How to Become an International News Reporter
Being a reporter in your own state and country are usually important first steps to becoming an international news reporter. After that, though, you'll need smarts and chutzpah and most importantly, persistance.
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Instructions
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Chart Your Course
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If you want to be a reporter in London, for example, map out both your time frame for attaining this goal and why you want to go there. Carefully weigh your rationale for leaving your home country before you even think about shipping out. The road ahead is exciting, but also frought with challenges.
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Two, take action - get on the Internet.Start with all the papers or newswires you wish to work for in your target country/city. Any popular search engine should produce more than enough results. You will, no doubt though, already have several publications in mind.
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Three, send out cover letters and resumes. (For the purposes of this How-To, most advice will be geared towards the print reporter. Obviously, for television reporters you should have a demo reel from your local city or college station.)
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Four -- follow up with those you approach. This means a repeat email sometimes, or even a call. However, most companies/publications are very busy and don't welcome too many calls. See if you can find out their policy on this. If you do call, be extremely polite and don't make it a repeat offense. One call shows initiative and confidence, though, so you'd be hard pressed to find someone who would fault you for that.
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Five -- interview for the job! This means a phone interview, oftentimes. Since you are expensive to bring over, the employer will want to get as much information as he or she can by phone.If you are already planning to visit that country/city, though, great: let them know. They will be more than happy to make arrangements to talk to you while you are in town.In fact, one alternative to Steps 3 - 5 is visiting the city in which you'd like to live, conducting a series of informational interviews while you are there. You can set these up by e-mail in advance. You can also drop by businesses unannounced, but that will usually just result in your dropping off a resume and clips -- Still, this can also be very effective. Nothing beats the in-person approach.
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Six -- if you get the job, you will endure a waiting period while the visa is cleared. The employer will need to prove that they can't hire anyone locally who has the same set of skills as you. This is extremely tricky. You must be very, very good at what you do -- this is where talent is probably most important, for without the ability to show your superiority on several levels, you just won't land a job abroad.
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Seven -- so now you are there! You can check in with a local consulate for assistance, at all times. You will want to be in touch with them beforehand and after you land in Paris, Rome or wherever it is you are lucky enough to work. Bon chance!
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure your passport is up-to-date!
Knowing a foreign language or two - or three - is a huge plus
Having an advanced degree is also very helpful (though arguably, the volume and quality of your clips - samples - matters much more); for example, in the UK, the Highly Skilled Migrant Program will award those with advanced degrees more points
Youth never hurts -- under this same program in the UK, for example, those under 30 are awarded more points
** If you are moving with pets, remember, in most countries you will need to have them microchipped first. After the microchip, you will need an updated rabies vaccine and there is often a six-month waiting period after that before you can enter the country.
** For advice on going to war-torn countries, please seek additional expert advice.
