I’m writing in response to another Ask the Recruiter column, this time about an aspiring journalist with an impressive resume coming from a small college.

In his column, Joe Grimm offers some pretty good advice to the student — on his jaw-dropping sixth internship at a daily newspaper — who seems to be having some problems breaking into a bigger daily publication.

It is unclear whether he is trying to land another internship or an actual job, but as both processes are similar, the advice (network harder, reach out to recruiters) is applicable to either.

I want to elaborate on this topic, because while I don’t have nearly the amount of internships and accolades as this student, I do come from a small school and can relate to his situation.

I come from a private college with a relatively small (but growing) Communications department and an even smaller student newspaper.

I’ve been able to turn that into a positive, though, by playing up the fact that because the school/newspaper is so small, I had to take on more roles and become more independent.

I’m obviously biased, but editors at small schools/newspapers often have to be well-rounded, resourceful and willing to take the initiative to make things happen.

However, at a small school — especially if it’s also in a small town — it can be easier to get trapped inside the campus bubble. I’ve seen many students who are so focused on school, work or campus activities that they don’t bother to do any kind of off-campus networking until they reach that oh-crap-I’m-graduating-in-two-months-what-do-I-do phase.

Now, keep in mind that the student in the Ask the Recruiter column is going after a top-size newspaper — with his credentials he could probably have landed a job at a smaller pub now.

But, if you want to be a journalist and come from a smaller school, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Break out of the bubble — Don’t let a lack of media-related events or activities on your campus hold you back. Seek out professional organizations (many have student membership prices and mentorship programs) and attend every panel, workshop and lecture you can find and talk to people while you’re there.
• Take pride in your publication — Don’t play down the low circulation or small staff of your college paper. If, as Editor-in-Chief, you were also Web Editor, Advertising Manager, Business Manager and Layout Editor, put that in your resume. Working at a small publication makes you versatile, and that’s what makes you valuable.
• Use your professors — While larger universities may have more big-name professors with industry connections, at a smaller school, the professors will actually talk to you. Set up informational interviews and see if any would be willing to advise on a project. You paid a lot of money for those small class sizes — take advantage of them.
• Go it alone — So maybe your school doesn’t offer classes in multimedia production or have the resources for a daily student newspaper. That’s ok — you can still improve your skill set and experience by starting your own blog, Internet TV show or podcast. Sure, having the support of a college or university helps tremendously, but the benefit of taking on an independent project is that you’re no longer just a student, but an entrepreneur with obvious passion and initiative.

Entry-level is a new series profiling those who are working their first media jobs out of college. Want to be featured? Send an e-mail to d.ceceliamartinez [at] gmail [dot] com with a photo and answers to the questions below.

Name: Benjamin Brown (@RedLeader656)

Location: Albany, NY

Gig: Founder and CEO, New Hand Media

Education: The College of Saint Rose, 2009

Length of job search: My job search lasted months. During school, I was working for Apple Inc. as a computer tech at one of their retail stores. It was a great job and I was paid well, but there was so much that I felt I was missing. So, making one of the most important decisions of my life, I decided to quit my job and relocate to Charlotte, NC. It was there that I got a taste of the real world and how bad the economy actually is. I spent eight to 10 hours a day sending out resumes and calling companies, never hearing a word back from any of them. This went on for about six months, until I finally ran out of money and had to come back to Albany. I was disappointed, but learned a lot about life and the job market, so for that I’m forever grateful.

Why he decided to start his own business: The difficulty of finding a job in established companies. There are a lot of marketing and ad agencies out there, but in an economy like this, most of them are looking to let people go rather than hire. After a huge amount of disappointment and frustration, I decided to start my own business. I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew that I could do it better than most people that I had come across in the same field. I found what I loved and now I’m making a career out of it.

What’s been the hardest part so far: Just making the leap forward to do it. You have to jump in head first and hope that you don’t smash your head on the rocks at the bottom. It’s sort of a leap of faith. All of your time, money and effort are focused on getting your name out there and generating buzz for your brand. It’s nothing short of petrifying, but you just have to believe that you’re going to make it, otherwise no one else will.

What attracted him to social media: Social media has changed the way that we live our lives. We now have the ability to converse and connect with consumers in a way that wasn’t possible five years ago. Right now there’s a mini ‘gold rush’ going on to see who can take advantage of these cutting edge technologies. The ability of something like Facebook to allow you to target very specific audiences is incredible. The other thing that amazes me is how platforms like Twitter have really given a lot of power back to consumers. Ten years ago, marketing and ad campaigns were generated in sort of a cookie cutter fashion, with no real feedback. Now people can talk about your brand on an exponential level, reaching far beyond their immediate circle of friends and family. This ultimately makes brands much more accountable for their actions and messages.

His dream client: Some sort of niche brand that I could help develop into a titan in the market. I would love to be able to bring some small brands into the marketplace in a big way.

Ultimate goal: To make sure that I love every minute of what I’m doing. When you hate your job and you’re miserable at work every day, what’s the point? I want to ultimately make a sustainable company that is able to develop interesting and impactful brand awareness. Of course I’d also like to make loads of money, but that’ll come later if I keep doing what I love.

Advice for job seekers out there: Find what you love and do it! Read every book that you can about starting a business, find online resources and apply that to something that you want to do for the rest of your life. It’s never been easier to get a small business going that’s made of nothing more than your voice talking about what you love. Now is the time to get into the game because like I said, social media has become the great equalizer. It’s going to allow you to get your message and content out there. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing then do it every day and go at it as hard as you can. At the end of the day you’re going to be happier with yourself.

Have you considered the possibility of starting your own business, or are you content holding out for a full-time job, no matter how long it might take?

You have the press badge - but what to put on it?

The editors over at The Chronicle — the College of Saint Rose student newspaper where I served as a staff writer and Executive Editor for a few years — are currently considering a name change to coincide with changes being made to the Saint Rose Communications Department.

Deciding on a name for anything is usually a difficult task. Whether it’s your first-born or even just your fantasy football team, it’s easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of options. Names are so intrinsically tied to identity. Choose the wrong one, and it invokes all the wrong connotations for your product/publication/child. (Just think about the recent iPad debacle).

Names for publications generally encompass two things: the audience, and the purpose.

For newspapers, the audience aspect is usually location-based. The purpose portion, however, require some self-analysis.

What kind of publication do you want to produce? Do you plan to chronicle or record the happenings of your city or school? Are you going to ask the tough questions or sound the alarm to corruption? Or, is it more important that you be a voice for your audience and cover a wide spectrum of topics and ideas?

It’s imperative that you be confident in the identity and mission of your publication before deciding on a name. Really, you should already have these principles in place and written in an official mission statement or staff manual, but with the high turnover at college newspapers this can often get lost in the shuffle.

After the jump are some creative college newspaper names I found using the Campus Fundraiser College Newspaper Directory (not a complete directory, the Chronicle wasn’t listed).

University of Alaska-Anchorage — The Northern Light
A very creative way to reference location.

Hawaii Pacific University — Kalamalama
Not really sure if this is actually a clever name, but it is fun to say. Anyone know what it means? I couldn’t find a translation online.

Boise State University — The Arbiter
Sometimes newspaper names can be a fun vocab lesson. I didn’t know this, but an arbiter is like a judge.

University of Idaho — Argonaut
…Or a Greek mythology lesson. Wikipedia says: The Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis (modern day Georgia) in his quest to find the Golden Fleece.

Illinois State University — The Daily Vidette
More vocab: A mounted sentinel stationed in advance of an outpost or a small scouting boat used to observe and report on an opposing naval force.

Wichita State University — The Sunflower
It’s just such a happy name. Doesn’t it make you want to read that paper?

Tulane University — Tulane Hullabaloo
Awesome.

Assumption College — Le Provocateur
I wonder if they have some sort of French history at this college.

University of Massachusetts-Boston — The Mass Media
I don’t always go for puns, but this one is brilliant.

Side note: I like how the state of Michigan has a Western Herald, a North Wind, an Eastern Echo and a South End.

Central Missouri State University — The Muleskinner
Yes, their mascot is the Mules.

Youngstown State University — Jam Bar
I don’t get it, but I like it.

University of Rhode Island — The Good 5Cent Cigar
Once again.

Angelo State University — Ram Page
Another awesome pun, and their mascot is — of course — the Rams.

Do you know of any creative college newspaper names? Have any name ideas for the editors of the Chronicle? Leave them in the comments or contact them directly at chronicle@strose.edu.

She writes:

While I know I want to be a journalist; that is a relative term. I’m not sure if I want to write for magazine, newspaper, alternative press, blog, or just chalk my college education up as a loss and go work with my mother.

She goes on to say that one goal of her internship is to gain a more specific direction, but I don’t think that a lack of specific direction is necessarily a negative. Journalists these days have to be more versatile than ever and be willing to take any job that comes along – regardless of it’s print, web, journalism, or technical writing.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think that my lack of specific direction is one of my biggest strengths. It provides me with more options when I’m sending out resumes, and also allows me to take on more responsibilities in whatever position I do obtain – making me more valuable as an employee.

“Jack of all trades but master of none” is usually thought of as a negative, but more and more it is the specialized “master” writers that are losing their jobs at publications while those that are able to cover a variety of topics manage to hold on.

What do you think? Is it better to have a specific focus in your career goals? Does keeping too much of an open mind leave you unorganized and stretched too thin?

Either way, good luck to Kali on her interview Wednesday!