I'm about to graduate. Three years later I'm nearing the end of my college career with more excitement to join the real world than I think many students in my position have. I can't wait to get a job with my journalism career... I would rather work than go to school any day.

However, I've been putting out applications like crazy, trying to find a job as an editor, a writer/reporter... anything. I'm not really sure how the journalism job market works, whether they hire most often before or after you actually get your degree (I've read that 67 percent of students have job offers at graduation).

I can't help but feel anxious as graduation approaches and I have no certain plan when I'm done. However, I can tell you what I have heard about getting a job in journalism.... and many of the tips revolve around being multimedia-savvy:

• Get a blog. The topic is important, so be careful.
• Understand how to take photos - especially digitally - and how to upload them online. And for that matter, learn to shoot video as well... YouTube? Can you make a mashup?
• Join social networks like MySpace or Facebook. LinkedIn is a more professional one to become part of and make connections within.
• Understand HTML. Oftentimes you will have to post things online yourself, so try to know how to do it by hand.
• RSS. Know how to use it and try to do it often to show you know where things are.
• Text. Just be able to do it... it's becoming more and more professional.

I recently attended the ACP National College Newspaper Convention in San Francisco, where I picked up some tidbits as to what you can do to get a job in journalism:

Cover letter - Make sure you don't make assumptions when sending a cover letter; for instance, if you're supposed to address the letter to a "Leslie," the person could be a boy or a girl, so be careful.

Keep it to 3 paragraphs:

1. The response to the ad or request, and why you're interested in the position
2. Summary of your experience and how it relates to the position
3. Your desire to meet, along with contact info (Note: try to avoid using the passive-aggressive "I look forward to meeting you" because it annoys hiring specialists; you don't know if you're going to meet them in the first place)

Resume - These days, hiring specialists often consider the objective and coursework sections unnecessary. Try to include stuff that will show you are able to break news rather than just report what you are told. Break your resume into these sections:

• Journalism experience (most recent to oldest)
• Other experience (other jobs that could demonstrate skills other than journalistic ones)
• Skills (computer ones, for instance)
• Education
• Awards

Interviewing - To keep from being too nervous, think of what you'll say beforehand, something safe that you can rehearse beforehand. Also, plain enthusiasm is something good that you can bring to the table, so show you have that, at least.

Oftentimes, a tough questions interviewers will ask is, "What is something you don't do well?" By asking those questions, they are trying to see how well you can think on your feet. Try to think of something that you can counter with something good, such as, "I don't much experience working in teams, but I recently joined a club to work on that."

Also, if you have clips, remember that it's ok to use as many pages as you want to present them well, and that if you have digital clips, try not to send links but just attach them to a message (don't send too many, though, and make sure the format is one that will work on most computers).