News Work for bit-tech, bit-gamer and Custom PC

I can haz (bindi's) ban hammer?

 

is there any option to work from home?

i.e. i don't live anywhere near London!

 

But you wouldn't be able to play with all the shiny new toys

 

I'm afraid not, its a full-time office-based job; or to use your forum nick lingo, its a frontline job, not one for R.E.M.F.s

 

What are the total hours per week? And what's the daily working office hours for this role?

 

thank you.

 

Hi, new member but long time lurked on this forum

Just wondered what the office hours are for this role? Just so I know whether the commute would be possible?

 

Well, I sell a few articles, and I didn't have to write any free stuff.

But seriously, folks: It's a London job that even the company is describing as "entry level", which means that the pay will be abusively low (and yes, it can be competitive with everyone else and still be abusively low). This is particularly prevalent in the film and TV industry, but it's everywhere now that there are so few jobs to be had, especially when it's about a job that's even slightly attractive or interesting - and journalism really is a dosser's pastime from that point of view.

And that's why the only people now starting national journalism or media careers - which are invariably based in London - are irritating little Fauntleroys whose parents bought them a flat in Chelsea. I have no evidence that this is why TV is so eyebrow-raisingly godawful. None at all.

P

 

Well, think I'll be giving this a shot. Would quite like to get into journalism, and this seems to be a perfect place to try and start out!

 

That's because there's a difference between freelance and in-office. If someone does freelance work then it's a case of a few hundred quid being spent, so the editor is usually more willing to take a punt. I've freelanced tonnes of stuff from first-time writers I didn't know solely because of this, but it also factors in that a freelance contract dictates that you don't have to pay if the freelancer doesn't fulfill his duties. It makes it very hard to for a freelance job to be lose/lose.

A full-time job, however, is a much bigger investment. We will spend multiple months looking for the right person, integrating them into the team, training them, showing them how we do things. This is an entry level position, so it's the first step in a long-term career for most people. It's important we get the right person and the writing sample aids that - and shouldn't be hard to produce for someone who wants to, you know, write. This is doubly true for a technical position, where we need to know you understand hardware enough to write about it.

If you, a freelancer, contacted me with a good idea for an article then I'm not going to ask you to write a sample first unless I have serious reservations. If you apply for a full-time job, however, I'd want to see a portfolio. Just as new cooks are invited to show-off what they can do in a kitchen, or architects are asked to build a portfolio of designs, journalists must show they know how to approach a page.

Even in a higher position an established journalist would still be expected to provide a portfolio of work at some point, just as an artist would have a selection of drawings to show off to employers.

Also, the pay is not abusively low. The 13K Future Publishing offered me for a Staff Writer job five years ago was abusively low. This isn't that and is a big part of the reason why Dennis has such good standing - as well as the benefits, such as private healthcare, health insurance, yadda yadda.

 

So if we are writing about our current system or hardware, do we have to bear in mind the current state of hardware and pricing, or can it be based on when it was released?

 

It would be more sensible to review the hardware as if it were new, as that's how our reviews are written.

 

If your a little bit over the 500 word limit will you be penalised?

 

Your call: we'll be judging you on writing ability, structure, technical accuracy, level of analysis and so on after all. And you can always briefly explain your decision in a covering letter.

 

A few words under or over 500 is fine, but anything signficantly under or over will count against you, as the ability to describe and analyse a product in a set word count is an important skill for a technology journalist.

 

do prior comments in the forums count against you?

;-0

 

That depends on your history

 

Would you like photos included? Or would you not need us to be able to correctly photograph items?

 

Unless you've done some elaborate mod you desperately want to show off, photos won't be required, no. We have a photo department here to handle that stuff for us!

 

Brilliant! Thought you might, wasn't sure though, takes a load off my shoulders!

Now to think of something to review...