PD Replys-Call Backs

[mic1]

Been on the beach for the first time in 9 yrs and let me tell you things have changed. With the advancement of internet technology we can all electronically send a package. Whats become pathetic is the courtesy level when it comes to getting a response . Leaving us hanging. Very unprofessional imo . Its not that hard to fire back an email to let us know whats going on . Cmon PDs !

 

[ilistentotheradio]

I agree. However, it's not an easy thing to turn someone down. The standard "I'll keep your package for any future openings" or "not exactly the sound we're looking for" can easily been seen through, and jocks that apply tend to linger on every word of the message and spend a day analyzing it. So I'm with you, however sometimes... no news is good news.

 

[sack]

I would rather be told "not interested" then to wait and wait for nothing. It should be common courtesy to reply to an e-mail and let the sender know it was received. And if you are not hiring someone, a quick "thanks but not interested" should be sent.
Good luck in the job hunt mic1.

 

[Mike Lee TN]

Having recently put an ad for a "future openings" on a couple of websites, I have to tell you it's no easy task reaching out personally to every applicant. In less than two days we had over 150 emails for a gig in market 108. I tried to send a generic reply to each applicant and got some snippy responses for sending a generic response. Kind of a lose-lose scenario from a management standpoint.

Anyway, it's great to respond, but maybe a generic response is all a multi-tasking PD has time for anymore.

 

[mic1]

Thx Sack . I'll find a gig soon Been in the biz 22 yrs. I suppose there a few who take it personal if they are not being considered. Not me . I'm a polite well mannered guy.

 

[mleach]

I would rather be told "not interested" then to wait and wait for nothing. It should be common courtesy to reply to an e-mail and let the sender know it was received. And if you are not hiring someone, a quick "thanks but not interested" should be sent.
Good luck in the job hunt mic1.

Ten years ago I would have agreed with you however in this day and age of lawsuits and such, maybe it is best to say nothing and assume that after a month of sending out a package ( regular mail or email ) then they really aren't interested.

Yes it should be common courtesy to send a reply back but then again I can remember an incident that took place at our local PAX-TV affiliate back in 1999. They were looking for master control operators. A young woman applied for the job. About three weeks later someone at PAX calls her up and told her that they have hired someone else. PAX also went into great detail as to why they didn't hire her. Ah the young woman sued and she ended up getting a job at PAX and PAX fired the person who made that phone call. Such incidents understandable do scare people.

Same reason with getting a job reference from you present and/or past employers. There was a time not all that long ago, many companies would have no problem giving out ALL the info about you ( personal and work related ) to those who want to know. Today most companies only give dates of employment and nothing else. Why? The fear of being sued.
Its a sign of the times.

 

[RicoGregg]

"We'll keep you in mind."

"If anything shakes, we'll call you."

"I'll get back to you, two weeks at most."

"Thank you for your interest. We'll be in touch."

If I had a $5 bill for everytime I heard those and similar blowoffs from PDs, well, I wouldn't have to worry about old age.

It's so much easier to get rejected electronically in modern times.

Most PDs haven't had management training, so tactfulness may not be a strong suit with some.

It may take time to those new to the biz, but understand that rejection is part of the game, and in most cases it's nothing to take personally.

Persistence is it's own reward.

 

[TVC1500]

Mike Lee & M Leach make good points. One of the problems with E-Mail is some air talent
feel once they have your E-Mail address, they have permission to send endless E-Mails
with questions or updates on the opening.

From a Programmer's perspective I get links to jocks web sites and their personal My-Space
accounts, totally unsolicited. Then the E-Mail blasts start up with mega file MP3's attached.
A good candidate will likely hear from me one way or another. Now, if you have actually been
contacted by a PD or Operations Manager in regard to a potential position, checking back a few times via phone or E-Mail is reasonable. It happens to programmers, I was flown out to Chicago & given a
tour of the city, a verbal offer, & a promise to call next week which never came. Would you really want tow work for a cluster or station where there is that little common courtesy?

Keep fine-tuning your search, and don't give up. The right position will appear.

 

[Kent]

While I never was searching for jobs through e-mail, my last experience job hunting was that most PD's would respond, but only if you made it easy enough. I used to include a self-addressed stamped envelope with a form letter that said, "I received your package on ___________" and asked them to write the date in the blank and sign the letter. I got about an 80% response rate.

Although I consider myself a high-tech wonder, I'm not entirely comfortable with sending packages via e-mail, and I don't think I'd want to receive them that way either. It just seems like a lot can still go wrong, especially with how quickly mailboxes fill up, not just with packages, which make it worse because of the space audio files take up, but with SPAM because you publicly posted your e-mail address.

Also, keep in mind that you might be able to send an e-mailed package with a return receipt. However, the PD would have to click "Yes" when opening your e-mail unless the mail program had already been set to automatically send receipts.

 

[Don62]

I can remember an incident that took place at our local PAX-TV affiliate back in 1999. They were looking for master control operators. A young woman applied for the job. About three weeks later someone at PAX calls her up and told her that they have hired someone else. PAX also went into great detail as to why they didn't hire her. Ah the young woman sued and she ended up getting a job at PAX and PAX fired the person who made that phone call. Such incidents understandable do scare people.

I would have sued as well. And I would have sued or at least threatened to sue any former "reference" who gave a crummy reference.

It isn't the place to air dirty laundry or criticize a former colleague when someone asks for a reference. Grow up and act professional. Someone's career is at stake.

If the situation was reversed, would you want someone to claim disparaging things about you to a potential employer?

To give a lousy recommendation shows a lot about the person doing the dissing. No one knows everything and not everyone is perfect. Some people are hard to work with and some can't lead.

 

[sack]

I can remember an incident that took place at our local PAX-TV affiliate back in 1999. They were looking for master control operators. A young woman applied for the job. About three weeks later someone at PAX calls her up and told her that they have hired someone else. PAX also went into great detail as to why they didn't hire her. Ah the young woman sued and she ended up getting a job at PAX and PAX fired the person who made that phone call. Such incidents understandable do scare people.

I would have sued as well. And I would have sued or at least threatened to sue any former "reference" who gave a crummy reference.

It isn't the place to air dirty laundry or criticize a former colleague when someone asks for a reference. Grow up and act professional. Someone's career is at stake.

If the situation was reversed, would you want someone to claim disparaging things about you to a potential employer?

To give a lousy recommendation shows a lot about the person doing the dissing. No one knows everything and not everyone is perfect. Some people are hard to work with and some can't lead.

I don't understand how someone can sue to get a job. Unless PAX told her that she wasn't hired because she is a woman, or because of her age,, what possible right could she have to sue because she didnt' get a job. If she was dissed by a reference or former employee, maybe she deserved it. Theres a big difference between someone "that worked here and showed up" and "I miss her, she did a great job".

When PAX explained why she wasn't hired, what was said? Thats an important part of the story.

Everyone here knows at least one, or a dozen people they work with that don't deserve their jobs, thats why we have a mediocre workforce,, if you lose your job or don't get one, sue, sue sue. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
And yes, there are employers that are just nasty to ex-employees, but as someone that is hiring, shouldn't I be able to discern between an honest review and sour grapes?

And this woman that sued to get the job as PAX, I wonder if she is that good, wonder if her fellow employees think she was a good hire. In a crisis, is she a person you run to or run from?


and back to the topic,, at least she got a call back,,, hahaha!

 

[Don62]

The story made it sound like instead of providing a "reference," someone gave a deragatory statement that harmed the applicants chance for getting a job. The station then told the applicant what was said, which prompted a lawsuit.

My comments were on vindictive and immature comments, which deserve at least a reprimand.

 

[mleach]

In the case with PAX I heard two different stories. One was the guy from Pax told her she didn't get the job because at the interview "..she dressed like a call girl and talked like a lesbian". Another story I heard was that they told her that her last employer gave her a bad reference and they mentioned a name of the person who gave that "bad" reference. Well that person denied saying anything like that to PAX and he even agreed to swear on an affidavit to that. If either of these stories were the case, well I can see a lawsuit.

Its situations like this why few businesses give references anymore other than just the facts like dates of employment. To avoid problems. The last radio station I worked at we had a sales guy who had moved to another city and applied for a sales job there. they called up our sales manager for a reference and he went on saying stuff like "..he was a great employee but his ROOMMATE was no good". Ah..why would the roommate be brought up since he isn't the one looking for a job? Well the radio station that called for the reference thought so too and hired him anyway. Even though there never was a lawsuit or anything like that however as a result of this incident, the new policy is that only the GENERAL MANAGER can give references. Not the sales manager or even the program director. And like most other places only the "facts" are given, nothing personal related such as ones opinion of the lifestyle of the employee or personal feelings of the employee's family members and friends.