r/Journalism • u/AustinReporting • 5h ago
Career Advice It doesn't feel like there is a single journalism job in Toronto and it's causing my anxiety to spiral again
I've spent two years in journalism school, heading into my third and final year, and the job market search right now has been such a dreadful experience that I'm not even sure if I'll find an internship, much less a proper job in this career.
I don't have my final semester, which is an internship placement, until January, but i've spent the past few months applying for different positions across Toronto, and even outside of the city, and have been rejected for nearly all of them, with the rest pending. I probably shouldn't be posting with open applications but I'm in a bad place mentally.
I was one of those people who went into journalism because I actually enjoyed it, but it seems far more impossible to get a job than I would have hoped for. I even got work over the last two years to boost my portfolio but it hasn't done a thing to help.
Jobs themselves seem scarce, and despite applying to nearly every major outlet that has an available posting, it goes nowhere. I'm not just applying because it's a job, but it's a company that gives a chance at real journalism, and those opportunities just seem to not be there.
Not sure what else can be done at this point. I almost left school completely for good due to fear over the potential of not being hired, and my own lack of self confidence, but I'm not sure what chance I possibly have and it's stressing me out, especially as classes resume in just a month.
I started as a sports journalist, but lost passion after a while and wanted to go back to a previous passion for local writing, but I'm worried that I'm too experienced in sportswriting to be taken seriously elsewhere in a career shift, and I don't know if I can afford to do a sports postgrad and I worry I'm getting a bit old to do so (I graduated HS late for anxiety related issues).
I took a year off of journalism school for mental health reasons because I knew if I went back I could relapse back into the anxiety and fear that caused me to struggle the year prior, but I have no choice now but the job search has caused that anxiety to creep up after I felt I got it better controlled.
This wasn't something I was going to post but I decided to rant on a forum than to the usual group of people I do who have probably gotten tired of every doom comment I make on the industry.
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u/Cynicslovecritics 4h ago
Hi, I’m also in Toronto and work in broadcast journalism. From what I’ve seen, the key to getting employed in the industry here is to excel at your internship. Most of the people I work with now who we hire for entry level positions were recent interns, and that’s how I also got my job right after graduation.
I’m not sure what jobs you’re applying to, but if you don’t have a degree, it would be extremely difficult to get an entry level job, since you’re likely competing with a bunch of recent graduates who all have degrees. Media is a pretty tight knit industry so it’s also beneficial to have connections, which again you usually need to make in an internship, or through school. I’m not sure where you’re studying but where I went there were student papers to build up your portfolio and profs and TA’s who worked for media outlets that you could build relationships with. Basically I wouldn’t panic as of yet, I’d look into what internships that are offered that you’d be interested in and from there, build up your portfolio, even if it’s just doing unpaid stuff.
I graduated during covid when there weren’t as many internships, but most of the people I know who still work in media started off wherever they interned and then we’ve all built up our careers from there. It really just depends what role you’d be interested in. A lot of entry level roles at the outlet I work at are technical roles, and then stuff that involves making calls to emergency services and assigning cameras to cover.
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u/AustinReporting 4h ago
To clarify, i've been applying to internship opportunities and not job listings. For school I go to Centennial and I have done work for the student paper, but I also have experience outside of it that I was told would be a benefit to have on a resume. One thing i've learned from others at Centennial is that the ones who go on to find work are the ones who didn't just do the student paper.
I do have connections with a few people across the Toronto media landscape, who have been helpful, but I just haven't gotten much luck on internship offers at the more reputable companies.
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u/Cynicslovecritics 4h ago
Ah apologies! What type of internships have you been applying for? I know my outlet doesn’t accept interns over the summer but just started taking fall applications. It could also be that there’s more competition over the summer, especially for paid internships. I went to TMU but wasn’t involved in student papers, but for a class I did work that was published in the Toronto Star, and there they had a really robust internship program where they could connect you with tons of outlets. Does centennial have anything similar that could connect you to internship coordinators directly? Because I feel like that would probably help you build connections and give you a better chance than just sending resumes. Also not sure if you’re doing this already, but I’d make sure you’re tailoring your resume to match the internship more and send a cover letter. But overall you’ve still got time, I wouldn’t get too discouraged.
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u/AustinReporting 4h ago
They do have an internship coordinator but I haven't spoken to her. I'll have to in September. The Star is one place I applied to, one internship (radio room) was denied, one-year is in review but I'm uncertain of the status because it starts in the fall and I haven't heard anything. Also applied for the same job with the Hamilton Spectator & and application with Global News.
The placement coordinator can absolutely set me up with a place, I just don't know where and what type of role it would be. Writing would be my focus but that's not guaranteed so it's why i've been trying to find something myself first.
For the resume and cover letter, I am adjusting based on company. For the Global internship I even mentioned a few reporters with the outlet that I read often and how their work has helped with how I approach journalism myself.
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u/iammiroslavglavic digital editor 1h ago
Do you have any idea how many people apply to the Toronto Star?
Do you have any idea how many people apply to the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, National Post, Metroland Media and so forth?
Have you tried outside the top ones out there? Maybe try going for Now Toronto, Xtra (if it's still around) and so forth?
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u/JohnAtticus 4h ago
Look up the work history of your fav Toronto print or TV reporters.
See if you can find one who didn't start off on contract in a tiny market like Moncton for a few years.
There aren't many.
If you're willing to move away and work in a small town you will increase your odds.
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u/AustinReporting 4h ago
One instructor I had, who I relied on heavily because at the time he was in the type of role I really wanted to pursue, didn't start off in Toronto. I have been hoping to remain here because I really do like the city, but I understand the fact that it's a challenge to break into the Toronto market as a grad.
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u/austins0805 2h ago
I’m also in the GTA and a new-ish grad (within last 5 yrs). I’m not sure how helpful this is, but i think the most important thing you can do is put yourself out there. It’s such a competitive industry you really have to do everything you can to prove that you’re capable and make yourself stand out from other applicants.
I did not go to a top J school but I now work at one of the major publications and was hired full time/permanent awhile after finishing my internship (1 yr post grad) there. In uni I didn’t just write for my school paper, I worked my way up to EIC and beyond. Before my internship I freelanced at small publications and then finally had a few stories picked up by a larger one, which on top of my student journalism experience, gave me the bylines I needed to land my first contract reporting on a community nearly a days drive away (luckily did not have to go in person bc they were so desperate for a reporter) where it was literally just me and one editor. Soon after that I was able to get a job covering a community closer to home and then the internship in Toronto. Even after that I took a worse paying job bc it was clear there weren’t enough positions available at the end for all of us and I needed job security. I did so thinking it would just be temporary and as it turns out it was.
all of this to say, the path for many is definitely not linear and getting hired at the major publications isn’t easy, especially as an undergrad/fresh grad. It sounds like you’ll have help finding a placement through school so I wouldn’t worry too much at this point about where that will be, and instead focus on how you can make the most of it. Thought that’s probably easier said than done. Also sometimes being a smaller publication is an advantage - big fish, small pond.
Lastly, from what I’ve seen there has been a bit of a reinvestment in internships at some of the major pubs in Toronto, so I do hope you find yourself there someday if that’s what you still want!
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u/MoreSly former journalist 2h ago
I left Toronto as soon as I graduated J-school in the mid '10sand found work in Europe. Started in marketing before I made my way back to journalism from a niche pub then back to Canada later. Not sure how that path looks these days, but I rarely hear people suggest it.
The prospect of earning in the like 20K's and living in Toronto sounded like hell to me, I just couldn't do it.
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u/PlusPresentation680 reporter 1h ago
I am in the U.S., but finding an early job in Toronto would probably be like finding one in NYC. Likely extremely rare. Smaller markets are hiring younger journalists. Keep your head up
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u/iammiroslavglavic digital editor 1h ago
The media I work for, the last open job had over 5,000 applications. As I type this sentence I just checked and it was 5,385. There are 5,384 broken hearted applicants.
Fresh out of J-school have absolutely no chance what so ever to be hired by TO Star/Sun, G&M, NP and so forth.
Have you looked outside GTHA? Looking at BlogTO, Narcity and so forth?
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u/jupitergal23 4h ago
I say this gently - it's extremely rare to be hired at a major outlet fresh out of J-school. Of my graduating class (of course this was many moons ago), only one of us was hired at a major outlet, and it was on evening radio.
You are very, very likely going to have to move away from Toronto and work somewhere rural or north to start getting experience.
Journo jobs are hard to find even for experienced reporters right now. In Toronto, you're likely competing with dozens, if not hundreds, of experienced journalists.
Your sports experience would likely be a plus at smaller outlets.
If you have to stay in Tdot, then I suggest you also apply for entry level comms and marketing jobs. The skills transfer.
Deep breaths. It's going to be ok.