15 things media majors should do in January to help their 2026 job search

By December, I would encourage students with a Media Major to choose a single niche, and produce 5 articles that provide value to their chosen audience by the end of the year. A single niche. A single audience. 5 articles that are valuable and worth reading. This will allow you to concentrate on your area of interest. Recruiters and editors do not like I can write about anything. They like I can cover that beat. When your LinkedIn page and portfolio have the same message, I’ve seen applicants stand out. At the top of each article, add a brief note about whom it is written for, and why they should care about what you’re writing about. Clarity today will make the process of finding the right opportunity easier in 2026.

As the calendar flips to December, media majors need to hone in on one major area perfecting their Portfolios. As hiring managers begin to develop and implement their Recruitment Strategies for the coming year, a portfolio that displays real-world experience will be an enormous advantage.

While presenting creative ideas may showcase a candidate’s talent as a designer, it shows the hiring manager how the candidate can produce quantifiable results for their employer. The candidate should present examples of the digital tools they have used, the data or analytics they have produced, or the emerging technologies they have developed, all of which clearly illustrate the candidate’s forward-thinking and knowledge of the current and future trends in their respective industries. For instance, a candidate could provide examples of their own projects like using social media data to increase engagement by 25% to show the hiring manager what types of quantifiable results they can produce and therefore attract the hiring manager’s attention.

Along with creating a portfolio that highlights the applicant’s greatest achievements, the portfolio should also be attractive visually and simple to use. A candidate should clearly articulate their results so that they can easily stand out from competing candidates in the event the company needs to hire again in 2026.

In December, media majors are expected to make or revise a digital collection of their best work: videos, writing, a podcast, or a social media post. Employers in the media would prefer to see what you are capable of doing and not just hear it.

Select three to five outstanding works and provide context: the purpose, your part, and the result. Arrange the portfolio more easily. Post it to contacts or LinkedIn in early 2026. That puts you at a huge edge; other applicants are yet to prove themselves, but you are already proving yourself.

Media Majors should learn how artificial intelligence influences decision-making in newsrooms. Generative AI remains a controversial tool, and candidates need to know when to trust the output, ignore it, or intervene.

December offers the perfect opportunity because students are neither in school nor at work. They should learn how artificial intelligence supports routine work, such as content creation, research, and transcription, in the newsroom.

When interviews are scheduled in early 2026, candidates can explain how artificial intelligence can be applied in the media industry and demonstrate the technical skills to implement it. It proves that you understand how modern media teams protect quality and credibility while still moving quickly.

One of the smartest things a media student can do in December is update their showreel; keep it lean, sharp, and varied. This isn’t just a personal archive; it’s your shop window.

We’ve been hiring media talent for 15 years, and we focus on two specific recruitment materials: the covering letter, to assess your personality, and your showreel, to assess your talent.

Use the quieter holiday period to cut a new reel, polish your portfolio, and make sure everything reflects the kind of work you actually want to be doing in 2026. If your last edit was part of a group project from uni, that’s fine; just be clear about what your role was. And if you’re light on client work, spec projects are totally fair game. Ultimately, it’s not about how much work you’ve done; it’s about how well you present it.

One of the most important things media majors should do in December is build and tighten a real, public body of work, not just polish their resume. December is quieter in newsrooms, agencies, and content teams, which makes it the perfect time to publish consistently for four to six weeks. That could mean writing sharp explainers on current topics, producing short-form videos, running a small newsletter, or doing media audits of brands they admire. Hiring managers in media rarely hire based on “potential” alone. They hire based on proof.

What matters is showing you can spot a story, shape a message, and hit deadlines without being asked. By January, when hiring budgets open, you can reach out with something concrete: “Here’s what I’ve been publishing every week.” That immediately separates you from candidates who are only sending resumes. In media, momentum beats credentials, and December is the best time to quietly build that momentum before everyone else wakes up in January.

When I look at candidates for our agency or placement programs, I honestly skim past the GPA. I’m looking for work done in sandbox environments. Most students treat December as a total disconnect, but I’d suggest using the break to run a live experiment.

You don’t need a client. Early on, I learned more from spending $50 of my own money on ads than I did in any classroom. If you walk into an interview having run a real campaign, even for a neighbor’s side hustle, you’re already ahead of 90% of the applicant pool.

The hires that stick with us usually didn’t have the flashiest degrees. They had proof of curiosity. A portfolio showing you tried a TikTok trend, tracked the data, and iterated on the creative speaks volumes. I don’t care if the campaign failed. I care that you tried.

Use this downtime to build a small, tangible case study. It proves you can do the work before anyone pays you to do it.

One of the most important things media majors should do in December is to proactively turn the quieter hiring season into a period of visible preparation and strategic positioning, rather than waiting for roles to be formally advertised in the new year. December is an ideal time to audit and sharpen their personal narrative by refining portfolios, updating LinkedIn profiles, and clearly articulating the specific value they can bring to employers, whether that’s content strategy, analytics, social growth, or paid media execution. Hiring managers often start shortlisting and planning budgets well before January, so candidates who are already visible, credible, and easy to assess gain a meaningful advantage. Reaching out to industry professionals for informational conversations, sharing thoughtful insights or case-based posts publicly, and demonstrating genuine understanding of how media drives business outcomes helps shift perception from “graduate” to “job-ready contributor.” The key is to use December to build momentum and signal intent, so that when hiring activity accelerates in early 2026, opportunities come through warm conversations and recognition rather than cold applications alone.

I think the most important thing to focus on is getting a portfolio ready to show off to potential employers. And don’t just fill it with things that were done as class assignments. Employers want to see that you took some initiative to do things on your own. This could be anything from writing samples to short form videos to a social media strategy. Try to focus on samples that show what you’re good at. If you can do this and pair it with your resume and a good cover letter, then you’ll stand out amongst the sea of applicants.

Use December to build up productive routines for the new year. Schedule time for yourself dedicated exclusively to job-finding activities. Whether it is adding to a strategic portfolio from your recent work, networking online or in person, or applying to different opportunities, ensure you book time for yourself; otherwise, schedules get busy and it can be difficult to avail yourself later on. Leverage tools like your smartphone calendar and time apps to set recurring reminders. Learn what cadence works for you to work towards career-building milestones while avoiding burnout.

December is the perfect time for media majors to build proof of skill instead of waiting for job postings. Updating a portfolio with recent work, starting a small personal project, or publishing thoughtful commentary on current media trends shows initiative and keeps skills sharp while others are slowing down. Hiring managers early in the year are drawn to candidates who didn’t go quiet during the holidays.

Using December to reconnect also matters. Reaching out to professors, former internships, and industry contacts for informational conversations can open doors before roles are publicly listed. Those early relationships often lead to referrals or interviews in January, giving candidates a head start while others are just beginning their search.