Career Path of a Journalist With Career Pivots in the Startup World
Always knowing that journalism was the path to take, this career professional focused heavily on relevant experiences during college, working at an NBC affiliate and interning at a PR firm in Dallas, as well as doing "a work abroad visa in London for CBS," but ultimately wished they had explored other career paths and networked more broadly, which led to pivoting from the PR firm to the tech, nonprofit, and startup worlds later on. Getting hands-on experience in college was beneficial despite feeling "restricted on what [the] path was gonna go" due to the initial narrow focus.
Journalism, Public Relations, Career Pivots, Networking, Internships
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Heather Trumpfheller
Chief Growth Officer
Switchboard -- https://globalswitchboard.io/
University of Missouri
Creative Writing, Journalism
Technology
Sales and Client Management
Honors Student, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Hands-on experience in college: Heather gained valuable experience working at an NBC affiliate and interning at a PR firm during her time at the University of Missouri.
2. Exploration through internships: Heather pursued internships, including one in London with CBS, to gain diverse experience in journalism before graduating.
3. Career path evolution and advice: Heather initially focused on journalism but later pivoted to tech consulting, nonprofits, and startups. She advises students to attend career fairs, diversify their coursework, and network to explore various career options.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? I'd like to hear about your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you held before your current role.
I always knew I wanted to be a journalist. As a kid, I was very different from most kids. I would walk around with a hairbrush, asking strangers questions. I just always knew I wanted to be a journalist.
So, I applied and went to the University of Missouri for their broadcast journalism program. I had the amazing experience of working at the NBC affiliate near my college town during school. They were actually able to count some of my hours at the station for college credit.
This allowed me to get hands-on experience as a journalist while I was in college. That then helped me get an internship at a public relations firm in Dallas. I was actually trying to get a job at a TV station in Dallas.
Through networking, I got in touch with this public relations firm, and they essentially said, "Hey, we want to hire you instead." So I interned with them.
After that, I did a study abroad semester on a work visa, not just studying abroad. I did an internship and then a work abroad visa in London for CBS. I was able to get all this hands-on experience as a journalist before I even graduated.
While that was amazing in some ways, I started learning towards the end of my degree that I wasn't necessarily sure that was the path I wanted to go. I feel like I had all my eggs in that basket and didn't know what other career paths to look for.
I was in a sorority at the University of Missouri, so I started looking at roles within my Greek life organization and other things I was involved in. I ended up going back to the public relations firm where I had interned.
I do wish I had gone to more career fairs and taken more diverse classes outside of just journalism, because I didn't know what other jobs were out there. I also didn't get on LinkedIn or start networking, as I was really focused on being a journalist.
Because of my lack of career fair and resume building experience, I was pretty restricted on what path I was going to take. I ultimately pivoted from the PR firm to a tech consulting company, then to a nonprofit. Now I'm in the startup world, so I've had a lot of different pivots. Getting that hands-on experience in college was very beneficial for me.