Ezra Klein: Get a Job

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April 06, 2005

Get a Job

From here on out, I'll be doing a biweekly column for the folks at Campus Progress called "Get a Job". The idea came from all of you who e-mail me wondering how to break into writing/think tanks/government/etc. The way it'll work, basically, is that I'll interview and profile cool young progressives in good jobs so you can see how they got there, and maybe figure out how to follow along. First one's up today, and it focuses on Matt Yglesias. I'm still kinking out the style, so don't be too harsh in the eval. But go read it anyway.

April 6, 2005 | Permalink

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Ezra Klein's got a new part-time gig writing a column for Campus Progress on young writers who have landed jobs with media or activist organizations. Gather round kids, and let me welcome you to Get a Job, a regular feature... [Read More]

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Comments

Good stuff, I chuckled at this sentence:

"But keeping a blog, writing for the paper, “actually knowing what you’re talking about” – it’s a lot of work."

I hear that being President is also "hard work"!

Posted by: Haggai | Apr 6, 2005 4:27:39 PM

Nice piece, Ezra (and Matt!)

Posted by: praktike | Apr 6, 2005 4:45:53 PM

I liked it. Thanks.

Let us know when the next one hits.

Posted by: eman | Apr 6, 2005 4:55:52 PM

Oh, I see how it is. All the liberal magazines have blogs, do they?

I kid, I kid. Wonderfully written, Ezra, as usual. Though when I first tried to load the page I misread that title as, "Get a Job, Matthew Yglesias." Thought this was some vicious rebuttal to his TAP column yesterday, and worried that it would all end in MTV shout-outs and drive-by shootings. Glad to know that it won't!

Posted by: Brad Plumer | Apr 6, 2005 6:01:08 PM

The blogosphere is actually a great way to get employed and network. It seems kind of strange, but even with my relatively small readership, the connections are frankly astounding.

Posted by: Matt Singer | Apr 6, 2005 6:44:48 PM

Good column! Your advice about knowing something about what you write was kind of obscure however. It seemed to boil down to reading think-tank papers. Surely it is more than that.

I'm sure there must be some proprietary top secret formulas or processes involved in writing on a fairly broad range of topics day after day, and that successful bloggers have evolved a unique set of things they do regularly to keep informed and generate ideas - the most obvious being reading other bloggers and commenting thereon.

But, maybe casting some light on this topic of blog-process would be interesting and informative for many people. It might also lead to a series of interviews or conversations on what successful bloggers do that leads to topics being commented upon.

I'm suggesting more info than just "Brad Plumer said this and here's my response", but more like "I read Brad's piece and then checked these sources (detailed...) and then this argument from XXX convinced me that YYY had the the beginnings of a bright idea but he/she didn't pursue it.

How about telling us 'like it is"?

Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Apr 6, 2005 7:11:40 PM

Ezra

I suggest you refer them to their local McDonalds if they really want a job.

What's the line from "Caddyshack"?

.....You're in luck - the world needs ditch diggers too.....

BTW I already have a job.

Posted by: Boethius | Apr 6, 2005 7:49:56 PM

Good "job," Ezra!

(ha, ha)

Posted by: Asheesh Siddique | Apr 6, 2005 8:22:37 PM

What's a Campus Progress?

Posted by: August J. Pollak | Apr 6, 2005 8:41:32 PM

Ezra

A good day for comments wouldn't you say?

Posted by: Boethius | Apr 6, 2005 8:49:36 PM

"Thought this was some vicious rebuttal to his TAP column yesterday, and worried that it would all end in MTV shout-outs and drive-by shootings. Glad to know that it won't!"

Heh, it could also come complete with East Coast/West Coast blog rivalries...

Posted by: Haggai | Apr 6, 2005 11:01:57 PM

I'd say consider further expansion given your talents. The front page of NYTimes today reports the predicament of Andrew Motion, England's poet laureate, who has the daunting task of coming up with verse to commemorate Charle's wedding. Should be a no-brainer for you. Let's see, what rhymes with "Camilla?" Vanilla? Godzilla? Yo Killa?

Posted by: Harvey | Apr 7, 2005 10:50:06 AM

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