Your degree from the best university for journalism in Delhi will simply go to waste if you do not use it in the right sense. Now, you can argue that everyone is allowed to make mistakes in their initial years but there are some mistakes that surely lead to career suicide. Especially in a field that is evolving every day and the competition is not diminishing. You can afford to fall down at times but never off a cliff. This is where you must learn from other’s mistakes, correct your actions and take informed steps to gradually build a successful career.
So, here is your checklist. The avenues you must avoid to ensure your growth. Your smartness will lie in the fact on how well you can discipline yourself to stay clear of these pitfalls, even when people around you are entering headlong, and keep your focus on the right issues. Start taking your notes and pin it somewhere on your wall.
- Thinking that you are already a good writer
The mentality will stop your development in its tracks. You may have written some good pieces, garnered some praises and may have even won some awards in your school or college, but none of these make you the best in the industry. There is always room for improvement, no matter how seasoned you become, and you must continuously involve yourself in training sessions. Hence, if you are still in college, take every opportunity to learn the trade more. If you have passed out, keep your head down and work anywhere you can. Every bit of experience that you can gather will help you later.
- Having high expectations from day 1
Not only in journalism, the top job or the high salaries will never come to you on day 1 in any field you choose. The cases are very rare where people do land a good job right after college. You will have to toil in the industry, even work for free and then expect the right employers to find your talent. Remember, a degree from one of the best colleges for journalism will always stand as your backing. All you need to keep is a high level of patience. You will find people around you jumping from one company to another, or even switching industry. But that is never the way to success.
- Searching for jobs in conventional places
The most lucrative offers come from the most unconventional avenues when the field involves harnessing creativity. So, if you find the crowd lining up outside top media houses or desperately scanning through online portals, this is your signal to stay away from those areas. Popularity will bring down the field’s essence. And you can only find that shining offer waiting for you where people are not looking. Send yourresume to new online content producers, search for a story yourself and send it to a growing magazine. Do everything that everyone is not doing.
- Connecting with people only for a story
That will be your job. But your networks cannot include people only with whom you have a business. You must reach out to your seniors, foreign professionals or even industry veterans with the motive of learning from them more. The top IP university colleges for journalism will have alumni meets to give you the platform. You must make your connections and stay in touch. Your work-networks will seldom bring you references. A CEO will hardly remember your name. But your senior or an editor whom you asked an intelligent question, will get back to you if there is an opening.
- Expecting that writing does not require practice
In reality, every work requires practice. The more you write, the better you will become and especially in your initial years, you must devote the maximum time in practice. Write short stories, use online forums to express your opinion. Just keep writing. And if possible, ask your teacher or someone you consider as a mentor to critically analyse your work and provide you with honest feedback. The more criticism you can swallow, the harder you will work on your job and the better you will become. There is no shortcut in journalism. You will only see the results if you put in the hard work.
Institutes like the Lingaya’s Lalita Devi Institute of Management & Sciences, affiliated to IP university and based in South Delhi, will guide you in the perfect manner all throughout your course. You will have the right exposure, proper training and experts at hand for counselling. Use the facilities of your college when you are studying, take articulate steps when you pass out. Avoid the distractions and keep your eye on the ultimate goal.
