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Take your journalistic career to the next level with a professional resume. This guide will help you create a professional journalist resume to highlight your writing, researching and collaborative skills and experience.
Start by editing this journalist resume sample template or explore our 40+ resume templates to find the best one for you.
Journalist resume example (text version)
FRANK OSLOW
Bladen, NE 68928
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Committed and experienced journalist with superior knowledge of the latest editing technology. Proficient in digital production, data analysis, CMS platforms and photojournalism techniques. Adept at incorporating feedback, audio and digital storytelling into news content. Successful at working efficiently under great amounts of pressure and dynamic story pitching.
Work History
November 2017 – Current
E2 Media Works – Prague, NE
Sub-Editor
- Work with graphic artists, post-production team members and other specialists to produce captivating and successful content.
- Proofread, edit and evaluate the final copy of an average of 30 pieces per month to verify that the content is aligned with the established guidelines.
- Work closely with the editorial team, project managers and creatives to produce compelling stories.
January 2015 – October 2017
E2 Media Works – Prague, NE
Field Reporter
- Helped shape the narrative on key issues through effective storytelling and knowledge of public opinion.
- Investigated various topics, interviewed guests and provided written weekly reports to editors.
- Managed all aspects of content production for digital properties, increasing site participation by 15%.
November 2010 – December 2014
Spectrum News – Gadsden, NE
Multimedia Journalist
- Pitched 5-10 stories monthly to editorial staff in content areas of news, sports and entertainment.
- Followed through on beat sources, contacts and leads to gather information for stories.
- Performed research and checked all facts to maintain a high standard of journalistic integrity.
Skills
- Interviewing skills
- Investigations expertise
- Media operations knowledge
- Collaborative
- Pitch expert
- Multimedia research
- Strategic planning
- Exceptional writer
Education
Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE
Bachelor of Arts Journalism
Certifications
U.S. English AP Style Editing Skills Certification – (2017)
5 essentials of a top journalist resume
Contact details
Start your journalist resume with your contact information. The standard goes: full name, city, state and ZIP code, phone number and email address. Include your LinkedIn profile, an association networking profile, and link to your portfolio. Ensure the content of your portfolio is up to date and highlighting your best work.
Personal statement
Also called a professional summary, this section is your introduction to the hiring manager. Approach it as if it were the only section read by a potential employer. In no more than five sentences, present your best attributes and how you are as a candidate. Tailor it to every job application and include your strongest qualification, years of experience and a professional accomplishment.
Skills
A balanced journalist skills resume section will show hiring managers what you bring to the table. Create it using bullet points and, when applicable, include your expertise level. Include a mix of hard skills, like conversational French, Photoshop and video editing, and soft skills, like your cultural competence, resourcefulness and relationship building. As always, use the job description as a guide to match your skills to what the employer is seeking.
If this is your first official job as a journalist, you can include transferable skills from other employment.
Work history
Build your employment history in reverse-chronological order. Use bullet points to include: the employer’s name, location and dates of employment. Add three measurable achievements under each position you’ve held. For example, amount of pieces written per day, special collaborative projects or investigations and if your work has been recognized.
If this is your first job as a journalist, you can include other relevant work experience, like volunteer experiences, community service, and more.
Education
In the education section, include the educational institution’s name, degree conferred and graduation year. Skip the year if graduation was over ten years ago. If applicable,You can include special projects, awards, memberships and internships under each academic institution.
See why MyPerfectResume is a 5-star resume builder
Action words for a stand-out journalist resume
Action words can strengthen your journalistic achievements. Their directness adds confidence to your resume’s work history. Combine them with your measurable achievements to build an effective resume for a journalist.
This is a short list of action words for a journalist resume:
- Written
- Researched
- Produced
- Investigated
- Analyzed
- Collaborated
- Presented
- Created
- Interviewed
- Profiled
- Reported
- Verified
- Live-blogged
- Developed
Building a professional journalist resume can be quick and easy with the help of our Resume Builder. It has the necessary tools to create an effective resume, step-by-step guidance and industry-specific expert suggestions. Feel free to change the template and add more information; the Builder will automatically update the resume content. Once you’re satisfied, download it in multiple formats.
Top skills for a journalist resume
Review the journalist job description and carefully match their required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
Your skills might include:
- Research
- Data analysis
- Statistics knowledge
- R
- Voice over
- Digital production
- Foreign language
- Digital audio
- Video recording
- CMS platforms
- Final Cut Pro
- Web design
- Photojournalism
- SEO
- SMO
- AP Style
- Computational journalism
- Collaboration
- Teamwork
- Active listening
- Cultural competence
See how your skills could look on your resume in one of our 800+ resume examples.
Certifications for a journalism resume
Add confidence to your skills by including certification in your journalist resume. Certifications can back up your expertise, prove your commitment to the profession and help you stand out from the pool of applicants.
These are a few examples of certifications for a journalist resume:
- U.S. English AP Style Editing Skills Certification
- Certificate in Journalism and Newswriting
- Online Journalism Certificate
- Journalism Education Association Certification (JEA)
- Writing with AP Style
Include the completion or expiry date, according to each certification. And, if you’re still working towards one, add the expected completion date.
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Journalist resume FAQ
How to build your resume to become a journalist?
Before you start building your journalist resume, save or screenshot the job description. It will have all the information you need to tailor your resume to the specific role. Match the skills and requirements to your own.
Start with the five primary sections:
- Contact information
- Personal statement or professional summary
- Skills
- Work history
- Education
Then, move on to optional sections that could help you stand out from other candidates, like:
- Certifications and licenses
- Professional memberships or associations
- Volunteer experience
Use the journalist resume sample as a guide to build your resume. You can also create an effective resume quickly and easily with our Resume Builder, which provides step-by-step guidance and editable content suggestions.
How to write a journalist resume with no experience?
Applying to your first job as a journalist means you have to build a resume with fewer tools. Get creative and think outside the box by considering skills and experiences outside the industry.
- Choose a resume format that highlights your strength. If you’re starting out, consider the functional resume format to highlight your skills and, if you have a few years of experience, a combination resume format will balance skills and experience. If you have over a decade of experience, a chronological resume format will highlight your experience.
- Tailor your resume’s skills section and personal summary to the job description. Remember to save the job description in case it is deleted.
- Include experience relevant to the position you are applying for, even if it’s not directly related to the role.
- Highlight education beneficial to the role, like courses, certifications and other training.
- Play up your internships, which also count as employment experience.
Always tailor your journalist resume to the job description by including the skills and experience that match the ones the employer is seeking.
How to put number achievements as a journalist in a resume?
Quantifiable achievements are a great addition to your resume. For example, you could include the number of stories you work on a daily basis, amount of broadcast production, number of special projects you worked on and length of a freelance project.
While not all experiences will allow for quantifiable achievements, remember that a resume is only a snapshot of your career. A cover letter which will allow you to use narration to expand on your achievement, skills and experience. More importantly, it will allow you to connect with the recruiter on a personal level.
Do’s and don’ts for building a journalist resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your journalist skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your journalist resume.
- Tailor your CV to your target journalist job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your journalist resume.
- Format your journalist resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your journalist experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” journalistic abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to a journalist.
- Forget to proofread. A journalist resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a journalist interview
Research the employer.
Put your investigative skills to the test and research potential employers. Use their official channels, talk to current and previous employees and research social media and the news. This knowledge will help you tailor your resume and prepare for your interview. Plus, it will show your journalistic skills and give you more confidence for a great interview performance.
Practice at home.
Check out some of the most common interview questions. Start preparing for the big day by practicing your answers.
- Why Should We Hire You Over Other Candidates?
- What’s Your Availability?
- Tell Me About a Time When You Failed to Meet a Deadline
- How Do You Determine Priorities in Scheduling Your Time?
- What Was the Most Complex Assignment You Have Had and What Was Your Role?
Ask a trusted person to perform a mock interview. Use these questions as examples or look up other possible interview questions. Write down your best answers, and then practice with your partner. Once finished, ask for feedback and work with them to improve your answers, tone and body language. Preparation will add confidence to your performance and help your nerves. Plus, it is a practice for future interviews.
Practice in front of a mirror and pay attention to your facial expressions and body language.
Be proactive and ask questions.
Approach this interview as if you were interviewing a subject. Gain more inside knowledge and impress recruiters with your interview questions. Build questions that will help you learn more about the employer, the role you’re interested in and how this company could fit in your career. Prepare at least three to five questions and expect to think of new ones during the interview.
Here are a few examples of questions to get you started:
- What are the expectations for this role?
- What is the day-to-day like?
- How do you support and protect your journalists?
- What tools and training do you provide your staff?
- What is the newsroom’s supervision style?
Remember to ask open-ended questions and give time to the interviewer to answer before moving on.
Round up your references.
Before you even start applying for jobs, reach out to previous managers and mentors to be your references. They should vouch for your skills and work experience, even if it is not related to journalism. Let them know when you are in the process and alert them when they could expect a phone call or email. Remember to also request two letters of recommendation.
If this is your first job as a journalist, you can request references from a mentor, former professor or community leader that can vouch for your skills.
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Journalist Resume Example
Nilda Melissa is a Certified Professional Resume Writer who has written for The Washington Post and Latina Style Magazine. She has a master's in Journalism from Columbia University and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
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