INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, News Director positions are at a 10% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 316,800 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 31,800 to 348,600 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the News Director jobs was $141,490 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $74,620, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The News Director job market is wide open for candidates.
Top news director sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to include in your news director resume experience section
News director resume experience section checklist:
- Use at least 3 and no more than 7 bullet points per position;
- Make your experience sound relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Combine responsibilities, results, and critical situations that you’ve handled well;
- Show that you’re willing to take up on challenges;
- Include numbers in any form you like.
Looking for some real experience section examples? We’ve gathered the best News Director resume samples to help you. Check them out before building your own resume!
- Headhunting, hiring, couching and recruiting 100+ news staff
- Responsible for the $3,000,000++ News department budget
- Came up with the "All Viewpoints" slogan and philosophy
- Responsible for long-term and strategic planning for the News Department.
- Creating and coordinating new TV programs and projects, including for example, the radio station bTV radio
- Achieved a 10% increase in online traffic and engagement through targeted digital content strategy
- Implemented new workflow and training programs that resulted in a 15% increase in efficiency and productivity
- Established and maintained relationships with external news partners, resulting in 5 collaborative journalism projects in the past year
- Developed and executed a plan to increase diversity in hiring, resulting in a 20% increase in staff diversity in the past year
- Championed the value of local news and public media in on-air membership drives and other fundraising efforts, resulting in a 25% increase in membership
- Ensured editorial standards were met across all newsroom products, resulting in 0 ethics violations in the past year
- Oversaw the production of breaking news coverage, resulting in a 95% accuracy rate
- Managed the coverage of major events such as the 2016 Presidential Election and the Capitol riots of January 6th, resulting in coverage that was widely praised for its depth and analysis
- Developed and executed a plan to increase diversity in hiring, resulting in a 15% increase in staff diversity in the past year
- Coordinated with external news partners to produce collaborative journalism projects, resulting in 3 successful projects in the past year
- Ensured that all content adhered to the highest journalistic standards, resulting in 0 ethics violations in the past year
- Directed the development of a new mobile app that resulted in a 20% increase in mobile traffic
- Increased readership by 20% through creative story angles and engaging headlines
- Developed a network of industry-leading writers and influencers to secure exclusive content for the magazine
- Launched a weekly email newsletter that grew to a subscriber base of over 50,000 within the first year
- Organized and executed successful events such as fashion shows and product launches with attendance over 500
- Increased website traffic by 30% through search engine optimization and social media marketing
- Conceptualized and launched a series of interactive multimedia articles that increased user engagement and time spent on site by an average of 15%
- Implemented a rigorous editing process that resulted in a 50% decrease in errors and an increase in article quality
- Collaborated with the sales team to develop sponsored content that generated $500,000 in revenue over 2 years
PRO TIP
The person reading your News Director resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action verbs for your news director resume
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Top news director skills for your resume
News director resume skills section checklist:
- Match your hard skills to the job description;
- Add keywords to pass applicant tracking systems;
- Don’t list soft skills such as ’teamwork’ – rather, mention how they’ve helped you gain success in some other sections of your News Director resume;
- List only skills you actually have, keep lying out of the picture.
Top skills for your news director resume
Google Analytics
Wordpress
SEO
HTML
Social Media
Communication
Creative problem solving
Analytical thinking
Influencing
Team work
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
News director resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your news director resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your News Director resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Craft a strong news director resume summary
News Director Resume Summary Checklist:
- Your total years of experience
- The industry you’re coming from
- One or two most remarkable accomplishments that have helped you - turn into a great professional
- Short sentences that add value – avoid filler words and phrases
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
Recommended reads:
Highlight your education, certifications, and courses
What to include in your education and courses sections:
- Your highest education degree – this includes institution, course, and duration
- Certifications and courses that have helped you gain additional expertise
- Awards you’ve received as part of your education
- Entry-level positions only: relevant classes and projects
Top Certifications for your News Director resume
Learn to Trade The News
Learn how to take advantage of the powerful FX trading opportunities provided by economic news announcements each week!
VPs and Directors of Product Management: Finding Excellence
Succeeding in an intense, stressful, invigorating job
Simply Good News
Embrace the concept of 'good news' as it was understood in the 1st Century New Testament world in order to live in it!
Professional Director Series: Fundamentals for Directors
Fundamentals that a Director must know.
LEARN THE A-Z OF THE STOCK MARKET, INVESTING AND TRADING
Learn All About The Stock Market, Investing And Trading In My A-Z Stock Market Course For Beginners. By Dan Kraus
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Drafting a Job-winning News Director Resume
When drafting your resume, you can choose between three well-known formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Which format you decide to go for depends on two things: your personal preference and how experienced you are.
The reverse-chronological format is ideal for both really experienced people and those who joined the workforce just a couple of years ago. It’s also great if your experience combines different industries and jobs. Here, your most recent position comes at the top of your resume.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is ideal for recent graduates or people who have no work experience whatsoever. It’s built around your skills, interests, and expertise. Ultimately, its goal is to show recruiters your biggest strengths and practical skills.
Combination resumes (also known as hybrid resumes) are great for all types of candidates – be they graduates, experienced professionals, or brave career changers. They usually follow a double-column format – one side focuses on your experience, while the other emphasizes your education, skills, interests, and accomplishments.
Here’s our resume format and style checklist:
- Choose a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Go for standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Match the length of your News Director resume with your experience – choose a one-page template if you have less than 10 years of experience, and be careful with two-page templates;
- Send your resume in PDF – in this way, you’ll avoid formatting issues and potential editing from third parties.
And in case you want to go the extra mile, check out our guide for crafting a resume that stands out.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft News Director resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Other sections worth including in your news director resume
Including other sections in your resume depends on the company, the position, and, ultimately, the industry. Here are some sections that will help you spice things up:
A news director resume that stands out
Recruiters look at tens of resumes every day. That’s why helping them remember yours is crucial for landing an interview.
A creative resume can help you show off both your personality and your expertise at the same time.
Creative sections about passions, favorite books, quotes, and even your daily routine are a great way to make your resume feel like a breath of fresh air.
What’s more, it will also point recruiters to the fact that you’re attentive to detail and can think outside the box of Word-generated black and white resumes.
What makes a great news director resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
