A few days ago I asked on my Instagram for questions about anything. But, the two main themes seemed to be journalism and my reading habits. So, while it may seem like an unusual thing to dedicate a whole Q&A to - that's kind of why. Plus, it's a nice light-hearted post to write and a way for you to get to know me a bit more!
Anyway, on with the questions...
Books/reading
How many books have you read in 2020?
So far, I think I have gotten through about 11. To be truthful, I don't really keep count, although I definitely had a bit of a reading slump throughout January and early Feb!
What did you want to be when you were younger? And what is your favourite thing about bookstagram?
When I was younger I was all over the place with regards to what I wanted to be. I've truly been all round the houses - but no matter what, I always seemed to gravitate towards English-y stuff - ranging from being an author, English teacher and, eventually, journalist. No single profession really seems to stand out to me from when I was younger but I do really remember wanting to be an author - I used to write stories all the time.
In terms of why I like bookstagram (for anyone who doesn't know what that is - it's just a community of people who post on Instagram about books), I think it's how supportive the people are. You get a real sense of community from bookstagram and people love interacting with each other. In my experience, it's a really positive space.
Have you always been into reading (or for how long)?
It feels like such a cliche to say but ever since I can remember I've had my head in a book. My dad, in particular, always ensured I was read to/was reading myself so that's was a huge influence. When I was around 7 I enrolled in a book club and as a welcome gift, I got the complete collection of Roald Dahl books which I remember being absolutely over the moon with. And who remembers those reading challenges you could do at your local library? I used to live for those. So, yep, for as long as I can remember I've loved reading!
What was the very first book or series that you remember reading?
If I really think about it, the actual first book I can remember reading is the Night Before Christmas - I must have been about 5 or 6? I can't totally remember. But some huge standouts for me were Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The Twits and, when I was slightly older, Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson. Interestingly, I never read the Harry Potter series as a child. For some reason, I never really cared about it and didn't read it until I was in college (I did love it by the way - I was just a little late to the hype).
What was the first book that made you realise you loved reading?
Hmm, this is a tricky one. I can't really pinpoint one specific book - more so collections, series or authors. Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson were biggies for me.
How often would you say you read on a weekly basis?
This can really vary depending on what mood I'm in. I can read more than one book in a week or go a month without reading anything. But, on average, I would say I tend to read for an hour before bed on a near-daily basis - on a weekend I will do the same in the morning too. But of course, it depends on how much I'm enjoying the book and what mood I'm in. I've been known to literally sit there and read for 8 or 9 hours straight!
Do you like poetry?
I do, but I don't read it that often, generally because I can sometimes find it a bit hard to consume.
What's your favourite genre?
I actually had to really think about this one because, to be honest, it can fluctuate as I read pretty much every genre. But, generally, I love contemporary fiction, fantasy (I can be very picky with this though) and non-fiction (I tend to like memoirs from people who aren't famous, per-say, but have something to say - some of my favourites include Educated and Boy Erased). But like I said, because I read such a broad range, they'll often be hidden and unexpected surprises for me.
Journalism/blogging
What motivates you to blog even though there seem to be fewer people reading blogs?
My answer to this is pretty simple - I don't do it for the views/number of reads. I write blog posts because I genuinely enjoy it and that's why I carry on - if I didn't write this blog I'd probably be writing down the same things in a journal or something! If I had hundreds of thousands reading my blog, but I didn't enjoy it anymore, I'd stop. So, the same notion is applied here. Of course, it's nice to get feedback on posts and to see that people want to read what I have to say, but, ultimately, it's not the reason why I do it. Interesting question though, it did make me think about something I hadn't given much thought to before.
How did you get into journalism?
You definitely don't need to go to uni to get into journalism, but because I wanted to go to uni anyway, I decided to go and study journalism. My course was a BA(Hons) in Multimedia Journalism and I graduated last year. Throughout my degree, I did a ton of work experience at places like the BBC, local newspapers, and The National Student and just started to feel out what kind of journalism interested me. I really enjoyed writing about fashion (this is still something I love) and wrote about fashion pretty much exclusively for The National Student during my final year at uni. But ultimately, when it came to looking into masters, all of the fashion journalism courses were in London and long story short, I decided it wasn't for me. So, while working on my major project (which I did on fashion, surprise surprise) I decided to start looking for online/multimedia journalism jobs in Manchester.
It's a super competitive industry so I expected a lot of rejections. In fact, I got really down about it at one point because I knew that if I didn't get a job, I'd have to move out and go and live back at home. So, after a lot of rejections (which I'm actually grateful for because I wouldn't have the job I have now otherwise) I struck gold when, after a lengthy new writing test, I got offered an interview as a trending news writer the day I handed in my final piece of university work. It stands out to me because I was eating Pad Thai at the time lol. I, unbelievably, was offered the job and I've been there ever since (it will be a year at the end of this month)! Although now, as well as writing articles, I do some social media bits and am an overnight editor part-time.
I'm well aware that it's extremely rare to get a graduate job straight after finishing uni but, that is what (much to my own disbelief still) happened and I couldn't be more grateful. Though, I'm not going to shy away from the fact that I worked really hard too!
What do you like best about working in journalism?
Hmmm, this is actually a tough one because there's no one single thing. I love writing and having my work read by an international audience is pretty cool! I don't really do any interviewing as part of my current job, but when I was in university, I loved hearing people's stories and giving them a platform to be heard, especially if it was something close to my own heart. I really felt this when I was creating my major project.
How did you get your job in journalism, do you have any interview tips?
I've kind of already gone over how I got into journalism so I'll just try and offer a bit of advice? (I put a question mark because I don't really know how useful it will be, but I'll do my best).
One of the big things for me was getting as much work experience under my belt as possible - email literally everyone multiple times - even if you feel a bit creepy doing so. Don't be afraid to be a tiny bit of a beg - I even asked family and friends if they had any contacts who could help... you never know. Plus, if you're in uni, tutors and the uni itself might have some connections too.
In terms of the interview/application process, I think a tip that isn't talked about that much is making your CV/resume look as creative as positive. If you're heading into the media industry, people are going to expect something to make you stand out. I've seen tons of people who I went to uni with curate really fun, colourful and even interactive CVs - canva is a good website for this.
I also think it's a good idea to make yourself a website. I personally had to do mine as part of my uni course, but creating any kind of free website on Wix or Squarespace etc where you can upload your portfolio, online cv and overall, just showcase your work in one place is good to catch people's attention. Mine's www.chloerowland.co.uk if you were interested!
In terms of the actual interview, I sadly don't have an awful lot of advice. Every job is different and I've heard many journalism jobs are a multiple-step application process. Looking up the company on glassdoor to see what other people got asked during their interviews is maybe a good one. Researching the company, in general, is key as well. I think a lot of the focus in interviews is your work experience and skills so just emphasise those. I don't know... I'm sorry if that wasn't too helpful!
Aaaand... breathe. Congrats if you got to the end of this mammoth post. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments and let me know if this is something you'd like to see again!
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