We’re Hiring, a Lot. Here’s What We’re Looking For.

This article was first published in 2018. Go here for our latest jobs.

ProPublica is doing a whole lot of hiring. We’ve listed about two dozen positions. That includes plenty of reporters — to focus on technology and big business, among other things — and a variety of different jobs.

We’re sharing the details far and wide. And part of that is sharing them with you. All of the jobs are listed below.

We know some people may look at the jobs and wonder whether they have the right credentials or background. But the truth is, we don’t care where you went to school or what your connections are. What we’re looking for are people who’ve demonstrated the ability to do great journalism or shown the potential to do so. That can come from people with all kinds of experience — not just people who see themselves as Investigative Reporters (Capital I, Capital R).

Everyone in our newsroom is a journalist and is given the opportunity to do stories, whether they’re a reporter, researcher, statistician, coder, designer or engagement reporter. Some of the folks doing great work here have even come from outside of journalism.

Hiring people with a diverse set of experiences and backgrounds has been a key part of our success. It makes our work better. Here are more details about what we’re doing to increase the diversity of our newsroom and the breakdown of our current staff. Among other things, we’ve committed to following what’s known as the Rooney Rule, meaning we will interview at least one person of color for every posted job.

So, if it’s not a specific educational or professional background we’re looking for, what are we looking for? Obviously, some of the specifics depend on the position. (Check out those descriptions!) But there are traits we value across the board:

Be curious. Lots of complex work starts with simple questions. Tell us what piqued your interest in something and show us how that turned into something great — a story, a study, a tool, or whatever you created.
Be a troublemaker. You should have a passion for getting at the truth. Show us work that pried something open — whether it’s a scoop, a novel approach to solving a problem, or a creative way of reaching an audience.
Be self-motivated. One of ProPublica’s great strengths is the freedom we give ourselves to dig deep. It is also one of our greatest challenges. We don’t have daily deadlines to give us structure. We have to provide that ourselves. Show us how you’ve gone above and beyond, worked hard and pushed yourself forward.
Be collegial. We do our best work together. Show us how you’ve collaborated on projects that resulted in something great.

These seem familiar? Well, here are all of our jobs.

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