20/11/2024:
I chose the ITV News Traineeship to do a mock job interview for. I chose this role because it is ITV News, Britain's most popular commercial broadcaster. It is a nine month traineeship program but a very high percentage of those who graduate from the programme secure permanent roles with ITV with chances of being in front of the camera.
Here is my letter of application:
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am writing to express my interest in the traineeship at ITV News. I would like to express why I believe that I would be suitable for this position.
Over the past year and a half I have been studying a Level 3 BTEC extended diploma in Journalism, which has given me a number of invaluable skills which will help me during the traineeship. For example I have learned how to write explainers, narrative interviews and op ed. I have also acquired the skills to interview and the technical abilities to record my own videos and audio in great detail.
In addition, I have gained experience in using Adobe softwares, cameras and microphones. My work is all displayed on my website https://2942241.wixsite.com/racheleatonblog and my social media @tracksiderachel. This hosts articles, podcasts and documentaries, like my documentary “Dare to Drive; A Woman’s Race”.
I am drawn to work for ITV News as you have a vast history of delivering top quality award-winning news broadcasting. I have been a viewer of ITV News on many occasions and would be honoured to be a part of the team making it possible.
I believe that I would be a valuable asset to your team as I have the experience and skills necessary to produce high-quality journalistic content for social media, broadcast and online articles. I have a passion for helping news reach audiences wide and far so that all stories and voices can be heard.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter of application and I hope to hear from you soon.
Kindest regards,
Rachel Eaton.
21/11/2024:
In preparation for the interview, I researched common job interview questions that could be asked and I made notes to help me answer them. I also annotated the paper version of the job listing to highlight key aspects of it, to help me remember these things. I will take my notes into the interview.
25/11/2024:
I did my mock job interview and I think it went well.
Reflection:
I choose
21/25
Good research about company and role
Try to rephrase perfectionism as a weakness
Struggled with eye contact and a bit nervous at start
Gained confidence
Good positive body language
Only gave one strength
Reflection:
I chose the ITV News Traineeship job role as it would allow for me to take on many different roles and improve my multi-media skills, and I could work with many professionals who I could learn from.
I read through the job spec a couple of times and underlined key information. I then did a bit of research about ITV. ITV is the most popular commercial broadcaster in the world so many will know what they do already so I drew from my own knowledge of ITV.
To prepare I made notes which I took into the room with me and I researched common questions that are asked in interviews to make my notes. I tried to memorise some of my notes so that I would find it easy to answer the questions.
I think the interview went well, for it being my first ever job interview. At the start I was very nervous and found it hard to answer the first question clearly, however I relaxed into the interview as it progressed and focused on giving clear answers with little hesitation.
Out of the 25 points I could have gotten from answering the questions, I got 21, which is a good score. I got feedback that I did good research and it was evident in my answers, that I had good postive body language but I struggled to make eye contact, and that I should try to rephrase the weakness 'perfectionism' to make it less cliche, if I use it in a future job interview.
To improve in the future I would rehearse my answers more so that I don't hesitate as much.
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