Learn About Editorial Clips and When They Are Needed

Learn About Editorial Clips and When They Are NeededLearn About Editorial Clips and When They Are NeededIf youre interested in getting an editorial job particularly at a magazine or newspaper youll need writing samplesor editorial clips. Editorial clips are, in many ways, a kind of calling card for professional journalists and magazine writers. Hiring managers and editors will often require you to present your writing samples during the interview or send them, with your resume and titelseite letter, via email. Because strong writing samples are essential for getting writing-based jobs, you may need to think about trying to freelance to beef up (or start on) your collection of writing samples. What Kind of Writing Samples You Should Have Your clips should demonstrate your strongest work. Ideally, they will be from an actual publication its NOT a good idea to rely on unpublished pieces from college or your personal life and speak to the kind of job youre applying for. In other words, if youre applying for sportswriter positions, it would be a little odd to have a clip file full of, say, articles on fashion. That said, your clips dont have to be too focused on a topic. Since sportswriter positions call for reporting, a clip collection of straight-up news stories will demonstrate youre a strong reporter. Stories From Your College Paper If you have strong clips you published in your college newspaper they might be impressive enough to help you land a job. But, in this day and age, lots of college students interested in print media jobs do internships and, many of them, publish things here and there for other publications. Although editors always say the important thing is the strength of the piece of writing, elend where its from, having clips from recognizable publications helps. Editors are often impressed with undergrads who have shown the initiative, or have the experience, to have been published outside their college paper. If youre not applying to a job straight out ofcollegethough, you shouldnt be using clips from your days on the undergrad newspaper. If you have a few (or many) years of experience in the workforce even if youre a career-changer you need to have non-collegiate work. How Clips Should Be Presented Many job listings will require that applicants email a resume, coverletter, and clips. Some people will accept clips as portable document format files you should not send something thats been published as a Word doc but most employers will prefer URLs to your work. Then, when you go for your face-to-face interview, you should be prepared to present your clips in person. Most writers maintain a clipbook just as people in other creative fields hold on to books displaying their work in a visual and presentable way. If you dont already have a clipbook, look into getting a nice binder and filling it with clear 8.5x11 sleeves. You will probably need to cut and paste your work onto a piece of paper I recommend usi ng black construction paper presenting the piece in as logical a manner as possible. Make sure to include the publication title, the run date, your byline and the entire piece. (If you notice the way restaurants and stores often present positive press mentions often framed on the wall you get a sense of how awkwardly laid out pieces, which may have appeared in a column or a long newspaper edition, can be tailored to fit on the traditional 8.5x11 page.) A word of caution If you only have one copy of a clip, dont go chopping it up hastily. If you cut something up before you know how to lay it out, you may not get a second chance, as Tim Gunn might say, to make it work. And, while making a clipbook can be a bit of anartsand crafts project, you dont want the book to look sloppy as that will reflect poorly on you. If You Dont Have Any Clips If you dont have any clips, and you want a writing job, you need to get some. Its nearly impossible to get an editorial job in magazines or ne wspapers without clips. To get clips, youll have to start pounding the pavement and trying to get assignments from newspapers or magazines.