A passionate journalist enjoys research, interviewing people for articles, reading the news stories and thinking of ideas for new articles to send to an editor. If you have a talent for writing and investigating a career in journalism might be the right work opportunity.

Here are steps to help develop your career as a journalist to help you.

Step 1: Join a University Newspaper

Most universities have a publication online or in the paper that is circulated to students and employees on campus. A journalist at a university can help with developing the skills to work with photographers, editors and the public when investigating a news story.

Step 2. Gain Experience through Freelance

As a freelance journalist, you can write for online news sites or work with local companies to help with writing. A few freelance sites to find work are Freelancemyway, Freelancer, and Guru. On these sites are jobs that are posted by small, medium and reputable organizations that need freelancers to help them with work.

Step 3: Prepare a CV for Work Opportunities

A few writing tips for creating a CV for a journalism resume is to tailor the content in the document to a job post description. I recommend using action verbs that include organized, achieved, presented, developed, and delegated to show a human resources recruiter what you can contribute to an organization.

A CV can include work experience in an internship, a volunteer opportunity, projects completed for university and freelance work in your spare time.

Step 4: Study the Careers of the Top Journalists

An effective way to learn journalism techniques for the workplace is to read the biographies and books on best practices from leaders in the industry. It will highlight their journey from youth to adulthood and the challenges experienced on their journey as a journalist. If you cannot find a mentor in journalism, reading these books can provide insight of the reality of working in the industry.

Step 5: Start a YouTube Channel or Blog

As you study as a student or work in the journalism industry, it is widely accepted for professionals to create a website and write about their experiences because it can inspire people interested in starting a career in journalism. A blog can be discovered by a human resources recruiter or a person working at a reputable company that can lead to meeting for networking.

Step 6: Find a Mentor

A mentor in the industry can be a journalism professor, a successful blogger, or a freelancer that is open to meeting with you occasionally to discuss their advice to be successful. A mentor can help prevent common mistakes new journalists make at the beginning of their career.

It is important to remember that a mentorship is a mutual professional relationship where the mentee offers a way to help the mentor in exchange for their advice. You can help a mentor by sending them articles on the industry, invitations to journalism events you discover or assisting with help for a work project.