What’s in a job?

We’re hiring another position for the fall – and perhaps some of you are wondering, “Why does The Uniter hire so often? Is there some nasty secret here in the basement of the Bulman Centre that drives aspiring writers and journalists away?”

There is one specific reason why we seem to hire more often (and have staff changing positions more often) than other news outlets. It all comes back to our role as a learning paper. 

We’re here to help build careers, not to sustain them for years upon years. We hold professional standards and collaborate with each other to help meet them. But the end goal isn’t to have a super-experienced crew who can do perfect journalism, if such a thing even exists. 

Our positions are created specifically so writers, editors and visual creatives can learn and grow in them. And of course, inevitably, that means that our best and brightest will also grow out of them and move on. And that’s okay, too.

A few of our positions – like the managing editor and business manager – were created to lend some stability to the paper. We’re here all year, and then for another year, and another. 

But there’s a little bit more fluidity built into the rest of our staff. Each position has its own skill set and learning opportunities, and most apply far beyond the realm of news media.

Right now, we’re hiring a volunteer coordinator. It’s an opportunity to mentor new writers, but it's also a great way to hone and develop leadership skills and to practice working with volunteers, which is a pretty awesome thing to have on a resume. If this intrigues you, check out uniter.ca/jobs for more info.

The secret to what we do here in the basement of the Bulman Centre – and in homes and coffee shops across Winnipeg – is that it’s a labour of love and a place to grow.

We each get what we put into these roles, and after seeing the work that this year’s team has put into The Uniter, I’m pretty confident that we’ve all gained a lot.

Published in Volume 71, Number 25 of The Uniter (March 23, 2017)

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