# General AI interview practice for journalists

A journalist applying broadly across a local daily, a digital-native outlet, and a trade publication doesn't have one posting to prepare against yet, since the beat, pace, and audience differ across all three. Intervieux's general interview type runs without a job description or resume, opening with the round of background and motivation questions that holds across outlet types.

That's a real early stage in this search, not a placeholder. A local paper wants to hear about community ties, a digital outlet cares more about a candidate's read on what travels online, and a trade publication wants industry familiarity, but why journalism in the first place and how a candidate handles a story that falls apart mid-reporting are questions worth rehearsing before any of that gets decided.

## The scenario: applying broadly before narrowing down

A journalist sends out applications to a metro daily, a niche digital outlet covering one industry closely, and a trade publication, all in the same week, without a clear favorite yet. None of the three postings is specific enough to build a job-description session around productively, since the actual beat assignment for each is still unclear. What helps at this stage is practicing the answers that don't change based on which one calls back first, why this field, how a candidate reacts when a story falls through the day before it's due, what draws them to reporting instead of another kind of writing work entirely.

## What a general session covers here

Expect background and motivation questions first, then a behavioral prompt about handling a setback, a missed deadline, a source who backed out, a story that got killed after real work went into it. None of it assumes a specific beat or outlet, because there's no document behind the session yet. What it does test is whether a candidate can talk about the pull toward journalism specifically, not writing in general, in a way that sounds settled rather than exploratory, since that's usually the first thing an editor is actually listening for underneath the standard opening questions.

## How the five dimensions apply to this session

Communication carries the most weight in a general round, since open-ended questions about motivation and setbacks leave nowhere for a vague answer to hide behind beat-specific detail. Behavioral gets a real workout through the standard situational prompts, and the STAR-structure expectations apply the same way here as on any other Intervieux interview. Technical and Cultural Fit stay lighter in this session than they will once a specific outlet's posting narrows the questions, since there's no editorial focus or newsroom culture to measure an answer against yet.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to have picked a specific outlet before starting this session?

No. The general interview type runs on standard background and motivation questions that don't assume a local paper, a digital outlet, or a trade publication, so it works before that decision is made.

### Will this session ask about a specific beat or story I'd cover?

No. The general type has no job description or resume to draw from, so questions stay at the level of background, motivation, and behavioral situations rather than a specific beat.

### Should I move to a job-description session once I pick a target outlet?

That's the natural next step. Once a posting is in hand, the job-description interview type builds its questions around that outlet's stated beat and requirements instead of the standard opening round.

### Is this useful if I already know I want a specific beat, like education or city hall?

It can still help as a warm-up round, since the standard motivation and setback questions come up in nearly every journalism interview regardless of beat, before the conversation narrows to beat-specific reporting scenarios.

## Related pages

- [Journalist interview questions](/interviews/journalist)
- [General AI job interviews](/features/general-job-interviews)
- [Browse open roles](/jobs)

## Start a general AI interview as a journalist

Practice the standard round of background and motivation questions before you've settled on an outlet, then narrow in once a specific posting is in hand.

Start practicing free: https://www.intervieux.ai/register · Hire with Intervieux: https://www.intervieux.ai/employers/signup