Advice for The 19th job applications from Abby Johnston
'Our newsroom is united by our commitment to equity and uplifting the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people'
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A big thank you goes out to Abby Johnston, deputy editor at The 19th, for her thoughtful answers to a few questions about what it’s like to work at the nonprofit newsroom known for reporting on reporting on gender, politics and policy.
What advice would you share with those who aspire to work for The 19th?
I won’t belabor the things that apply to all jobs — clear communication that you’re a good fit for the role, an understanding of the organization and the type of work that we do, etc. — and skip to something that is unique about The 19th: Demonstrate a belief in our mission.
No matter the position, everyone in our newsroom is united by our commitment to equity and uplifting the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people. If you don’t share that enthusiasm, then you likely won’t be a good fit for The 19th. But if you do, let us see your commitment through your cover letter and clips. Even if you haven’t gotten to cover the exact type of stories that we do at The 19th, find something close and explain the type of work you would do in this role.
How can candidates make their applications stand out?
Applications that catch my eye are clearly tailored to the specific role. Hiring managers are very good at spotting when the only thing that was changed in the cover letter was the name of the organization.
But I think it’s also a balance of telling us about you and telling us about why you believe you would be a good fit. Many of the cover letters that I read lean on one or the other too much. The best ones can combine those two things at once, using past work experience to contextualize how that would help them succeed at The 19th. Ultimately, I want to walk away with an idea of where you’ve been, where you want to go and how The 19th fits into all of that.
Also, don’t be afraid to have a little fun with it. Especially for positions that involve a lot of writing, it’s nice to see some personality in resumes or cover letters.
What is it like to work at The 19th?
We’re a distributed newsroom, so half of us live in Austin and the other half work remotely. Some roles require being in Austin, others do not. All reporting positions can work from wherever they want in the United States, and I’m the only editor based here.
We launched in August 2020, so many people were working from home. Launching in the pandemic was a good exercise for what will always be a reality for The 19th: lots of Zooms, lots of emailing and phone calls. But we’re trying to create a good atmosphere even if we can’t pop over to someone’s desk to say hi. I think we have the funnest Slack in journalism (there’s a skincare channel and another one dedicated to cute pictures of pets and kids).
I am proud of this distributed newsroom, and I’m looking forward to in-person retreats, which we plan to do regularly, now that we can travel again.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
If you don’t see a position that feels like a good fit for you right now at The 19th, keep checking back. We’re continuing to grow, and we have some really exciting hires that we plan to make by the end of the year. If you follow any of the members of the newsroom (or, you know, The 19th) on Twitter, then you’ll hear about them. We couldn’t be more excited to add to the team.
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I'd love to hear from you with any questions, feedback or job openings you might have. Hit me up at mandy.hofmockel@gmail.com.