‘Embrace Imposter Syndrome!’

Take six benevolent journalists with extensive career experience; put them in front of 30 early-career journalists hungry for advice; hope for life-changing results. is was the modest aim of a speed-mentoring evening held in the Hughes Room on 6 March, when mentees cycled around the mentors’ tables in groups, taking advantage of the opportunity to ask anything they liked about how to get in or get on in the industry.

Here, some of the mentors share the advice they reckon most useful.

Jing Yang

Senior correspondent –e Wall Street Journal

•Have a speciality. It doesn’t mean you have to stick to that forever, but it makes you more competitive.

•Be curious, be hungry.

Jackie Tsang

ere are three things I’ve always lived by:

•“You don’t ask, you don’t get” – this isn’t about being pushy, but about looking out for yourself and making sure you make opportunities happen instead of sitting around waiting for them to happen to you.

•“If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail” –there’s a lot to be said for being able to think on the y and being agile when things pivot; however, when I’m able to do so, I like to make sure I’m ready for an important occasion not just by doing the usual prep work, but also by visualising the scenario in my head and playing out my part in it.

•“Embrace imposter syndrome” – feeling out of your depth isn’t always a bad thing. It means that there are things you don’t know yet and therefore things you can learn, and that is a very good thing for your personal and career growth.

Caleb Loong

•When you get shot down, or when people ignore you or don’t return your calls, develop a thick skin.

•Do not hesitate to make the last/extra call. So many times, the story feels nished. It is good enough. Yet you know that another person or source could add a di erent take. en call! In 99 percent of cases, it is worth trying.

•Do not discount yourself. As a freelance foreign correspondent, be aware that having someone on the ground somewhere far away from the newsroom carries immense value for any publication interested in real journalism.

•Use raw information, selfcollected, as much as possible (I know it’s hard). Remember that, not so long ago, you could be a good journalist without a mobile phone and without internet! How did that work?!

You don’t ask, you don’t get

Principal

reporter

/ sub-editor, news and business information – Now TV

•Stay curious, and get to know the world around you. But also stay safe!

•Be creative with your writing – but not your content.