178: How to Break Into Axios Online Media as an Associate Editor w/ Spencer Bokat-Lindell, Axios [Espresso Shots]

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Spencer Bokat-Lindell is an Associate Editor at Axios an American news and information website founded in 2016.  Axios is based on the Greek word for “worthy”. But before Spencer was getting paid to edit expert opinions to make them worthy of the public’s time, he was doing things like peeling white asparagus at Colicchio & Sons restaurant in Manhattan where he interned one summer during college. Spencer has worn many hats since he began his collegiate career at Yale University: he started his freshman year as a Chemistry major and aspiring chef, then, realizing neither was the right fit for him, switched to a French major with a heavy load of writing and extracurriculars. He spent three years with the nation’s oldest a cappella group, Yale’s “Whiffenpoofs,” including a gap year in which he and his fellow singers performed across the globe on a world tour. He then returned to school to finish his French degree, facing the same end-of-college anxiety many java junkies have endured before he secured an internship at Harper’s Magazine. Today he’s thriving at Axios and in this Espresso Shots episode shares with listeners interested in journalism, how to break into this competitive field.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• What entry level jobs are available for young people interested in breaking into journalism (like fact-checking, copy editing and assistant to editors/writers)
• What skills do the people at Axios look for in potential hires
• How the ability to assimilate information quickly will set you apart as a potential hire
• Why a journalism degree is not a requirement to enter into this field
• Whether a graduate degree is necessary to succeed in journalism
• How life experiences outside the classroom can enhance your resumé
• What the best part is of being an associate editor at Axios
• How your career path will be more of a zigzag than a straight line and what other advice has helped Spencer along his career
• Why you should watch All the President’s Men and read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to learn more about this profession
• If you want to learn more about what Spencer does in his current job and how he built his career listen to T4C episode #34