Hire Me!

As of Monday, May 19 I’ll officially be on the job market. If ink and paper are involved, I’m interested. The chance that someone reads this post and gives me a job is slim, I realize … but I’ve always appreciated chance in any form. (Should any potential employer be reading this, please know that this is not my only strategy for finding work and is in no way indicative of a lazy, barely-conceived, but surprisingly effective ethic for professional survival.)

I hold degrees in English and political science from Saint Louis University and a master’s in English from Boston College. For all but a month (at the beginning of my high school years), I worked on weekly student newspapers throughout my time in school. I ran The University News for two years, and taught writing for one.

This blog exists because my life is incomplete without journalism. Graduate school has taught me to appreciate slow thought and careful composition, but part of me craves the speed and variety of newspapers and magazines.

I’m a good writer, maybe very good. And I care. I’ve spent almost as much time considering the role that writing plays in our society as I have developing my craft. I side with Orwell in believing that without good writing we are incapable of good thought, that good journalism keeps high the caliber of public life and that poor journalism erodes civilization.

I’m a crack AP copy editor, and not bad with Chicago and MLA either. I’ve logged many an hour researching stories and interviewing sources, and I’m versed in news and editorial writing. (Long-form journalism remains an ambition.)

I’m living in Boston, with an eye on D.C. next fall, but I’m willing to consider other East Coast metropolises. After living in a major American city, my main goal is to write … after that, to get paid to write.

If I strike you as a prospective employee, I’d be happy to provide all the formal application materials, including clips. You can reach me at iversja@gmail.com.

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