At university I studied to be a journalist. I’m not quite sure how or why I wound up studying journalism, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. During my second year I really started pushing the work experience aspect of things – my tutors told me there’d never be a better opportunity to get under the skin of employers without actually having to work for them as a permanent employee.
I spent two years on and off completing work experience at some of the UK’s biggest newspaper titles – the best two years of my life. I’d set myself the target of getting a front page story at some point in time – that was the goal (I couldn’t really think of anything better/grander). Halfway through my second year of work experience I smashed the goal – I got a front page story. I got another one soon after (although I opted for my by-line to be removed).
After getting two front page stories I couldn’t really see anywhere else for me to go as a journalist – even though I was still on work experience. As much as I loved it, I didn’t like the near poverty in which a lot of graduate journalists lived in. It wasn’t for me. I packed my bags and left the world of journalism.
Application Process for Work Experience in Journalism
Before you start thinking about spending hours on end every day applying for hundreds of different jobs, I’m of the belief that everyone should complete work experience. The vast majority of companies will only take you on a work experience placement if you’re still in college or university. Instead of spending every night getting wasted, you should think seriously about how you’re going to find work experience opportunities during your studies. There will never be a better time.
Applying for work experience in the world of journalism doesn’t tend to follow a set procedure – it tends to be a case of plucking up the courage to email (or hound) editors and journalists to ask if there are any work experience vacancies available. Don’t go sending work experience requests to the news desk of your local paper – send them to a real person. Take a few minutes to find the email address for the editor or sub editor of the publication – Journalisted.com is a good place to start. Lots of journalists will suffix their articles with their email address too. Be warned that some publications offer work experience but there’s a long waiting list – it took me three years to get a placement at The Times (but it was well worth it!).
Application Process for Getting a Job
Getting a permanent job in the world of journalism is extremely difficult. If you built up a good portfolio of published work during your degree, you might be able to apply for any vacant reporter roles, providing you have the NCTJ qualification under your belt. If you have a sparse portfolio and you don’t have the NCTJ qualification, you’ll have to apply for graduate schemes. Most newspapers run these schemes, but places are extremely limited (ie, most top titles recruit one or two people on these schemes each year). Competition is fierce to say the least – so ideally you should have an impressive portfolio behind you. The other way into the world of journalism is to become a freelancer upon graduation – you then have the opportunity to really impress the titles you freelance for in the hope they decide to offer you a permanent staff job.
What I learnt
Before I went to university I completed work experience in a garage. I knew immediately that working in a garage was not for me. The long days and constantly being covered in oil and grime really put me off. Contrast that with journalism where I had a whale of a time. Work experience is the best possible way to “try before you buy”. Before you go all out to secure a job in your desired industry, why not complete work experience there first to ensure it’s something you actually enjoy? I know people that have spent six months or more applying for jobs in a certain industry, only to find they absolutely hate it when they do find employment.
Job application forms and interviews all take time to complete. You need to be 100% sure you’re applying for the right job in the right industry. Whilst you’re in university it’s essential that you “try before you buy” with as many careers as possible, ensuring you end up doing something you genuinely enjoy.
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About the author: Written by Adam Grunwerg, founder and editor of the graduate careers advice and jobs website Graduates.co.uk.
~ JobTestPrep Team ~
Oxford and Cambridge or “Oxbridge” as they're known, are two of the most highly respected learning centers in the world. As a result, an overwhelming number of applications are sent in every day. There must be some filtration system, right? Correct!
Decide a course you wish to begin
Plenty of people who apply to Oxbridge have an agenda in mind, usually a career of some sorts.
But I'm sure you can imagine the dismay of a Cambridge recruiter opening an application form for a course in fast food preparation. So now is definitely a good time to decide what you want to make of yourself, if anything at all.
Luckily for you, the British Government tend to have a few options for you to not completely indebt yourself to the university to the sum of around £20,000 and you can spend your remaining money on something nice... maybe start paying back the loan! And choose wisely, some courses require an admissions test.
Decide where you will live during this part of your life
Obviously, an essential part of survival is shelter, the universities offer lots of lovely colleges with many options for you to decide which one you want to attend. Perhaps live on campus especially as travel is somewhat limited for overseas students. You could always live at home with your parents.
Submit a UCAS form by the 15th of october
Simple enough, get your form in, but not just that. You might be required to take an aptitude skills test, known as the Thinking Skills Assessment or TSA (TSA Cambridge or TSA Oxford). In some cases you will also be asked to complete an extra written task to make yourself seem brighter than the other boffins and might have to have certain qualifications (usually A’s at A-level and depending on your course, other skills required).
The Thinking Skills Assessment, the TSA
Here at JTP we want to help you get into PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) studies. We offer in-house developed practise tests with scores, explanations and solving tips, something not found anywhere webwide. Created by our psychologists specialising in psychometric tests, these will give the perfect blend of preparation as well as feedback.
Find out the TSA format here at JTP, find hundreds of TSA example questions and explanations.
Decision time
The bearded wizards who run the show over at Oxford and Cambridge are a tough bunch to please. Very hard, deep thinkers with a knack for analyzing everything about you and deciding if you match the course you want to take. Pass this and the next bit is easy, the best education known to man!
Closing statements
We have a few more handy hints and tips explaining more about getting in here.
We also offer the only place you can find in depth TSA practice tests made by real psychologists. Just a thought :)
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People tend to obsess over their GMAT score, but more often than you might expect, re-taking the GMAT isn't necessary. This is the case for three major reasons:
1) The GMAT is a bit less important to MBA program admissions than many realize – the GMAT is just one of many factors. For example, the personal essays are probably as important.
As a reminder, those factors include:
- Undergraduate school, major, and GPA
- GMAT score
- Personal essays
- Recommendations
- Business, leadership, and community service experience
2) Most applicants don’t have unlimited time to study for the GMAT – there are always trade-offs in deciding to take the test again, including being unable to spend that time working on your aforementioned essays.
3) If you've already done a good amount of studying, especially if you’ve already worked with a private tutor or taken a good class, you have to be realistic about how much runway you have to improve your GMAT score.
Ultimately, this article will provide 5 potential reasons that you should consider re-taking the GMAT. However, to hammer home the above three points about why you may not need to, I’d like to provide a personal example.
I worked with an individual, let’s call him Frank, who had attended Northwestern University and majored in Mathematics, was promoted rapidly at our consulting firm, and scored a 760 on the GMAT. He was also a genuinely great guy and a natural leader who was also involved in a variety of community service related activities. He was not accepted into Kellogg’s MBA program at Northwestern University. I worked at the same firm and was promoted less rapidly, attended Indiana University, and scored a 710 on the GMAT. Frank, in fact, was sort of my boss. However, I was accepted at Kellogg, and Frank was not. The difference, I suggest, was clearly the essays. I somehow must have better explained why I wanted an MBA from Kellogg and what I was going to do with it in my essays, even though Frank went to a better undergraduate school, had a similar job, and scored significantly higher on the GMAT.
That said, I recognize the GMAT remains an area of intense focus and a source of significant stress for many applicants. Certainly it is important, and it’s one area where the playing field is level. No matter where you went to school or what your job is, everyone takes the same GMAT, and thus MBA schools can easily compare readiness for their MBA curriculum across applicants by using this test. Here are five reasons to re-take the GMAT:
1) If your score is not in the middle 80% of accepted applicants at your target school (s), you should consider re-taking the GMAT. For example, at Kellogg, 80% of individuals score between 660 and 760. So, if you scored a 640, you will be at a disadvantage, and should consider retaking the GMAT.
2) Your scores on timed practice tests were significantly better than your actual score. If you know you scored 700+ on all of your practice tests, but scored a 660 on the actual test, you’re still in the middle 80th percentile range, per point 1. However, there is clear evidence you can do significantly better. So, you should consider retaking the GMAT.
3) You didn't really study. Some people can perform really well on the GMAT without much studying. However, most can’t. When I sat down to study for the test, I couldn't remember the rules of triangles well enough to answer most of the trigonometry questions on the test. If you haven’t taken a class, worked with a tutor, or at least dedicated 2-4 hours a week for at least 6 weeks and taken several practice tests, you can probably do much better on the GMAT after study appropriately for it. It’s not an IQ test – you can and should prepare for it.
4) You are trying to compensate for other areas of weakness in your application. If you are an English major and have not taken a class that’s quantitative in nature since high school, you need to score well on the quantitative section of the GMAT. In that case, if you’re trying to go to a top 20 US MBA program, you should be scoring in the 80th percentile or better on the quant section.
5) If you have a really imbalanced score on the GMAT, you might consider re-taking it. Business schools are looking for well-rounded applicants who can think critically, engage with data, and communicate well. If you scored reasonably well on the GMAT by completely acing one section and struggling through the other, you might consider re-taking it. Schools may not accept your overall score at face value if your scores on each section are really imbalanced.
What are your thoughts on the GMAT? Do you have any questions about whether/when to re-take the test? Let us know.
About the author: Mark Skoskiewicz is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL near Chicago, one of the top 10 MBA programs in the U.S. He’s also the Founder of MyGuru, a provider of in-person and online 1-1 tutoring and test prep. MyGuru maintains a GMAT blog and provides customized, GMAT tutoring. Mark can be reached at mskoskiewicz@myguruedge.com
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