Resume evidence worksheet for News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

For the occupation "News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists", a strong resume should make the core work easy to see: narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television.

Start with work you have actually done:

  • Write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers.
  • Coordinate and serve as an anchor on news broadcast programs.

Then build each line from your evidence. For each line, name what you did, who or what depended on it, the relevant tool or scope, and what proves the work happened.

How do you turn this occupation's work into resume evidence?

Choose one task you actually did. Answer the four questions in plain language before trying to make the sentence sound polished.

  1. Evidence prompt 1

    Examine news items of local, national, and international significance to determine topics to address, or obtain assignments from editorial staff members

  2. Evidence prompt 2

    Analyze and interpret news and information received from various sources to broadcast the information

  3. Evidence prompt 3

    Receive assignments or evaluate leads or tips to develop story ideas

Ask these four questions about the task you chose

  • What did you personally do, rather than what the team or job was responsible for?
  • Who or what depended on the work?
  • What tool, system, process, or constraint shaped the work?
  • What changed, finished, became easier, or proves the work happened?
Build the line: [what you did] + [who or what it served] + [tool, process, or scope] + [what changed or proves it]. Use only the parts your own experience supports.

What should the top third make easy to find?

Do not turn this into a long summary. Use it as a priority check before a reader reaches the rest of the page.

Target
[Use the posting's exact job title]
Show one relevant example
One result, artifact, decision, or responsibility from your own history that answers a worksheet prompt below.

Which knowledge areas should you prove rather than list?

O*NET highlights English Language, Communications and Media, and Law and Government for this occupation. Do not paste those labels into a Skills section. Choose one only if you used it, then name the decision, explanation, artifact, or result that proves it.

  • Where did you use English Language, and what decision, explanation, or artifact can you point to?
  • What did you explain, produce, or change that required Communications and Media?
  • Which example from your history demonstrates Law and Government without relying on a bare label?

How can you place those answers in a resume?

This is a fillable worksheet, not a finished resume. The role material comes from O*NET; brackets mark the facts and evidence you still need to supply.

[Your name][Use the posting's exact job title][email address] · [phone] · [city, state] · [linkedin.com/in/you]PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY[Use the posting's exact job title] with [X] years in [setting or specialty]. [Choose evidencefrom your history related to: write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers]. [Addscope, an artifact, or a supported result].WORK EXPERIENCE[Your actual job title][Start] - [End][Employer], [City, State]• [Use your answer from evidence prompt one: what you did] for [who or what it served], using[tool, process, or scope], with [proof or supported result].• [Use your answer from evidence prompt two: what you did] for [who or what it served], using[tool, process, or scope], with [proof or supported result].• [Use your answer from evidence prompt three: what you did] for [who or what it served],using [tool, process, or scope], with [proof or supported result].
Rendered in the Standard template by the same engine that exports your PDF. See all 5 templates, or start this resume free.

What else is this job called?

Use relevant alternatives as search terms, then compare the responsibilities before deciding whether a posting describes the same work.

  • Anchor
  • News Anchor
  • News Reporter
  • Reporter
  • Radio News Anchor
  • Radio Talk Show Host
  • Staff Writer
  • Television News Anchor

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total. The eight above are a starting point, not a keyword list to paste into a resume.

Common questions

What does this occupation involve?
Narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television. Day to day that includes work like write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers and coordinate and serve as an anchor on news broadcast programs.
Which skills can support a resume for this occupation?
O*NET rates Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What other job titles cover this work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Anchor, News Anchor, News Reporter, and Reporter. Use the relevant alternatives as search terms and check the responsibilities before deciding whether the posting describes the same work.
How do I turn this occupation's duties into resume bullets?
Start with a task you actually did, such as write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers. Then answer four questions: what did you personally do, who or what depended on it, which tool or constraint mattered, and what changed or proves the work happened. Write the line from those answers rather than copying the occupation description.

What jobs are closest to this one?

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

Source and use notes

  • O*NET describes the occupation. It does not know your experience or set the requirements for a specific employer.
  • Use only the tasks, skills, tools, and qualifications that your own history supports and the posting actually calls for.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.