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Ask the Recruiter

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Joe Grimm
Joe Grimm, visiting journalist at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, tackles the toughest recruiting questions.
TO GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED on this page, send it to Joe. Please include your full name in your message. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate why.
 
 
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Keep College Editing Jobs on Resume?
I'm 24 years old and have been at my current paper, a 45,000-circulation daily, for a little more than two years. I'm considering applying for other reporting positions and have begun assembling a portfolio and updating my résumé.

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The question is, for how long after graduation should I continue to include my college experience on my résumé?

I worked at my college paper for three years and held multiple writing and editing positions. I would like to include my management experience to show that I have leadership skills, but I also wonder whether any of that experience is relevant at this point.

While I don't plan to include any college paper clips in my portfolio, I know that my experience at the paper was vital to my development as a journalist.

Thanks,

Curious

You are on the right track.

Your college degree should always stay on your résumé, but collegiate experience should get whittled down as professional experience grows.

Joe Grimm
Joe Grimm
Including leadership experience — which you had in college but have not yet had professionally — still has a place on your résumé. If you move into newsroom leadership, that may push off the college editing.

It sounds as though you are following the one-page rule, hence the limit on what you can include. I do not growl at resumes that grow longer than a single page, but know that some editors do, so I limit mine to a single page for them.
Coming Monday: She is ready to go to a new job, and one of her hallmarks is a sound, professional relationship with sources. She asks whether she can use sources on her résumé as she tries to get a new job.


 

Posted by Joe Grimm 12:00 AM August 3, 2007
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