A recent e-mail explained I would be participating in a panel discussion on "advice for job seekers." The instructor wrote, "I'm sure students will want to learn how your career started and what you look for in new hires."

You might think this is a horrible time to talk to people about finding jobs in the journalism field -- or just about any field, for that matter.

I won't bore you with how I started my career except to say the economy was terrible -- not 2009 terrible, but pretty awful. I've been able to carve out a career after a slow start, and I have hopes that this new generation can find their own way to become storytellers for their communities.

As for what I look for in new hires, there is a story to be told, so here goes.

I'm involved in hiring a page designer to bring the news desk to full staff, so this question is timely. Because of the sour economy, The Frederick News-Post has been inundated with r?sum?s from extremely qualified candidates.

This makes the interviewing process that much more important.

Staffers on the news desk are expected to understand grammar and know something about spelling. A cartoon on my desk shows a woman holding a dictionary in front of her son. The speech bubble says "This IS a spell checker."

I want someone who is inquisitive regarding language. Spell check will let me know the word selected is spelled right, but it doesn't tell if it is the right word. We have heard the complaints about spell check, but many people are loath to pick up the dictionary to check their work. Part of me fears writing this column, because one of you is going to spot a spelling or grammatical error. It's not because of a lack of effort; we all fall short of perfection.

As I continue my search for a new page designer, I want to hire someone who is inquisitive about the world. I don't expect my next page designer to be able to spell Kazakhstan or be able to find it on a map, but I expect that person to know where to look for that information.

A good editor should bring something to the table. We don't manufacture widgets. The news desk starts in midafternoon each day and by early evening creates a product that will never be matched again -- and we get to do it all over again tomorrow, if we're lucky.

Journalists need to adapt to change, quickly, and to initiate change when needed. (I had written "instigate" and decided to check my dictionary because it did not feel right. Reading the definition, I saw "initiate.") The worst thing I have ever heard in a newsroom is, "we've always done it that way," uttered by a copy editor the day after a major redesign changed every page in the newspaper.

So as I look for a new page designer, I offer this advice to those of you looking for a foot in the door -- it's up to you to get that foot in there. Be smart. Make contacts. Offer to work, but more importantly, offer to learn. Bring your skills to the table and be willing to adapt.