Recap: Washington Post Reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan
On September 13, 2016 Washington Post Reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan visited George Mason University to share about her experiences working as the Washington Capitals Beat Reporter and gave students advice for their future career paths.
Isabelle attended the University of South Carolina and obtained a degree in journalism. While she was in college she was an active participant in the school's newspaper, specifically she covered a soccer beat. After her sophomore year she completed an internship at the Daily Press. From there she went on and applied for a journalism scholarship specifically for minorities and women, which she received. Using this scholarship she continued her career and landed a position with ESPN. This particular job taught her to be aggressive, even though she did not write as much as she hoped she would. Her senior year of college she began free lancing with a local paper in the area. Shortly after, she got an internship with the Washington Post and then was hired on the high school sports beat, then promoted to the UVA-VT sports beat, and now as of about a year ago, she has been the Washington Capitals beat reporter.
Here are a few of the memorable questions that were asked and Isabelle's advice:
Q: How do you find questions that are original?
A: Try to read everything that has been done on that person before. This can lead you to finding more questions. Don't be afraid to ask off the wall questions to try and dig deeper. For example, ask "Was there something that happened in your life that really shaped you?"
Q: What aspects did ESPN want you to focus on to improve your writing?
A: There were so many employees so when you wanted to write something they had somebody already assigned. You have to be open in an internship, the word "no" is not in your vocab. The work that you are doing is more important than where you are doing it.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: There’s something different every day. I have never not wanted to go to work. The cost of this is very long weeks during the season. It is a fun job and involves traveling.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: Transcribing is a challenge as well as it is a lifestyle that is not for everyone. Specifically, you cannot have a family or animals due to the constant traveling and being away from home. Some people are okay with this type of lifestyle and others are not. It depends on what you are looking for.
Q: Is it hard to ask tough questions?
A: Usually players know and are aware of the difficult questions. Sometimes you need to just get to the point. It’s part of the job and you’re going to get different reactions but you have to just bite the bullet.
Q: How do you plan to develop in your career?
A: I would love to be a foreign correspondent in about 5 years.
Q: How did you get to the Washington Post at such a young age?
A: My experience lead me to get the job. Treat college in a way that you get the most experience, go to various functions, and conferences. Editors know who they want so get your name and face out there by networking.
Stay tuned for more guests and come to our SPJ weekly meetings on Tuesday's at 5 PM in the HUB!
Isabelle attended the University of South Carolina and obtained a degree in journalism. While she was in college she was an active participant in the school's newspaper, specifically she covered a soccer beat. After her sophomore year she completed an internship at the Daily Press. From there she went on and applied for a journalism scholarship specifically for minorities and women, which she received. Using this scholarship she continued her career and landed a position with ESPN. This particular job taught her to be aggressive, even though she did not write as much as she hoped she would. Her senior year of college she began free lancing with a local paper in the area. Shortly after, she got an internship with the Washington Post and then was hired on the high school sports beat, then promoted to the UVA-VT sports beat, and now as of about a year ago, she has been the Washington Capitals beat reporter.
Here are a few of the memorable questions that were asked and Isabelle's advice:
Q: How do you find questions that are original?
A: Try to read everything that has been done on that person before. This can lead you to finding more questions. Don't be afraid to ask off the wall questions to try and dig deeper. For example, ask "Was there something that happened in your life that really shaped you?"
Q: What aspects did ESPN want you to focus on to improve your writing?
A: There were so many employees so when you wanted to write something they had somebody already assigned. You have to be open in an internship, the word "no" is not in your vocab. The work that you are doing is more important than where you are doing it.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: There’s something different every day. I have never not wanted to go to work. The cost of this is very long weeks during the season. It is a fun job and involves traveling.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: Transcribing is a challenge as well as it is a lifestyle that is not for everyone. Specifically, you cannot have a family or animals due to the constant traveling and being away from home. Some people are okay with this type of lifestyle and others are not. It depends on what you are looking for.
Q: Is it hard to ask tough questions?
A: Usually players know and are aware of the difficult questions. Sometimes you need to just get to the point. It’s part of the job and you’re going to get different reactions but you have to just bite the bullet.
Q: How do you plan to develop in your career?
A: I would love to be a foreign correspondent in about 5 years.
Q: How did you get to the Washington Post at such a young age?
A: My experience lead me to get the job. Treat college in a way that you get the most experience, go to various functions, and conferences. Editors know who they want so get your name and face out there by networking.
Stay tuned for more guests and come to our SPJ weekly meetings on Tuesday's at 5 PM in the HUB!
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