Careers in journalism - your CV

As for any applicant, your CV is a showcase of what you can offer a potential employer. For prospective journalists, it’s particularly important that any CV avoids being pompous, verbose or wordy.

Keep your CV and covering letter concise and to the point – and above all, make sure that every word is spelt properly and that the application is addressed to the right person. Many applications have been thrown straight into the bin because of basic errors which smack of carelessness or incompetence.

This should be self-evident, but it is surprising how many letters of application contain glaring errors simply because the applicant has not checked their facts or proof-read the final draft carefully enough.

Increasingly, editors are also looking for a clear demonstration of your commitment to the industry in the form of work experience - preferably resulting in published work.

In some cases editors will only invite candidates to interview if their CV includes such experience.