January 21, 2025 (Updated )
If you’re an emerging journalist looking to break into the journalism industry, one of the most effective ways to get hands-on experience is through a work experience placement. But it can often feel like there are only so many placements and a lot of wannabe hacks.
While competition can be tough, not all is lost. To help you on your journey, we’ve spoken to lecturers, students, and alumni from City St George’s, University of London, one of the UK’s leading journalism departments, to share their best tips on how to get work experience in journalism and how to make the most of your time there.
While university is a place where you can learn the theory behind the journalism trade, as Jason Bennetto, City’s senior lecturer in Magazine Journalism, says: “Working on a publication with journalists doing the journalism, gives you a much clearer vision of how that would be as a full-time job.”
For many student journalists, going from learning about journalism in class to being in a bustling office, writing and publishing stories helps confirm both their career aspirations and confidence in their own abilities.
“I think the positive benefits have been massive,” says 21-year-old Emily Warner, who is currently studying on City’s Magazine Journalism MA, and has interned at both Country and Townhouse magazine and Wanderlust magazine. “I can imagine myself being a professional journalist, rather than just a student who’s pretending to be a journalist, which is how it felt a bit at the beginning.”
Emily Warner (L) and Laura Howes (R) both gained new skills from work experience.
Making the right connections in the office can help you build up a contact list and eventually lead to you landing your first job. That’s how it happened for Laura Howes, 24, who graduated from City’s MA in Television Journalism and went from completing work experience at Good Morning Britain to becoming a researcher on The Jeremy Vine & Storm Huntley Show at ITN.
“I formally applied and went through the normal application process,” Laura tells Journo Resources. “But I would definitely say it was helpful that I already was at least familiar with at least 30 to 40 per cent of people’s names in that particular newsroom.”
Before you apply for an internship, you first need to understand what area of journalism you want to focus your career on. Whether you’re a budding fashionista who wants to write long profile pieces or a news hound doggedly focused on reporting, choose a publication that reflects your ambitions and gives you an opportunity to see what career path works for you.
To give you a better likelihood of success and make sure you get the chance to actually do some work, aim for smaller publications, digital-only platforms, local newspapers and radio, and even trade press, sometimes known as business-to-business or B2B media, which caters to readers in a specific industry. Well-known outlets like Vogue are more likely to be overwhelmed by applications and editors may have less time to offer you the writing opportunities or guidance and feedback that you need to succeed.
While some work experience schemes at larger organisations are paid, the majority of placements are unpaid, although some will at least offer travel expenses to help you get to and from the office. There’s a fine line between experience and unpaid work, so make sure to think critically about what you’re being asked to do.
Jason recommends limiting the amount of unpaid placements you take on, to avoid being exploited for your work. Similarly, he tells us that “two weeks would be the ideal length,” for student journalists to stay at one placement, “because you’re there long enough to get to know people, and for them to get to know you.”
Thanks to its central London location at the heart of the UK media landscape, the university’s outstanding reputation, and the high numbers of City alumni across the industry, studying at City St George’s equips you with all the contacts you need to make it in journalism. “By having that kind of connection network, if you find someone who’s been to City, they will help you, they will know what it’s like, and they’ll be on your side,” says Jason.
In an environment where work experience placements are becoming harder to find, City’s strong connections are a major advantage for students who want to stand out from the crowd. Students are able to tap into the thousands of City alumni that work on almost every major publication, platform and broadcaster in the UK.
If you want to get into the good books of your favourite publication, find the editor of the section you’re interested in and email them your CV, a link to a portfolio of your previous work, and a very brief cover letter that explains who you are, your skills and why you want to work there. Finding the right person could involve scouring the publication’s website or masthead, using free email-finding tools like Hunter.io, or searching on LinkedIn.
Do your own research beforehand and make sure to demonstrate your knowledge of the outlet, such as its audience and some of its most popular stories. Triple-check your email for any spelling or grammatical mistakes, but the most important tip is to be polite, but persistent as there can be a lot of rejection in the early stages.
“I would say that you must not be disappointed or sensitive to getting told no,” Laura tells Journo Resources. “Ninety-nine per cent of the time it’s not going to be personal. It’s just going to be logistical reasons or they don’t have an opening because there’s nothing to give you.”
Once you’ve secured your placement, go into the office having done your research on the writing style and tone of the publication. Prepare a few pitches for stories in advance and think about which section they would live in. Even if you don’t get commissioned, your initiative will put you in your editor’s good books.
While it can be intimidating to be in a working environment, the best way to build contacts is to network and chat with other people in the office. Even though Emily had always considered herself “more of an introvert” when she did start to network with people, she found it was surprisingly easy, mostly because “the team were all so friendly and welcoming. Every day they’d ask me if I wanted to go out for lunch with them or go and get a coffee.”
Tiago Ventura, a 25-year-old political journalist who is studying for the Magazine Journalism MA at City, similarly found that taking initiative and following up with his colleagues after he completed his work experience placement at the Local Government Chronicle helped expand his network. “The main thing I learned from this work placement is just putting yourself out there is so important,” he explains. “If you happen to meet somebody that works in the industry, do ask them to go for a coffee with you and just ask them a few questions.”
Finally, the most important piece of advice for any young journalist going into a work experience placement is to have confidence in their journalism skills. “What I always advise my students is to realise that they’re useful,” Jason concludes. “They should see themselves as an asset to the organisation and editors are usually very encouraging. They want new talent, they want to help people, and they want you there.”
