| How to prepare for a newspaper interview?

How to prepare for a newspaper interview?

hardoon asked:


On a whim, I responded to a recent ad recruiting freelance writers for a fairly large newspaper (circulation 100,000+). I have no experience as a journalist, but have written some articles and conducted CEO interviews for the executive newsletter published by a consulting firm where I worked. I’m not looking to embark on a new career, but I’ve always wanted to do some writing on the side about topics that interest me.

Surprisingly, I’ve been called in for a writing test and an interview with one of the editors this friday. Can anyone suggest what I should expect and how I might prepare? How frequently are freelancers usually put on assignment?

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Comments

2 Responses to “How to prepare for a newspaper interview?”

  1. maxximumjoy on April 25th, 2009 11:17 am

    The writing test will be crucial, especially because you don’t have a lot of journalism experience. In my opinion, the toughest part of these writing tests is the spelling section — and I’m naturally a pretty decent speller! But if your test is like the ones I’ve taken, they try to trip you up in a multiple-choice section in which you have to decide which of the words is spelled correctly. They include all of the tricky suffix words, like the ones that either end in -ible or -able, -ent or -ant, etc. These tests kill me because the more I look at the words, the more I second-guess myself.

    They will ask questions designed to assess your news judgement, objectivity and creativity, as well as how you react to criticism of your work (since editing is sometimes viewed as criticism by writers). They will also be looking for you to show them a confident but open demeanor — after all, they will need to trust you to conduct good, fruitful interviews. Also, don’t be afraid to indicate that you don’t know the answer to one of their questions, because news writers are often in the position of having to ask the “dumb questions” so they can fully understand a subject and write an accurate story — and a writer has to feel comfortable doing that.

    I can’t say how often you’d be used. That varies from publication to publication and will depend on their needs, their candidate pool, and the quality of your work.

    Good luck!

  2. sanki on April 26th, 2009 10:13 pm

    The objective of an interview is to convince the employer that you will be able to fulfill the organizational needs and fit into the company culture. Certain steps taken by you will definitely help you create a better impression on your interviewer. Update your resume , prepare for the interview questions , research the company and dress appropriately for the job . More details and information at