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Tips from the top

If you're looking for top tips on how to get a job on a local newspaper - ask an editor.

Anita Syvret, editor of the Gloucestershire Echo, has given us the benefit of her advice.

Things an editor looks for in job application letters and CVs:

Faultless spelling - if journalists can't be bothered to get spelling right when they are trying to get a job, they're not going to bother when they've got one.

Get my name right. It's not vanity - it's a matter of accuracy.

Find out the editor's name - it shouldn't be difficult for someone who wants to be an investigative journalist. Letters addressed to Dear Sir/Madam go straight in the bin.

Hobbies (on the CV): a journalist without outside interests will never make it if they are not interested in anything other than newspapers.

The common touch - too many journalists read the Guardian and think it's beneath them to watch soaps, even though our readers love them.

An interesting letter - the story any applicant knows best is their own life story. If they can't make themselves sound interesting, they haven't a hope of turning anyone else's life into a good read.

No smart-arse tactics - applications dressed up to look like wanted posters are tiresome.

Local knowledge - journalists who have grown up in the area they are covering are like gold dust.

Cuttings - about six.

What Editors look for at interview:

Personality

Clean fingernails