Last Monday, we said goodbye to our intern of two months. Her time here has flown by; she was a good fit for the team, wrote a number of articles, took criticism well, and learnt a lot, as she herself concluded. One of the things she learnt is that being a journalist is probably not for her after all. And no, that’s not a sign of failure, even if that thought crossed her mind. It’s actually a sign of wisdom, discovering what you don’t want, where your passion doesn’t lie. As a farewell gift, we got her a beautiful notebook with kind words and well wishes from the entire team. One thing is clear: with her qualities and commitment, she’ll land on her feet.
Junior journalist
The next day, on Tuesday, we interviewed applicants for the vacant position of junior journalist. They were all graduates or soon-to-be graduates who either thought or already knew that they wanted to become a journalist. I was reminded of myself, crossing the Servaasbrug bridge one early morning in the early nineties, on my way to a room in what is today the Faculty of Law on Bouillonstraat. I, too, wanted to be a journalist. In fact, as far as I was concerned, I already was a journalist, as I’d been writing articles as a freelancer for a while. I sat down, filled with nervous energy. I don’t remember much of the interview, except for one thing: they criticised one of my articles, an article that I was proud of. I didn’t hesitate for a second and defended my own writing. After all, I’d thought carefully about every sentence, and the article had been approved by my first journalism teacher in Nijmegen. Was I right to? I don’t know, but I could’ve been a tad less defensive, I’m afraid. What I do know is that I learnt a lot in the years that followed. About interviewing, writing, handling criticism, working in a team and, later, leading a team. And I’ve learnt that I’ll always be learning. Every now and then, someone good-naturedly pokes fun at my spirited defence of my own writing all those years ago.
Capacity to learn
Sitting on the other side of the table this week, I and my colleagues CF and WD quickly agreed on what we were looking for in a junior journalist: the will and capacity to learn, enthusiasm for the profession, and a pleasant personality. Two candidates scored high on all counts. We’ve offered them both jobs. It’ll be fun and exciting, for them and for us.