According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate also dropped to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January with 12 million people looking for work. The lowest rate since December 2008, when the rate was 7.3 percent.
Despite the reports of improvement there are still young professionals on the hunt for their dream job. Alexis Goring is one of them. Before seriously pursuing her journalism career she was a teacher in Prince George’s County Public Schools under an alternative certification program. A chance encounter redirected her back to journalism where she’s accepted freelance work but still is in need of a fulltime job opportunity. Alexis is one of the 12-million who are still looking for work. Women’s Issues Examiner.com asked Alexis several questions on why the next employer should hire her for their next opening.
Tell me about your work experience?
My first career was in teaching through an alternative certification program. I loved the children, but found that teaching was not for me. So in June 2011, I decided to follow my true passion, writing. The good news is I have a degree in Print Journalism and I’m a natural writer with good reporting and photography skills so I was able to land freelance work with my county’s newspaper, The Prince George’s Sentinel. No more than two weeks after my teaching career concluded, I attended the editorial meeting at the newspaper office and presented a few story ideas to my editor, all of which she assigned to me for publication. After leaving the office, I went straight to the site of my first story idea—the construction of a new park in Bowie, Md. and it felt so good to be covering the news, like discovering a shoe at DSW that is the perfect fit, it was reaffirmed to me on that day that writing is my calling.
As a journalist how have you handled deadline situations?
As a journalist, I know the importance of meeting your deadlines on time. In cases where I may need a deadline extension due to needing more time to arrange interviews with high-profile subjects or due to scheduling, I will request the extension from my editor several days prior to the original deadline and then I will work hard to meet the extended deadline at least a few hours before the exact time it is due.
What makes you the best candidate for a job?
I am the best candidate for a job because I am professional and prompt. My reporting skills are thorough and detail-oriented yet precise, concise and creative. Feature stories are my strongest skill as a journalist and I would love the opportunity to write those all the time.
Name three words that describe your work ethic?
Strong, focused, efficient
When it comes to social media what score would you give yourself and why?
I would say my potential to change the world through social media is 10 but my current use of it is a 8 because I have not fully harnessed all of many ways you can use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blogs and other forms of social media to make a positive difference in this world which is my goal. I would love to reach the world with my words and help people’s hearts heal through my work. Currently, I have two blogs: God is Love and On My Heart. My first blog, “God is Love” was started in August 2010 and since then, I’ve had over 6,000 page views. I would think I was being more successful if I had more feedback from my readers in the comment section simply because that would let me know they are reading my work and it’s making a difference in their lives. Comments from my readers would also help me know what topics to cover on my blog and how to better address their needs. But I am grateful for the members that I do have who subscribe to my blog and I hope as I learn about more ways to use social media, my audience will grow and my comment section at the end of each blog post will overflow. My most recent blog, On My Heart, was started in September 2011. I call it my “issues” blog because it is purposed to address social issues particularly in the area of race relations. However, I make sure both of my blogs live up to this one standard “The Golden Rule” which is to “treat others the way you want to be treated” and for me that means that every single blog post must be respectful of the readers and ultimately educate, inspire and encourage them in their life journey.
Out of all the work you've published what's your favorite story?
My favorite print journalism story that I’ve published thus far is “School year begins at Greenbelt Middle School” (published Aug. 23, 2012 in The Prince George’s Sentinel) for a significant reason. Allow me explain. I remember on the first day of school during my second year as a teacher, a professional journalist was there with her DSLR camera, capturing every moment of the excited new Pre-K, Kindergarten and returning elementary school children as they met their teachers in the school gym. I watched the reporter with mixed emotions—on one hand, I was grateful that I was still teaching because children are the future and I appreciate the role I was given to play in their education but on the other hand, I envied the reporter because she was in the shoes I’d always thought I’d fill one day—but I dismissed my wishful thoughts and decided to embrace my new reality as a teacher. So you can imagine my excitement when I was assigned to cover the first day of school on location of the new building for Greenbelt Middle School. It felt like my career path had gone full circle and now I was the reporter capturing the scene and emotions of the children as they bounded of the bus and into their new state-of-the-art building, excited to start a new school year.
What would you like employers to know about you that makes you unique?
What makes me unique is my great sense of humor and ability to make people smile. When reporting the news and writing feature stories, I think that these unique traits of mine help me to secure the human interest hook to every story and it also helps to put my interview subjects at ease which results in their opening up and divulging details that make my story shine.
What are you doing to keep your knowledge in the working arena relevant?
Keeping your knowledge in the working arena relevant is important. As a writer, I continue to read books (fiction and non-fiction), memoirs of great people (such as The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities by Soledad O’Brien), learn everything about the latest professional camera equipment (such as the Canon DSLR I am planning to purchase once I can afford it), and read magazines (TIME, ESSENCE, EBONY, Washingtonian). Also, I visit online professional news sources and blogs in order to stay up to date on what the national and local conversations are within my community and outside of it too. Keeping my skills sharp is a priority which I fulfill by working as a freelance writer and photographer for newspapers and magazines in mainstream and religious media.
Tell me one word that sums up your talents?
Diverse
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If you’re looking for a multitalented journalist look no further Alexis Goring is the woman for the job. To contact her for the next opportunity please email her by clicking here alexisagoring@gmail.com. To look at some of her published work please take a look at the links below. If you are young, smart and jobless and would like to be featured please contact Women’s Issues examiner by clicking here.
Alexis A. Goring published work:
My online writing portfolio
http://writingsbyalexis.wordpress.com/
My blog, "God is Love"
http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/
My blog, "On My Heart"
http://coveringitall.blogspot.com/
My page with Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/education-reform-2-in-washington-dc/alexis-goring
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