WS Chronicle

Timothy Ramsey

For The Chronicle

A poorly presented resume hurts job prospects in the hiring process. To help people succeed as they pursue jobs, the Triad Association of Black Journalists held a resume workshop Saturday on the campus of Greensboro College.

The workshop was geared toward college students but was open to the public.

“I wanted to see what I could do to help them get jobs and prepare for the future,” said Kathy Keating, Communications and Media professor at Greensboro College. “Positive energy and the variety of opportunities out there are what I want to take back as well as specific tips on reels, resumes and portfolios.”

Stephanie Johnson, who attended the forum for her son, who had to work and could not attend, said her son is very interested in broadcasting and wanted to gather information and see what the workshop could offer him.

Media professionals from many journalism fields participated in a panel discussion. They were: Chris Lea, traffic anchor for WXII and on air personality for 102 Jamz; Doug Allred, external communications manager for Cone Health; Andre Taylor, online editor of the News and Record; and Briana Conner, reporter and weekend anchor for WXII.

The panel touched on topics such as common mistakes made by young journalists who are just entering the business. One example is not spelling someone’s name correctly and not fact-checking every aspect of the story.  A person’s credibility as a journalist rests on accuracy, panelists said. 

Panelist Doug Allred recounted his career as he started off in journalism and later transitioned to the world of public relations. Briana Conner, when commenting on the accuracy of a story, said, “Know your facts and check your sources. Verify, verify, verify.”

Social media was a major topic, as the panelists discussed the pros and cons of the new phenomenon. Some were very much in favor of using social media to connect with viewers and a way of spreading breaking news or pertinent information to the community. Others were not as fond of social media because inaccurate information is rampant across the forum. 

“For my generation, the scary thing is using judgment on social media. You can’t put everything you feel on Facebook. One wrong post and you lose your job,” said Conner of the dangers of using social media the wrong way.

Participants were shown the advantages of using the Internet to network with other professionals in their field by using websites such as LinkedIn.com. They also were shown proper dress styles in the office as well as during the interview.

Aaron Singleton, director of News and Media Relations at Winston Salem State University, expressed that everyone has a brand and talked about how to present that to potential employers because it can mean the difference between getting hired and not. The importance of a good cover letter and a concise and accurate resume were also discussed. 

“They don’t take the time to really sell themselves on how they present their experience. If they could take a minute to reframe their accomplishments, it can make all the difference,” Singleton said of the common mistakes people make in framing their resumes.

Professionals, including Chronicle Managing Editor Donna Rogers, later critiqued participants’ resumes one-on-one to show them the proper way to sell themselves to potential employers.

“Continue to work hard, network, and reach out to professionals. Don’t give up on your dreams and make sure you just go for it,” Lea said of the one thing he wanted to convey to an aspiring journalist.

“I’m glad the Triad Association of Black Journalists has events like this to reach out to kids and those who want to be in our position. And it’s important for us to come together as professionals to pool our resources to help out the next generation of journalism professionals,” Lea said of what he hopes people take from the event.

Contact the Triad Association of Black Journalists through its website – http://triadabj.weebly.com/ – through Facebook –www.facebook.com/triadabj/ – through Twitter – https://twitter.com/TriadABJ – or through email – TriadABJ@gmail.com.