“Career Meetings” Event Held at the Faculty of Communication
As part of the Career Planning course at Pamukkale University (PAU) Faculty of Communication, the second edition of the “Career Meetings” event was held this year, featuring a presentation by Özkan Tokmak, President of the Denizli Journalists Association (DGC).
At the “Career Meetings” event, DGC President Özkan Tokmak delivered a presentation titled “Success Is No Coincidence: Discover Your Own Career.” Students from various faculties also attended the event, where Tokmak shared his career journey and professional experiences in journalism.
Denizli Journalists Association President Özkan Tokmak stated that believing in oneself and having self-confidence are key to success in one's career. He emphasized the importance of being open to knowledge and learning, remaining persistent in finding solutions when faced with difficulties, and loving one's profession. Tokmak also underlined that a career journey is a long process and that one must remain open to learning throughout this journey.
During the interactive presentation, Tokmak answered students' questions and discussed how journalists earn an income, how artificial intelligence should be used in news production, and the importance of journalists presenting clear and straightforward information to the public in accordance with professional ethical and moral principles when writing news. Stating that “a journalist's duty is not to create public outrage, but to prevent the outrage that may arise,” Tokmak noted that one of the journalist's fundamental responsibilities is to safeguard the “public interest.” He also pointed out that news reporting by people who are not journalists, particularly on social media, harms the profession.
Emphasizing that building professional reputation and trust is not easy, Tokmak stated that one of the secrets to career success is producing original work by establishing trust. At the end of his speech, he said that they would provide internship opportunities for interested students and seek to bring students together with experienced professionals in the field.
At the end of the event, Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Ali Soylu presented a certificate of appreciation to Denizli Journalists Association President Özkan Tokmak. Stating that the Denizli Journalists Association would be the main sponsor of this year's Project event, Ali Soylu said:
“I would like to thank the students for their participation. We organize these events for your benefit. Building a network is also very important. Having Mr. Özkan with us is valuable in this regard. Together with the Denizli Journalists Association, we will provide internship opportunities for our students.”
The event concluded with a group photograph.