An Australian journalism student who has been using online and social media to attract potential employers has secured his first interview as a result of the campaign.

Tom Cowie, who launched the 'Tom wants a job' website two weeks ago, has reported on the site that he has been asked to interview for the role of website editor at news and commentary site Crikey.

Cowie launched the site with the aim of promoting and documenting his search for a journalism job ahead of completing his course on 7 June. The site is also intended "as an experiment, investigating the possibilities of building a personal brand through blogs, social media and the digital grapevine", he writes on the website.

Cowie, 24, a journalism student at La Trobe university in Melbourne, told Journalism.co.uk that the website, accompanying Twitter account and #tomwantsajob hashtag have been an attempt to stand out from other "talented journalism students that will be churned out of universities this year".

"There is a distinct lack of jobs for journalism graduates in this country, especially for those with aspirations in print journalism," he said.

"Media outlets have been cutting back on their training budgets in the last few years, leading to an increasingly frenzied competition amongst graduates for jobs. You can count on one hand the number of cadetships offered last year by the two major newspapers in Melbourne."

Cowie has plenty of unpaid work experience, having spent four months as editor of online student publication upstart and interned at Crikey. He has also been published at Online Opinion, The Punch and National Times, but felt he needed to show additional skills in social media and marketing. In a different era, journalists didn't need tertiary qualification to get hired, they could simply contact a newspaper and be taken on as a cadet. In the past few years, journalism students have been told that now they need a published portfolio to get noticed, which is often built through unpaid work.

"I think we have gone past that now. The industry is becoming increasingly reliant on social media and students need to be able to boast a personal brand, whether that be through Twitter, Facebook or blogging. Journalists need to be able to market and promote their own work," he said.

"While this philosophy may seem like it has foundations in PR, I don't think today's journalism students have a choice if they want to get employed. The onus is on us to build audiences and make sure the right people are reading.

"Apart from investigating the possibilities of building a personal brand through the digital grapevine, the blog also acts as a pretty shameless advertisement for my skills. The blog has links to my portfolio, resume and contact details, making it easy for prospective employers to see if I am suitable for their organisation. All the graphics on the site are my own work, reflecting the idea that modern journalists need to be skilled in more than simply writing or researching."

There is a humourous element to the site - such as polls on which job Cowie should take and what tie he should wear to interview - and feedback from readers, working journalists and potential employers has been encouraging, said Cowie. The launching of the site and Cowie's work on it has landed the journalism student an offer of work in advertising already.

"I am fairly hopeful that, while the blog may not directly result in employment, it is still going to help me get a job in some way. Many employers are looking for journalists with an understanding of social media and I believe that 'Tom wants a job' will act as a point of difference from other similarly skilled graduates," he said.

"Despite all the doom and gloom, there are still quite a few jobs out there for students who are persistent and really want to be journalists. Failing all that, if I can't find a job it will probably make the blog more entertaining!"

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