Overview
Journalism is a portfolio career from day one. Editors hiring trainee reporters do not care about your grades nearly as much as they care about your clips. How many stories have you published? Can you file to deadline? Can you do a door knock and come back with quotes? These are the questions your resume needs to answer.
This resume belongs to Caitlin, a Journalism BA graduate from City, University of London who completed an NCTJ accredited course, interned at the South London Press, and contributed to the university's award winning student paper. Her resume works because it leads with published output: 65 published bylines, 12 front page stories at the student paper, and 4 multimedia packages.
Published bylines are everything
If you have published bylines, lead with them. Count them. Caitlin lists 40 bylines from her internship at the South London Press and 25 from her student paper. A hiring editor sees those numbers and knows she can produce under deadline pressure.
If you have published work online, include URLs in your portfolio. If your work appeared in print, name the publication and the approximate number of pieces. For broadcast, count the packages or live reports.
NCTJ qualification
The NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) qualification is the industry standard for UK journalism. If you passed your NCTJ diploma or individual modules (shorthand, media law, court reporting, public affairs), list them. Caitlin lists her NCTJ Diploma in Journalism with 100wpm shorthand. For many local newspaper roles, the NCTJ is a strict requirement.
Newsroom experience: speed and volume
Journalism is a speed game. Caitlin's internship at the South London Press involved filing 3 to 4 stories per day, covering courts, council meetings, and community events. Her resume mentions covering 8 magistrates' court sessions and producing 40 published stories in 10 weeks. This tells an editor she can handle the pace.
Multimedia skills
Modern newsrooms expect reporters who can shoot video, record audio, take photos, and publish to a CMS. Caitlin's resume mentions producing 4 video packages, using Adobe Premiere Pro for editing, and publishing to WordPress. These multimedia skills are increasingly non negotiable, even for print first newsrooms.

















