Key Media Journalist Interview Questions
& Process

After applying, I got an email two days later asking for my availability for a one-hour writing test. The test involved writing a 400-800 word news story based on a press release about the FCA's non-financial misconduct survey, which included several long quotes from executives. I had the freedom to choose the story angle. The instructions also allowed for supplementing the press release with my own research and creating quotes. As someone not deeply familiar with the industry, this was challenging within the hour. It required reading the press release, identifying an engaging angle (needing some research), crafting a headline, selecting quotes, and then writing a well-structured, grammatically correct article. Over two weeks after submitting the test, I received a generic rejection email. I find it unfair that candidates who invested time in a test receive a template rejection. I emailed for feedback, got no response, and followed up a week later. Eventually, I received feedback that my writing was clear and structured, but I stuck too closely to the press release. While I agreed with the feedback, I felt the task didn't allow for the best demonstration of my skills. I have over two years of experience in B2B media and more than a year as a journalist writing multiple daily news articles on complex topics, so I don't believe this reflects my journalistic or writing capabilities.

I had to do a written test - they gave me a press release and told me to write it up with a unique angle. The next stage was an interview where they asked me about my background and experience, how I would go about starting a new network, and why I thought I was a good fit. I didn't get the job and didn't receive feedback, though.

The application had four parts: a timed written test, a first interview, an interview with the editor, and then a paid article that needed to be done in about two business days. This article required interviewing 1-3 high-up industry experts, which was really hard to set up quickly without existing contacts. Even though journalism has tight deadlines, Key Media's communication was really bad given what they asked for in the process. I did the paid test in early December, and then they asked for references. My referees responded quickly, but then I heard nothing for weeks. I was told I'd definitely hear back before the holidays, but I didn't get any word until January 5th. They then checked if I was still interested and said a decision would be made by the end of that week. On January 13th, I had to ask again if unsuccessful candidates would be notified, and within an hour, I got a standard rejection email. It felt like poor treatment considering the effort for the task, the reference checks, and them asking if I was still interested. Reading other reviews makes me think the rejection was actually good.