Subscriber post: Advice for ProPublica job applications from Talia Buford
'Tie your aspirations to the work, not a newsroom.'
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A big thank you goes out to Talia Buford, Talent Development Director with ProPublica, for her thoughtful answers to a few questions about what it’s like to work at the nonprofit newsroom, how candidates can make their applications stand out and more. Before taking on her role as talent development director, Buford was a reporter for 15 years with ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, Politico and more.
ProPublica is currently hiring 11 reporters to cover the South and Southwest.
What advice would you share with those who aspire to work for ProPublica?
Tie your aspirations to the work, not a newsroom.
After the recession (and the shrinking of newsrooms everywhere), I stopped thinking about destinations and instead focused on the kinds of experiences and skills I wanted to gain.
Then start where you are. I wanted to be a better writer to tell more complex stories. I needed to write some bad public records requests to figure out how to actually get the receipts I wanted. I tried practicing capturing scenes and emotions in routine stories so I could get better at building out fuller characters. I brainstormed different story frames until I got to something that felt original.
Thinking about work in this way helped me to order my career in a news landscape that was/is unsettled and where traditional career pathways are mostly decimated. ProPublica didn't even exist when I started my journalism career. The perfect place for you might not even have published its first story yet.
Focus on the skills you need to do the kind of work that excites you and you’ll find a home, whether it’s at ProPublica or not.
How can candidates make their applications stand out?
I’ve shared some advice on Twitter about this very issue.
But I’ll highlight a few pieces of advice here:
ProPublica provides space for applicants to tell us more about the work samples they’re submitting. Take advantage of that. We’re looking for stories that are investigative, original and have the potential for impact. Tell us how your story fits that profile, or what you would have done differently.
We also invite candidates to tell us things about themselves or their work that can’t be contained in resumes or projects. We are open to non-traditional paths, but it’s up to you to show us how your experiences will improve your journalism. Don’t expect us to see the connections — make them plain.
Pitch us the stories you want to tell. Don’t try to fit into what you think the ProPublica mold is. We are an organization that trusts its journalists immensely. We want you to tell us what stories set off your injustice alarms. The stories you’re passionate about pursuing? Those are the ones we want you to tell. Trust your internal story compass.
What is it like to work at ProPublica?
There’s a period when you first start at ProPublica where you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s just no way you can believe your coworkers can be this talented, collaborative, generous AND nice. But it’s true. We don’t just work together; we actually like one another. In better times, there is a softball team, and Happy Hours; now, our Slack channels are MUCH more active, and we’ve brought our happy hour to Zoom.
Our newsroom is filled with some of the smartest journalists who are literal experts in the fields of audience, engagement, data, news apps, research and narrative and investigative journalism. We are at our best when we can set them loose on a topic or project, and allow them to use their superpowers to tell stories with moral force. That’s not to say that we don’t make mistakes or have disagreements, but having journalists aligned around a mission such as we do really helps us in those moments to refocus on what’s important.
As an organization, we’re also at a transformative point. We’re expanding with investigative units in the South and Southwest, and that alone is exciting — to be in a newsroom that is growing. And we also created a more diverse masthead to help support us as we mature.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
There are no straight lines anymore. Allow yourself the freedom to follow your instincts, interests and passions. (It's why I went to law school.) When in doubt, go with the option that seems most fun.
Send me your feedback and your job openings!
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.