A young colleague recently showed me a media fellowship he wanted to apply for.
He had about a month to meet the deadline which was long enough to get all the required documents.
I was surprised when on the eve of the deadline he was not yet sure of the story ideas he wanted to pitch. He called me later in the night to ask for a letter of recommendation required to support his application.
He will be very lucky if his application scales through considering that he had to rush to complete the process.
Applications for fellowships and awards are not supposed to be filled at the last minute. There are some requirements like getting recommendation letters, writing a letter of interest, getting sample stories and others that should be done carefully.
Recommendation letters and letters of interest written at the last minute are not likely to be convincing enough.
If you are really serious about getting selected for fellowships and awards, set a target to get all the necessary requirements ahead of the deadline.
Letters of interest are supposed to resonate with the goal of the fellowships, while recommendations letters should highlight your accomplishments and suitability for the programmes.
I stayed overnight in The Punch Newsroom in 1998 to write and re-write my letter of interest for a three-month Thompson Foundation Fellowship which I was selected for. I also got the Night Editor to go through it for me.
Many brilliant journalists have missed opportunities for fellowships and awards due to shoddy handling of applications. The instructions included in the call for application announcements are meant to be complied with diligently.
Well written recommendation letters and letters of interest do not guarantee that your application will be successful since there are other applicants, but it will enhance your chances.
