Want job security? Be a business journalist

Ottawa Business Journal editor Leo Valiquette comments on the trouble tech companies are having in finding employees in his area and makes a comparison to his own business.

Valiquette wrote, “I experienced this first hand last fall. A combination of promotion, retirement and transfer gutted the editorial department of the OBJ. I had to hire a new researcher and three new reporters and get them up to speed in the space of a couple of months.

“There’s a joke in this profession that, if a journalist wants to ensure they have steady employment, they are best advised to specialize in business. Why? Because no one else wants the job. It’s true that business reporting doesn’t appeal to the majority of journalists. It’s just about impossible to find an experienced business journalist knowledgeable about Ottawa who isn’t already working for a bigger publication that offers a bigger paycheque.

“The only option, therefore, is to identify those applicants who can actually write, demonstrate sound news judgment, have strong communication skills, persistence and tenacity, and a thorough understanding of the term ‘deadline.’ Of course, they must also be willing to learn something new. If you have these characteristics in an individual, then you have a rock solid foundation upon which to build.

“The basic criteria may change with the circumstances, but this can apply to any other industry, including the technology sector.”

Read more here.