TWENTY years ago today I began my job as a journalist in York.

I was hired as the Easingwold reporter on what was the Yorkshire Evening Press.

I was thrilled – the YEP had a great reputation. It was a broadsheet with several editions a day.

It was a busy newsroom, with two banks of reporters filling the editorial floor and a row of features writers and subs.

I had been working as a features writer in London and a sub-editor in Cambridge before my move north and had not been a reporter for a couple of years, having cut my teeth on the Oxford Mail.

The night before my first day at the Press, I remember practising my shorthand and feeling nervous like it was the first day at a new school.

That week I was sent to cover a murder trial in Leeds – which tested my shorthand to the limit. By the end of the first week I'd got a splash too: the Mansion House was to be closed for a refit, making the Lord Mayor homeless.

Fast forward 20 years and the Mansion House is about to be reopened after another refurbishment. Funny how so many news stories come round again and again. A quick scan through our electronic library revealed some of my other stories from 1997/98 which could easily be written today. One was about how the ambulance service was demanding extra cash to ease the winter crisis in the NHS, another was how Barnitts was selling DIY dental kits because people couldn't register with NHS dentists.

A year later, I was at The Grange hotel interviewing a new hot-shot chef making a name for himself on TV. It was Jamie Oliver. He was Cool Britannia (remember that?) personified, with his cheeky-chappy personality, laid-back style and rock-star messy crop. Jamie has just been back in York, this time at his own restaurant and with a new book to publicise. He's now a household name, a respected food campaigner and a father of five.

While I have met and interviewed some famous names during my career, those are not the stories that stay with me. The best part of my job is meeting ordinary people, often with extraordinary stories to tell. As a features writer, I am incredibly fortunate that so many, many people have given me their time and trust, allowing me to tell their stories.

Often I finish an interview, full of admiration. People truly cope with the most challenging circumstances and what shines through, time and time again, is the resilience of the human spirit and the resolve, determination and hope that people have to make the best of their lives.

The job of a features writer is to paint a picture of the subject. It's quite a responsibility to portray someone's story, and when it is unveiled to the world, you hope they recognise the likeness. There is a sense of relief when you get an email or note afterwards saying: "thanks".

While the essence of the job hasn't changed during my career, the methods used have been revolutionised. In journalism class at university, I used a typewriter. I only started using email and the internet when I moved to The Press. Back in the day, as they say, we relied on library cuttings and the telephone to gather information and check facts. Nowadays, so much is done online – knowledge is but a click away.

In many ways this has made our jobs easier – particularly for doing research. Finding a particular person to interview can be as simple as sending a message on twitter.

We are all multi-media journalists today – taking photographs, making videos, posting on Facebook and twitter.

But the nuts and bolts of the job are the same. We are always looking for great stories to tell. We still want to reflect the community we live in and give a platform to its concerns as well as its triumphs.

Long may that continue.