I wrote yesterday about how to approach your job search as you try to get out of newspapers. Today, I’ll talk about some of the fields that you can get into with the skills you used in journalism and, in some cases, a little bit of extra learning. This isn’t meant to be an all-inclusive list, just a few things off the top of my head. I’ll talk about the skills you need for each job, why it could be a good fit for a former journalist, and why it might not be a good fit.

COMMUNICATIONS / PUBLIC RELATIONS

OK, for many journalists, going into PR might feel like selling your soul. After all, aren’t PR people the spin artists who try to obstruct our finding the truth? Well, yes, in some cases. But realize that there are also PR or communications jobs that don’t require you to lie. In fact, when I took my current job as a member of the media relations department at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, I asked my boss for some tips on dealing with the media. The first thing he said was, “Don’t lie,” which I admit did take me by surprise a bit. I would estimate that 99.9 percent of what we do is help reporters find the drug expert they need for their stories or to pitch stories to them about our faculty’s research. No, it’s not objective reporting, but I also have yet to encounter a situation where I feel like I had to compromise my integrity or principles. Of course, a lot of that depends on what industry you are doing PR for. For instance, I would never get a job doing PR for big tobacco.

If dealing with reporters isn’t your cup of tea, look into a job in internal communications, which comprises a big part of my job right now. This job typically involves a good deal of writing and maybe some design.

What skills you would need:

• Writing, of course. For any competent journalist, the level of writing skills needed for most PR material is like basic, entry-level journalism writing. There are some differences, of course, in terms of focus and how the information is presented, but that’s pretty easy to pick up.
• Some design skills: Depending on the job, a communications position might involve some design, which can range from a simple newsletter to more advanced things such as logos and display graphics like banners.
• Some Web knowledge: Many communications jobs include some degree of Web site maintenance. In a lot of cases, this might mean simply using a built-in content management system to upload and edit content, which is generally easy to do. Some Web 2.0 knowledge would also be helpful. After all, PR is, much like journalism, about the dissemination of information. Newspapers aren’t the only ones trying figure out how to use many of the new technologies to accomplish that task.
• People skills: Knowing how to deal with people, both inside and outside the company, is an important skill to have.

Why you would be a good fit

Well, for one, you already know how to write, and as I mentioned above, the level of writing needed to write a news release is pretty basic. Journalists also have the advantage of being used to working under very tight deadlines. When non-newspaper people say “deadline”, it has a completely different connotation than when journalists say “deadline” (as in “sometime this week” vs. “in the next 30 minutes”). Journalists also bring with them in-depth knowledge about how the news media works, so that gives them insight into how best to pitch a story to increase its chances of being picked up, as well as anticipate what a reporter might ask in an interview.

Why you might not like it

I said above that not all PR jobs require you to sell your soul, but that doesn’t mean they are completely objective. You do go about your job with the “do what’s best for the company” mentality rather than the “commitment to the absolute truth” approach. If that’s not something you can deal with, many PR jobs would not be good for you.

MARKETING COPY WRITER

Advertising/marketing agencies all need someone to write the copy. If you like playing with words, this could be a good line to look into.

What skills you would need:

• Being able to write creatively: Can you write with an attitude?
• Ability to convey vague concepts in concrete words: Ad campaigns often revolve around wanting to convey a certain idea that can be somewhat vague and intangible. Being able to come up with copy that communicates those ideas is a key aspect of the job.
• Ability to deliver the message in just a few words: It’s kind of like writing headlines. A lot of ads don’t have that much copy in them, so you need to be able to get the message across quickly.
• Ability to at least think visually: Good ad copy works in concert with the images in the ad, and the two aspects often play off each other. So you need to be able to think visually and work with designers.

Why you would be a good fit

Journalists are often very creative with wordplay and are no strangers to the necessity of being efficient with words, so they would be a natural fit in that regard. Remember all those punchy headlines you wrote? In some ways, writing ad copy is a bit like that.

Why you might not like it

The thought of using their craft to peddle a product or message can be repugnant to some journalists.

PUBLICATIONS EDITOR/PROOFREADER

Publishing companies need people to edit various publications. These can span a whole array of titles, from scholarly publications to tech manuals.

What skills you would need:

• Strong copy editing skills
• Thorough knowledge of various style guides (MLA, AP, etc.)
• If you want to work at scholarly journals, many require an advanced degree and/or some experience with editing scholarly works
• A curious mind: Since you might be editing material on a wide range of subjects, you need to have a wide scope of knowledge, or at least the initiative to acquire that knowledge when needed.

Why you would be a good fit

Well, editing is editing. The focus and the styles might be a bit different, but the act of editing a newspaper story is pretty much like editing anything else. So all your previous skills and training apply. You also have that “comfort under deadline” factor going for you.

Why you might not like it

If you find yourself editing something about a subject you have absolutely no interest in, it can be very tedious, and unlike newspapers, some of these projects are big, so you can’t just get done with it in an hour and move on to something more interesting.

DESIGNER IN AN AD/DESIGN AGENCY

All advertising agencies need designers, and there are some firms that specialize in design.

What skills you would need:

• Solid knowledge of Adobe CS: It always struck me how newspapers seemed to be the only field where someone can get a design job without knowing Photoshop or Illustrator. Yes, the newsroom setup has a lot to do with that, dividing the process into “designers” who only handle layout and “graphic artists” who do the more advanced stuff. However, if you don’t really know how to use Photoshop to do a cutout, now is the time to learn. I have yet to see a job posting for a design/ad agency that doesn’t require Adobe CS (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat) as a basic qualification.
• Comfort with a Mac: OK, this likely won’t be a problem with most designers anyway. Many newspapers still use PCs for design. That would seem like a joke to a non-newspaper designer.
• Web knowledge: More and more design jobs are looking for at least some sort of Web skills. The basics to know: HTML (and xHTML) and CSS. If you are still dabbling with tables for Web page layout, it’s time to update your repertoire. Knowing how to use Dreamweaver is also an important skill to have, though knowing how to design a page with code is even better. More advanced skills include javascript, PHP, and Flash.
• Knowledge of the production side of things: At a newspaper, a designer’s job ends when he/she hits “Print”. Not so at an agency. You need to understand things like types and weights of paper and which is suitable for what, the printing process, and color management. If you don’t have a whole lot of such knowledge, try to find a job where you would have an opportunity to learn them on the job (that’s what I did).
• Ability to turn around a project quickly: Again, this shouldn’t be a problem for someone coming from a newspaper background. Just realize that ad agencies can have quick turnarounds, too, but it comes in spurts.
• Paste-up skills: This might sound strange, but when I worked at an agency, we frequently had to do paste-up-type things, such as putting together mockups of packaging or mounting concept ideas onto poster boards. It wasn’t just working on a computer all day. We played with X-acto blades and turpentine as well.

Why you would be a good fit

If you were a newspaper designer, many of those skills will carry over. You will also get the chance to design stuff that will be printed on much better presses and paper than what you had at newspapers. There is also the chance to do a variety of projects, depending on your firm’s range of clients. You also are freed from the restraints of having to fit a ton of text into your design and can focus more on the visual. Also, most designers are a fun bunch to work with.

Why you might not like it

Unlike what I thought when I was in newspapers, working in a design firm can be even more restricting in terms of creativity. Whereas at newspapers designers can come up with their own concepts and carry them out, most agencies have a more specialized design hierarchy involving a creative director and an art director who do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to conceptualizing. The concept is turned into a rough design, which is then handed off to production artists, whose job mainly consists of duplicating that design in print-ready form. So depending on where you are in that chain, you might not get to do a lot of conceptualizing. When I worked in a production studio, I did get some chances to conceptualize, but more often than not, I felt like I was just working in InDesign but not designing.

Another thing to note is that as a newspaper designer, you are basically trying to come up with a concept that would satisfy yourself and your editor. Yes, you’re supposed to design for the readers, but the point is, the people who have to OK a concept before it becomes reality are yourself and a couple others within the paper. At agencies, it’s always completely about what the client wants. You can have something that everyone at the agency likes, but one “no” from the client could toss that into the trash heap. So it’s kind of a difference between designing for yourself and designing for somebody else.

One other thing about the agency atmosphere irked me: The time tracking. At a newspaper, it doesn’t matter how much time you spend on each page, just as long as you get all your pages done by deadline. So you can afford to spend more time on certain pages to make the design better. At an agency, however, time spent on every project is tracked closely with computer software. This is done because the client is usually charged based on time spent (which includes a markup), so an agency has to know how much time it’s actually spending on a given project to track how much money it’s making. For me, that created an environment where I felt like I was under deadline all the time, since the more time I spent on a project, the less money the firm made. I didn’t enjoy that.

IN-HOUSE DESIGNER

I think this is becoming rarer because more and more companies are finding it cheaper to outsource their design needs to an agency or freelancers. However, there are still a good number of companies that do have their own marketing divisions, which include designers.

Another place such jobs exist is government agencies or some university departments. Some smaller businesses might also have such needs.

Skills you would need:

* Basically the same as what I listed for an ad agency design job. Qualifications might vary slightly depending on the specific company you are applying to.

Why you would be a good fit

Same as above. You are also designing for someone within the company rather than an external client, so it might be easier to get ideas approved. You also are less likely to have the time-tracking thing looming over your head.

Why you might not like it

Some companies have the same design hierarchy I described above, so that might limit how much “design” you actually do. Also, as I mentioned, more and more companies are outsourcing their design needs, so job security might be an issue.

FREELANCE

You can always try to make a go at it with your writing or design skills. Depending on what area of the country you live in and what you specialize in, you might find a good market for this. The upsides are obvious: flexible hours, ability to choose your clients, no/limited commutes. The downsides are equally obvious: having to pay your own benefits and unsteady stream of income. You also could be working more than you did if you just had a job with a company, especially if you are working from home. Remember: You’re not only working on the projects you have, you are also working on projects you don’t have yet as you try to secure the next client. It can be hectic.

• Coming in Part 4: How to sell yourself to your prospective employer