It is a competitive world out there, sometimes base-line just isn’t enough, you need to be dynamic, unique and experienced in order to get a suitable and well-paying job, especially in the realm of media.
Over the last few years, the competitiveness of the media job-landscape has increased, with job losses, coinciding with an increase in the number of degrees obtained every year. When looking at the statistics of the job market in media and film, there are many rises but those rises are also accompanied by falls.
According to new graduates, the media and news industry is an area of employment that is becoming harder to break into, following the closure of regional news outlets, and job cuts at the ABC. The pandemic has only added to this issue; with more job losses predicted and now with more people having to adapt to working from home, this creates barriers for new graduates to getting their start.
Young people are not only competing against each other, but also against seasoned journalists who have lost their jobs. It does not take long for the novice to figure out who the outlets would prefer to hire, meaning that the new graduate may stand very little chance.
Michaela Meade graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Communications, and it took her eight months to find a position in a media company. Throughout her months of job searching, there was one particular experience that stood out to her. “ I was told I would have landed an interview, but given the current circumstances, I was up against people who have been working for 10+ years, so essentially I didn’t have a chance.”
The industry was “Defiantly more competitive than I was expecting, and I have expectations of it being incredibly competitive … Keep your head up.”
Leah, from Relaunch Me, a career advisory firm has some advice for young people to stand out in the media industry. “I think that (competitiveness) applies to many other industries as well, not just media, I think in most sectors there're more graduates than there are positions and so almost every industry is more competitive.”
Some more advice from Leah is to put yourself out there, even though it may be harder for introverts (of which a lot of writers are). “It’s trying to start somewhere and taking little actions, bring yourself out of your comfort zone, and slowly build up that confidence.”
It may take a while, but eventually, something will come through. It’s just important that new graduates always keep trying.
I have also made an audio version of this story, which includes more quotes from my lovely interviewees. Thank you again to Michaela Meade and Leah from Relaunch Me.
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