Thread by @TaliaBuford

You may have heard that ProPublica is hiring 17 positions to cover the South, Southwest and Midwest. 🔎🔎

Are you interested in applying?

I’m ProPublica’s 🌟new🌟 Talent Director, and I want to share some tips.

THREAD

propublica.org/article/propub…

We want the journalists at these new units to reflect the communities they cover and are working to make that a reality. propublica.org/article/what-p…

From your emails, DMs and Slack messages, I’ve learned that you’re interested, but you aren’t sure if you’ve got a shot.

So let’s talk about it. *pulls up a chair beside me and gestures for you to sit*

Let’s get the easy ones out of the way:

We don’t require a set number of years of experience. As long as you meet the qualifications, and you’re interested in the role, you should apply. We are looking for evidence that you can tell accountability stories that lead to impact. So bring receipts: propublica.org/impact

Got a non-traditional career path?

Dope. Tell us why it’s an asset for your journalism. We truly want to hear it.

(I mean, 👋🏾 I went to law school.)

Ask us questions. It’s not a trick. There’s contact information at the bottom of every job description for a reason. We want to help you find out if this is the best role for you. So ask me or any other ProPublican. We will do our best to give you answers.

Now the harder stuff.

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to make your application more attractive to ProPublica.

My answer is and always will be the same:

Don’t try to contort yourself into what you think we want. I get it. That’s normally the game.

Not here.

ProPublica wants what you bring. Your approach to investigative journalism. Your skills. Your perspectives. Your way of thinking. So show it to us.

To that end, your work samples and comments on them ARE the most important part of your application. It’s your chance to show us how you think, what worked and what you would have done better.

Show us that your strongest work is still ahead of you.

At ProPublica, we want our reporters to tell us what we should be covering.

What feels wrong to you?
What’s unfair?
What’s hurting people?

When we hire you, we want to know what sets off your injustice alarms. Then we want you to tell those stories for us.

(ProTip: Many reporters use their application memo as a punch list to work through when they get into the newsroom. It’s a great way to get your footing here, or, it’s a great set of ideas to pursue in whatever newsroom you’re in.)

We are a national outlet, but many of us got our start in local news (Shoutout to “Word Up,” the @flintjournal's now-defunct teen section, for giving me my 1st byline).

It’s why we care about investigative journalism that is vital to communities, and also resonates outside state lines.

We hope you do too.

TLDR: ProPublica is expanding its local presence and if you’re considering it, you should probably apply.

Period.

Any questions?

propublica.org/article/propub…