Q. I'm about to enter my senior year and have pulled out my resume to update it. In the spring I had an internship at a very high-ranking paper but it did not go well. I didn't get to produce much copy, my ideas were often shot down, etc. In fact, I spent most of the semester reading 7-10 newspapers a day and have only a handful of clips.
I know better than to bash a previous job on my resume or in an interview, but what is the best way to emphasize the experience without going into extreme detail? I don't want to lie, but the name recognition of this paper could propel my career. I have other good experiences on my resume, especially my current internship and a few recent awards, but I want to find balance on my resume.
Hit a Speed Bump A. My mama always told me that if I couldn't say something nice about someone, then I shouldn't say anything at all.
Now, you can't omit this newspaper from your resume. That would be dishonest. But I would keep my description of the experience tight, factual and terse. It will be OK if it is shorter than other descriptions on your resume. This is such a large newspaper, in fact, that editors will not be horrified if you didn't do much there.
Try to include the best clip you did there, even if it is a small one. Listing this newspaper and showing no work at all from your internship would be a red flag. And then keep interviews focused on the other wonderful things you did -- especially your most recent internship. If the biggie comes up in conversation, you can win some points if you talk about lessons learned there and how you are now applying them.
