Sample Journalist Resume

Use our free template to make your resume a feature story.

By Dillon Price, Monster Contributor

As a journalist, you’re always in pursuit of the truth. You leave no stone unturned when you’re tracking an important story. Those sleuthing skills—and your way with words—will come in handy when you need to write a new journalist resume. Ready to channel your inner Murphy Brown or Walter Burns? Here’s how to lay out all the evidence of your skills and credentials in your journalist or reporter resume.

Just like your latest piece, your resume should make all the key points of your journalism career easy to digest. Start with your name and contact information at the top of your journalism resume. Then, make sure it contains the following details:

  • A brief career summary that encapsulates your creativity, ability to meet tight deadlines, and passion for reporting news and events.
  • A list of key skills, such as investigative journalism, multimedia reporting, news writing, and AP style.
  • Your professional experience with a bulleted list of achievements, such as how much content you produced, any recognition you received at previous jobs, and how you worked with reporting staff to ensure that deadlines were met.
  • Additional credentials such as your degree in journalism and journalism internships.

To get a general understanding of how your journalist or news reporter resume should be written and organized, see the template below.

Journalist Resume

Ann Nolan
Washington, D.C. 20001 | Phone: (555) 555-5555

AnnNolan@email.com | linkedin.com/ann.nolan | Twitter Handle: @AnnNolan

Experienced Reporter

News | Sports | Business | Education | Lifestyle Features

  • Creative and tenacious reporter with a nose for news, a passion for community journalism and a reputation for impeccable ethics.
  • Record of commended performance as a staff reporter for print and digital editions of local daily newspapers with circulations of up to 275,000.
  • Storyteller who treats news, features and other events with equal passion and thrives within the deadline-intensive, 24x7 newsroom environment.

Key Skills

Community Journalism | Investigative Journalism | Multimedia Reporting | News Writing
AP Style | Photojournalism | Columns & Op Ed Pieces | Creative Story Ideas
Information Systems / News Wires / Social Media | Proofreading | Research & Fact-Checking

Professional Experience

Company One — Washington, D.C. | Staff Reporter, 20XX to Present
Company Two — Washington, D.C. | Junior Reporter, 20XX to 20XX

Cover a range of areas (e.g., news, sports, business, education, healthcare, lifestyle, travel) as a full-time general assignment reporter for a local daily.

  • Singled out as one of the most prolific writers and productive story contributors among reporting staff. Never failed to meet a deadline.
  • Provided compelling coverage of both anticipated and spontaneous news for print and online media.
  • Earned commendations for excellence in writing, reporting, photojournalism and infographics.

Internships

Company Three — Washington, D.C. | Intern, 20XX
Company Four — Washington, D.C. | Public Information Intern, 20XX

  • Interned at Washington, D.C's major daily and at the Information Department of the University One.
  • Fulfilled multifaceted duties that included reporting, news/feature writing, researching, fact-checking, proofreading and headline/cutline writing.

Education

University One — Washington, D.C. | BA in Journalism
Served as Assistant Editor and Staff Reporter for University One Daily throughout college
~ Clips available at example-portfolio.com ~

Ready to get started on your journalist resume? You can download this reporter resume template here.

After completing your journalist or news reporter resume, you may want to know how much journalists make before applying. According to Monster’s salary data, journalists and reporters earn a median salary of over $40,000 per year. However, salaries and wages will vary by location and experience level. Monster’s Salary Calculator can give a general estimate of how much a reporter or journalist job pays in your area.

Planning on relocating? Here’s where journalists are in high demand:

Or, check out openings for journalist jobs across the U.S.

Turn Your Resume Into a Feature

As a reporter, you wouldn't file a story without first fact-checking and copyediting it. Well, just as editors expect to see clean copy, hiring managers expect to see resumes that demonstrate your command of copy—without any weak spots or errors. Could your journalist resume benefit from a line edit? Monster’s free resume review service will help you put the finishing touches on it.

Related Jobs