How Easy is It to Get Published in Vice
Vice began as a punk magazine in Montreal in 1994. Today, Vice Media is a trendsetter in news, entertainment, and investigative journalism.
Headquartered in Brooklyn, and with more than 36 offices around the world, Vice Media encompasses a print magazine, online news channels covering everything from food to feminism, a TV and film production studio, a record label, and a book publishing division.
Nancy Ashbrooke, vice president of global human resources for Vice Media, says the company is constantly hiring new people. If you are a news junkie with passion, focus, and a firm handshake, you could be next.
What qualities do you look for in every candidate?
Drive. You can't train people to want to [work here] — they've got to be self-propelled but also excited about collaborating.
Where are your jobs located?
Our headquarters are in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in New York City. We also have an office in Venice, California, and we've just opened an office in Miami, Florida. A lot of our employees live here in Brooklyn. They walk, bike, and even skateboard to work. We operate in over 30 countries around the world from Tokyo to London, and São Paolo to Athens.
How often do you hire new people?
We have about 1,500 employees internationally and 600 domestically. We have new employees starting weekly. We've almost doubled our staff in one year.
What areas of the company are growing fastest right now?
We are expanding into more television, and we are adding positions to support the development of new shows. This new line of business is also driving job growth in other areas of the company that support production.
What do you expect candidates to know about Vice Media before an interview?
I always ask candidates, "What about Vice is appealing to you?" There's no right or wrong answer or required level of expertise, but you not having any response to that question would be a problem.
What level of media literacy do you expect of all candidates?
You need to be interested in media, definitely. However, this one tends to be fairly self-selecting: The kind of applicants who are drawn to positions at Vice tend to be people who care deeply about storytelling and news.
Where do you recruit candidates?
Our employees refer a great deal of our candidates. We also use tools that are standard in the industry, liked LinkedIn. Most applications come from postings on our careers site.
Do you attend trade shows, job fairs, or other public events where candidates might have a chance to network with you?
We participate in academic career fairs, like those at Columbia School of Journalism, City University of New York, and NYU. We're lucky to be based in a city that's home to some of the best schools in the country, so we try to take advantage of our location as best we can.
How can candidates interact with you on social media to stand out?
We tweet out our open positions, and our subject-specific channels — dedicated to music, food, sports, etc. — will also post on Facebook and tweet about jobs. When it comes to interactions over social media, there's a fine line between showing off your unique personality and coming across as an unserious candidate.
What would make someone appear unserious?
For example, people interested in working for Munchies, our food channel, may sometimes bring food or send their résumé along with a treat. Those candidates stand out. Continuing to send snacks over daily until you hear back is something that crosses the line.
Do you Google your candidates to check out how they represent themselves online?
Everyone applying to a job should expect their social media accounts to be explored by human resources, potential colleagues, and hiring managers at some point during the interviewing process.
What types of jobs are available for recent graduates?
Some examples are entry-level production and post-production roles, editorial jobs, as well as positions in accounting, client services, and on our administrative team.
What do you look for in intern candidates?
Our ideal candidate is in either her junior or senior year of college. In hiring interns, we review résumés, online portfolios, writing samples, or reels. We typically conduct a phone screening first to get an idea of a candidate's abilities and personality. The actual day-to-day responsibilities of our internships vary greatly by department, but they generally include some of the nuts-and-bolts work that supports Vice storytelling, whether that's helping to set up equipment for an in-town shoot or helping to transcribe expert interviews.
Are interns paid or do they receive college credit?
All interns are paid for their work. Whether they receive college credit depends on their particular school's policy.
Do you regularly hire interns into full-time roles?
Yes, we do. It's a terrific way for us to fill entry-level positions.
Do most full-time positions require a specific degree?
There is no set requirement for degrees, but there is a requirement for expertise. So, a candidate for a reporting role does not need to have gone to journalism school — though of course it's a great credential and great training — but she has to be able to demonstrate some expertise and experience in reporting. Likewise, candidates for positions on the tech and business sides should be able to show that they'll bring the kind of knowledge base and skill set the hiring manager is looking for. No matter what a candidate's experience, though, a willingness to learn and adapt is essential.
What types of questions do you typically ask in an interview?
I often ask candidates to tell me about a good manager they had and what qualities made that person good. It usually leads to what they think of as a bad manager or someone who's hard to work with — and that can help me figure out whether the candidate would be a good fit with the manager who's hiring for that position. Another question I use often is, "Tell me about one of your recent successes." It helps me assess what motivates the candidate, the kinds of lessons she takes from her work, and her overall communications skills.
What's unique about your interview process?
Many times when we have outstanding candidates and can't decide who would be best for the role, we ask them to do a project for us. For example, when we were evaluating a photo editor recently, we made the final round an assignment to look through a recent issue of Vice Magazine and critique the photo spreads. It's a hands-on way to see how the candidates communicate, what their styles are, and if their working styles would be a good fit with the team that's hiring.
What questions should candidates always ask you in an interview?
A candidate should always be prepared to ask questions. Determining a good match is a two-way process. There's no specific question that a candidate should ask, but in my view, it's always better when those questions come up in the natural course of the conversation. When a candidate waits to the end to ask questions, it can often feel stilted and forced.
What questions should they never ask?
There really isn't anything that you shouldn't ask — it's just that certain questions require more tact than others. That said, there are some things that might be off-limits: one time, a candidate did research on me personally and made comments about my Facebook photos during the interview. It came across as creepy and stalker-ish. I assume you've done your homework on me, just like I've done my homework on you, but there's no need for you to tell me what you found.
Is it OK to bring up salary?
Understanding the salary range at the beginning of the interview process is a reasonable question. I'd say that specific negotiating points and detailed benefit questions are not appropriate until you are being offered the position.
What's a mistake people make in interviews all the time and don't know it?
A poor, limp handshake. It's so easily fixable. You're going for a slightly firm grasp. Practice with other people if necessary. Another mistake people don't realize they're making is how they modulate their voice. Sometimes people can be really loud, and I start to talk softly to set the tone.
Do you want people to talk about their nontraditional experience, such as volunteer work, extracurricular activities and hobbies? Why is this valuable?
People should be able to bring in nontraditional experience when that experience is relevant to the position they're interviewing for. If you're interviewing for a staff writer job and don't have a ton of conventional experience, then sure, it's helpful to know you volunteered for an advocacy group writing press materials. But if you're bringing it up just to brag and there's no relevance to the business at hand, I would skip it.
What is the interview dress code?
We have a very casual work environment. Even so, I prefer a candidate to sport a neat, business casual look. They don't need to be wearing a suit, but polished is always recommended.
Do thank-you cards or emails matter to you?
Absolutely, they matter. I personally will not hire anyone for my team who does not send one.
Interview Insider is a weekly series offering tips for getting a job at some of your favorite companies. Check back every Thursday for the latest interview.
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Source: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/career/a43702/interview-insider-vice-media-career-jobs/
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