I was a communications/journalism major in college, which I am now realizing was a bad idea. I went into school wanting to be a newspaper writer, but the more I read about newspapers laying people off and shutting down, the less I want to be in the business. I still like to write, don't get me wrong, but working at a paper does not sound like a stable career path anymore.
My current goal is to get a media relations job with a professional sports team. In college, I wrote for the school paper and helped with the copy editing and laying out of the sports section. I've also done sportswriting for free for the last two years for various websites. However, when it comes to apply for the paid jobs, I don't get calls back or I get an initial interview, but never the offer. The only people that are interested in taking me on offer only non-paying gigs. I have student loans to pay back plus credit card bills and rent to pay to my parents each month. I can't keep working for free, and I was hoping that after doing it for so long, that the offers would start coming. But although I write a different cover letter for every job and tweak my resume to fit the posting as best I can, I'm still not getting the calls. I've applied for a few jobs where I'm competing against more than 300 people, and I feel like I'll never stand out. And I've even had someone recommend me for a couple jobs, but that hasn't helped either. I should add that though I did an internship in college, it was not in sports, and I had no idea then that not doing a team internship would hurt me now.
Since I have customer service and some sales experience (both in sales support and retail), I've tried applying for ticket sales jobs. But the competition for some of those roles is just as intense, and I don't get the calls there either.
There are a few things I'm considering for my next path. Before I go into them, I'll note a few things: First, I'm in PA, if anyone has state-specific advice to give, and second, I'm not against volunteering. I mean look how long I've worked for free.
I just don't want to go into a path where I'm expected to work for free for a very long period before getting anywhere. Also, I have a decent amount of undergrad debt (though I'm not up to my eyeballs; I went to a public state school) and don't want to invest a ton more years in school to switch careers. Maybe 1-2 years tops.
So, here's what I'm thinking of:
Staying in communications, but switching focus. I've tried applying for communications roles in nonprofits, but haven't gotten called back there either. I volunteered at a nonprofit last summer, but left when my current part-time job let me go full-time, and I've been at the full-time job ever since. I only stayed at the organization a month before getting the job, and if it hadn't come up, I would've stayed longer. This is a well-known nonprofit that I loved volunteering at because everyone that worked there was so positive. So, it's not like I have to wait until a job opens up in my hometown to apply. I could move to any number of places and work for this organization.
I've also thought about trying to get into marketing and communications with a college/university, but I'm thinking that might bring as much competition as I'm facing in sports right now, if not more.
The other writing path I've considered is copywriting, though the idea of going freelance or working in an ad agency seems less like my cup of tea the more I've researched it.
If I switch out of communications altogether, I would like to be an activities director at a nursing home. I've been to nursing homes for community service projects in high school and college, and I enjoyed being able to bring smiles to the faces of people who don't get a lot of visitors. I tried to get activities aide jobs before I landed my current job, but the nursing homes where I live preferred experience already.
I'm considering human resources as well, but haven't researched the possibilities there much yet, so I may end up ruling it out.
Since I was on a journalism path for so long, I consider my best skills to be research, interviewing and meeting deadlines. In my work, I had to talk to everyone from college students up to sports coaches and my college's president. I also have good writing skills, especially in preparing reports and doing more straightforward stuff rather than fiction/creative writing. I'm also open-minded and like learning new things.
Any ideas? I can give more info if need be, but this is just the basic stuff.
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