How did you apply for the Telegraph scheme? I notice that the webpage relating to it on their site was published in 2009, yet this article was written in  2011. Did you call up HR?

Perhaps because you don't know the difference between your and you're?

"This is both misleading and demoralising for those sincere and enthusiastic graduates who deserve to be given a chance to reach their full potential."

It is a tough market, you deserve a place on a Grad Scheme no more than someone who graduated a year ago and has that much experience working for a local.

By and large if you want a job in this climate (Journo/Corporate Grad Scheme etc) -- assuming you are one of the many people have got the requisite qualifications/basic experience -- what you need to do is find out exactly what they want, and make sure you've got it.

The best jobs go to those people with the drive and the potential and also the experience. Go get it.

Surely that's exactly what this article is about?

I don't really see anything wrong with giving the spots to journos who are already working. Perhaps they missed out on a spot last time around and got hired by their local paper. They shouldn't be banned from applying again just because a new crop of graduates have come through. After all, they have more experience now and are probably better writers. It doesn't seem right but it's a competitive industry and that's how it goes. And working your way up to a national from a local is a great path to take, the experience I got was invaluable.

Your piece makes an important point - which is that newspapers still value good quality cuttings - but personally I feel that that there is another, less encouraging, side to the story.

I too, applied to the Telegraph scheme and I too got rejected - no surprises there. However, I have managed to wangle a minor paid role on the paper through other means (mainly spamming as many people as possible with requests for work experience), and I took the initiative to speak to Richard Ellis, who is the Editorial Executive Director, about the graduate scheme. He also emphasised the superior portfolios and experience of those lucky individuals who were asked for interviews, but then he said something else, which was that because of the competitive nature of the industry and partly as a result of the current crisis, those six coveted placed on the graduate scheme would more likely than not go to individuals who "are already working as professional journalists".

I hate to be pessimistic, but surely this defies the whole point of a graduate scheme in the first place (especially one, like at the Telegraph, where the first 6 months are spent learning the basics of print journalism and reporting), which should be about giving those people with the drive and the potential, but not necessarily the experience, the chance to get their foot on the journalism ladder. Instead, newspapers and other media outlets are using graduate schemes to allow them to recruit pre-trained professional journalists for as little salary as possible and with as little commitment as possible. This is both misleading and demoralising for those sincere and enthusiastic graduates who deserve to be given a chance to reach their full potential.

I think what's interesting is the possibility that what they're looking for changes...6 cityhacks got onto the scheme last year with two of them confidently asserting that applicants didn't need national experience (which they didn't) and that the paper/HR seemed to actually like that they had a lot of local experience...

Yes, I have been knocked back from a lot of graduate schemes despite ticking all the boxes outlined in the advertisment. I think it's sad that all papers say they are moving towards their digital output being the most important thing, but at the same time keeping online and print seperate. Frustrating.

Thanks for your comments guys and the kind words about Hacks.

Obviously your both right - grad schemes aren't really grad schemes in the old sense of the word - there for people who have been doing the job for several years or want to step up from local to national, not fresh 21 year olds wanting to be taught from (almost) scratch.

re: innovative websites/hyperlocal blogs - I don't think everyone has an 'innovative' blog. Many people at City have blogs but use them mainly for portfolio which is fine if you've got lots to show. One guy reviews the days papers at 12pm and that's interesting (http://cynicaljournalist.wordpress.com/) But I can't envisage that everyone who applied for the Telegraph application had something similar - most would have had lots of print experience.

And yes, we'd like to hope Hacks demonstrates something about us, though it's important to note that it's not the reason why we set it up. We didn't think 'This will get us a grad scheme interview', we thought we could help facilitate a nice community here. So in that sense it wasnt a huge surprise that the people at the Telegraph didn't view it as highly as you guys kindly do.

Agreed.

One of those great insider bits of advice, like we've sent a scout ahead of the wagon train.

It's very revealing, as you say, the value The Telegraph puts on national clippings. Like so many businesses, they are creaming 'the best' from the best. It's encouraging to see them searching for a colleague, though, which their approach leads me to believe.

And I think you should feel buoyed by the experience, for sure. Wannabe Hacks is gonna pay off in a big way. And I mean apart from all the help and support you're giving to the growing audience - something which the five of you subscribe and deliver.

And yes, I'll state the obvious, as sometimes the Type A personalities often forget, but the fact you followed up for feedback shows, what some of my fellow countymen would call, hutzpah.

As true as the statements are when we say "I've got a journo degree, so does half the earth. What makes me special?" -- we would be wise to remember, in fact, not everyone is influencing and shaping their environment at such a young age.

Sometimes things play out on a longer timeline and they're often sweeter for it.

This was a good read. I guess one of the issues is the sheer volume of candidates all toting similarly 'innovative' website experience/hyperlocal blogs.

That doesn't cut it anymore - but I don't know what does.

It does surprise me that you didn't get an interview though. There's a lot of buzz surrounding Wannabe Hacks.