Journalist resume example
This resume is the live output of our Reporter · Newsweek template — a double-rule masthead page that looks like the section it wants to join. The serif styling is pure CSS, so the text parses cleanly and scores 95/100 against our 30 published ATS rules. Here is why each line works on an editor who thinks in bylines and corrections.
Measured by exporting this exact resume and running it through the 30 rules we publish. Certified: we only badge templates at 90 or above, a stricter bar than the 85 our checker calls interview-ready, so the design leaves headroom for your own content.
Opens in the editor with this content in place — replace it line by line. No signup, no watermark on the PDF. The sample PDF is the exact export the score was measured on.
The live document, not a screenshot. Names and employers are fictional.
Why these bullets work
Every line below is taken verbatim from the resume above.
“Cover city council, county board and housing for a 90,000-circulation daily; 180 bylines a year across print and web”
Beat, circulation and output. An editor sees the workload and the subject range in one line.
“Broke the story of a $4.2M road-contract overrun through public records; the county opened an audit within a month”
A records-driven story with a consequence. The audit is the proof the reporting mattered.
“Reported a two-part series on rental evictions, 60 interviews and three data sets, cited in a state house committee hearing”
Interviews counted, data sets counted, and a legislative citation. It is accountability journalism with receipts.
“Anchor the desk's live coverage on election nights; 2024 city results posted 11 minutes after the final count”
Eleven minutes after the final count is a deadline told as a number. Editors trust reporters who measure their own speed.
Making it yours
- Replace the byline count with yours and link your author page or portfolio in the header — editors click before they call.
- Name your beats the way this example does (civic affairs, crime); 'general assignment' is what you write when you do not have one.
- Cite consequences, not effort: a story that changed a decision, a public-records request that forced a release, pickups by national outlets.
- Keep your kit concrete — FOIA and records requests, the CMS you publish in, mobile photo and video — because newsrooms staff for the whole toolset.
Common questions
What does an editor look for on a journalist resume?
Beats, filing rate, and consequences: how much you publish, where it ran, and what changed because you reported it. Awards help; a story that canceled a municipal tender helps more.
Should journalists include clips on the resume?
Link them — an author page, or three to five clips chosen for range. The resume earns the click; the clips earn the call.
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