really good about how it went. I followed up quickly that week by mailing a thank you letter, and when I left the initial interview, my contact said to drop her a line (via e-mail) closer to graduation.

I thought through my e-mail carefully -- I covered my professional approach toward graduation, touched on some of the interview, reiterated my desire to be with Conde Nast and added a little bit of information about my personal life. Then, to my surprise, she responded with just a simple:

Hi --

Great to hear everything is going well. Your thank you note did arrive. Good luck finishing out the semester.

Should I be discouraged? Should I have waited a little longer before contacting her? Should I simply follow-up with a "thanks for the well wishes, I'll make sure to keep in touch?" I was just caught a little off-guard by the quick and short response because I thought the initial interview went very well. Maybe I just had the wrong initial impression, but I wanted to seek out some second opinions because this type of job process (going through the career fair avenue) probably takes a little more work and I don't want to invest a majority of my job search efforts if my chances are already non-existent.

Thanks for any insight you may have.

Confused Career Fair Goer


A. I can see why this struck you as discouraging, and I confess that I have probably done the same thing.

I'll try to explain how this happens, but first I'll answer your question. I would persist. Your e-mail reply sounds right, and it would be a mistake to let this connection whither because of what sounds like a hastily written answer.

Joe Grimm Three things come to mind. One is that you, like a lot of people graduating this month, could be a candidate for either a job or an internship. A smart editor will refrain from putting you in one bucket or the other. So, while you might be excellent for one type of opportunity, if it does not exist, you might not yet be qualified for the other.

Another thing you've probably encountered is an editor who is encouraging and enthusiastic. Yes, there are some. We sometimes talk about people who are hard to read. That does not just mean they are all sour poker faces. It can mean that some editors unfailingly try to give people a positive interview and a boost. They want to represent their companies well, and they want to help interviewees' confidence. But they might give you the impression that you're closer to being hired than is true.

The third thing is that this person might just be incredibly busy and might be getting a lot of e-mail. She is trying to answer promptly and she is still being positive, but her brevity has been jarring.

Very little of this guesswork has to do with you. Hang in there. Persistence can strengthen that connection. Abandonment just won't.

Coming Monday: She has her hands full with a job, grad studies and a child. How will she get the experience she needs to break in professionally?

Q. First of all, I really appreciate your column. Your answers have given me some great insight.

I now have a problem for which I'm in need of advice.

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Until last week, I loved my job as a news reporter for a legitimate news Web site. But last week, the private owner forced my editor, whom I've known for years and who is one of the best editors I've ever had, to resign without warning. The reason is that my editor refused to let the advertising and sales side cross over into the editorial side.

I've come to understand that this has been a growing problem, and I'm honestly fearful that the two people the owner appointed as co-editors will not do anything to keep such an important separation.

As a die-hard journalist, I'm appalled and worried that I may soon be asked to do public relations/fluff stories. Though I'm looking for another job, what can I do in the meantime to stay true to my values? Thank you in advance.

All The News That's Fit To Print

A. Let your actions speak for you.

Keep it accurate, balanced and fair. If you have always acted as an honest and ethical journalist, there is no reason to make a declaration.

Joe Grimm That will come, though, if someone asks you to do something that crosses the line.

For example, if someone asks you to write an article about a company because it buys an ad, you will then have to speak up. You'll have to explain why that is not being straightforward to readers. Explain; don't lecture. Insist that you'll still do your best journalism for the site and be an advocate for the value of good journalism. Be calm and resolute.

I hope you can find a smoother transition than your editor did, but that might not be possible. It also won't be up to you.

Coming Friday: This graduating student followed up a very encouraging interview with an e-mail and got a perfunctory reply. Did the candidate do something wrong?

Q. I'm finishing graduate school soon, where I have learned almost everything I know about journalism. My undergrad was creative writing. I'm confident in my writing and reporting skills, but I was unable to land an internship at any of the big papers in the area I live in, although I did started looking late.

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I ended up settling for interning at a music magazine. It's about two years old and local, but it's going national. There are a couple of good writers there, but often interviews with bands are in Q & A format. I expect to get some opportunity to do original writing, but it's more alternative/creative than serious journalism. Also, I think much of my writing there will be online more than in the print publication.

At the same time I got a part-time reporting job with an international company. This job offers little opportunity for original reporting. My job is to find stories, preferably breaking news, and rewrite them adding context. The company then sells my stories to outlets looking for content.

My question is, with this kind of experience starting out, is it diminishing my chances of getting original reporting jobs in the future? Ideally I'd like to write original news or features for a print publication. Up until now my reporting has been original, serious journalism for the school paper, my graduate project and journalism classes.

Uncertain of Current Journalistic Path

A. Congratulations on completing your graduate degree and on landing some opportunities.

Joe Grimm While neither of these jobs is the ideal you describe, both can take you there. They could also put you in a position to take advantage of the way news media are evolving. I see global, online, niche and editing elements in what you describe. That's not all bad.

See what you can do, working within the context of these organizations, to nudge your assignments closer to what you'd like to do, and learn everything you can. Pitch short stories in addition to Q & A items; try to add some reporting when you add context.

Almost no one's first job is their dream job. We adapt, we move to new jobs. Your advantage is that you are doing this at a very fluid time.

Grad school has not delivered you to the door of your dream employer, but schools don't tend to do that. They just help you push off in the direction you chose when you selected your program.

Joe on internships: "Breaking In: The JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships."

Coming Thursday: This Web journalist lost a great editor when the owner pressed for more advertising involvement in editorial. She now fears she will be asked to compromise her journalistic values.

Q. I spent about 20 years as a freelancer and stringer for various magazines and newspapers. More recently I worked part-time for one publication at a time for about 10 years.

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I'm teaching part-time now, which I love, but I miss the writing. I want to go back to freelance writing, especially for magazines, but I've lost all my old contacts. In the past, editors passed my name along to one another, so I've had little experience with query letters.

How do I protect my story ideas while sending out query letters? And, can I use magazine clips that are nearly 10 years old and not online, or should I stick with smaller, more recent online and newsletter features?

Thanks,

Fran

A. A well-written proposal should be enough to get you the assignment. So put your effort into that, not into running copy machines.

Joe Grimm As for trusting editors with your story ideas, I just think you have to. What are you going to do, ask them to promise they won't steal? Reputable editors won't steal, but they might get offended by a request that they behave ethically.

The small number of actions initiated over idea theft, in contrast to the number of stories pitched, suggests this doesn't happen as often as you might fear. The more specific your pitches are, the more likely they are to work and to be unique enough to be original.

Coming Wednesday: She is about to get out of grad school and has two opportunities, though neither is quite what she had hoped for.

Q. Thanks so much for your excellent column.

I'm a young reporter, a few years out of college. I've worked for the last 18 months at an alternative five-day daily in a metropolitan market, and I've been offered a job by a prestigious local competitor -- an online-only publication that consistently breaks our city's most significant government and business news. The job and the business/government beat I would take sound excellent.

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My main concern stems from the fact that this online publication is geared toward leaders in government and business, and charges a hefty subscription fee to access content. Its readers are influential, but there are fewer than 2,000 of them. While working at this publication would be respected locally, I'll be moving to a new city in two or three years after my wife finishes her graduate degree. We have no way of knowing whether she'll be offered a residency nearby or in a big or small town anywhere else in the country.

I'm worried that having this small online publication on my resume wouldn't do much to help me get a new job in a different town. But on the other hand, this business is changing fast, and niche reporting experience in a large market might be more valued than diverse clips from an alternative daily. I love journalism and reporting, and want to do everything I can to make myself employable in a new town. It took me a year to break into my current market, and I cringe at the thought of wasting that time again.

Do you have any thoughts for me?

Thanks very much. Your column is a wonderful resource.

Pondering

A. I like the way you think. It is far wiser to try to form a career strategy in light of where we are headed than where we have been.

Joe Grimm If your long-term goal is to work for a large, general-interest publication, this move seems to take you in the wrong direction. If, however, you are open to working in publications similar to the one you're contemplating, this could be a good bridge.

Considerations:

• Breaking news online is more important all the time.
  
• If the subject matter of this publication is compatible with subjects you want to cover, that's a plus.
  
• Affiliated publications in other markets could be more likely to hire you in two or three years and extend benefits like seniority if you get in the company now.
  
• Is there a better, third alternative -- something that would be challenging and fun but with a higher profile?
  

From what you have written, it sounds as though you are excited about this opportunity from a purely here-and-now perspective. That is significant.

Coming Tuesday: After a break of several years, Fran would like to resume freelancing. But the network has dried up and Fran is concerned about editors who might steal ideas.