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Radio station job opening--resume suggestions?

J

JasonW

Guest
Hello All,

I recently heard a local radio station (owned by a small regional network) advertise several job openings. I called them and was told to e-mail or fax a resume to their headquarters. I'd love to be a board op or perhaps work in programming at one of their AM news/talk stations. Being an engineer's assistant (if they'd take me for that) would be enjoyable as well.

I have never worked in broadcast radio before, but as a long-time listener who has "hung around" the business (I knew a few of the talk hosts at WNWS 790 in Miami and have a cousin who was a talk host there), I'm familiar with the studio jargon and engineering terminology and have a broad understanding of how a radio station works as an organization. I've never worked with AM or FM transmission equipment (other than experimenting with low-power Part 15 AM and FM gear), but I do know what the various pieces of full-power matching network, transmission line, and antenna equipment are and how they work.
Could anyone here recommend what to put (and what *not* to include) in the resume? I'm not looking to be deceptive--I just want to keep it short, sweet, and to-the-point with only information that they would consider relevant.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help. -- J. Jason Wentworth
 
Since you've never worked in the business before you are obviously going to start in an entry level job which is fine. Most employers prefer someone with some hands-on experience, which you might be able to get at a local college station. They next things on my list are enthusiasm, the ability of the employee to think on their feet, and reliability.

If you haven't put together a resume in a while, get some advice as a sloppy looking resume will be rejected without being read. For this kind of job, keep it to a single page.

Remember that most people are hired in the first 30 seconds of an interview so when you go in you want to make the best impression you can. Always arrive five minutes early, dress up even if you are applying for just a board op job. You've heard it before but it is so true, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Prepare for the interview by doing lots of research about the station, any sister stations and the company that owns it. If the station does remote broadcasts go to a few of them to see how they do it and to perhaps meet some of their employees, informally

You don't want to come off as a "know it all" in the interview but at the same time you want to be prepared and appear as if you know about their operation. The interview is not the time to critique their programming or complain about the state of the industry.

Give the interview process (and your life) some thought and be prepared to answer such questions as "Where do you see yourself in 5 years", "Describe some of your weaknesses" and "What would you do if you discovered that your boss was cheating the company". I know you are not applying for a job with Trump but a good manager will know what questions to ask to find out more about what makes a prospective employee tick.

They probably won't hire you as an engineer's assistant unless you have a technical background. If this is something you want to pursue consider getting your amateur radio (ham) license (arrl.org) and check into the certification offered by the Society of Broadcast Engineers, (sbe.org). I think they offer a basic non-technical certificate for board ops, not sure.

Internships are a good way to get experience and to get your foot in the door so if you don't get hired the first time around look into that.

To summarize, what I look for is someone who is enthusiastic (but not too), handles themselves professionally and appears to have some common sense (very important for board ops) and who is punctual and reliable. You would be surprised at the number of people who show up to interviews late or who show up in yesterday's jeans and an old t-shirt . . . always with lots of excuses but never with enough common sense to take the extra time to do the laundry or leave home in time to get to the appointment on time. I've even had guys show up to interviews with competitors T shirts on!

> Hello All,
>
> I recently heard a local radio station (owned by a small
> regional network) advertise several job openings. I called
> them and was told to e-mail or fax a resume to their
> headquarters. I'd love to be a board op or perhaps work in
> programming at one of their AM news/talk stations. Being an
> engineer's assistant (if they'd take me for that) would be
> enjoyable as well.
>
> I have never worked in broadcast radio before, but as a
> long-time listener who has "hung around" the business (I
> knew a few of the talk hosts at WNWS 790 in Miami and have a
> cousin who was a talk host there), I'm familiar with the
> studio jargon and engineering terminology and have a broad
> understanding of how a radio station works as an
> organization. I've never worked with AM or FM transmission
> equipment (other than experimenting with low-power Part 15
> AM and FM gear), but I do know what the various pieces of
> full-power matching network, transmission line, and antenna
> equipment are and how they work.
> Could anyone here recommend what to put (and what *not* to
> include) in the resume? I'm not looking to be deceptive--I
> just want to keep it short, sweet, and to-the-point with
> only information that they would consider relevant.
>
> Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help. -- J. Jason
> Wentworth
>
 
I thank you for your suggestions. Fitting a resume on one page would not be a problem.

Yes, I believe you! My brother (who is an automobile parts company executive) has told me stories about folks who showed up for white-collar job interviews in dirty T-shirts and blue jeans that were out at the knees.

I don't have much knowledge or experience that I think they would find relevant to radio (I don't know if my being a self-published author and poet and having worked at the Miami Space Transit Planetarium would help), but I will list those as well. -- Jason

> Since you've never worked in the business before you are
> obviously going to start in an entry level job which is
> fine. Most employers prefer someone with some hands-on
> experience, which you might be able to get at a local
> college station. They next things on my list are
> enthusiasm, the ability of the employee to think on their
> feet, and reliability.
>
> If you haven't put together a resume in a while, get some
> advice as a sloppy looking resume will be rejected without
> being read. For this kind of job, keep it to a single page.
>
> Remember that most people are hired in the first 30 seconds
> of an interview so when you go in you want to make the best
> impression you can. Always arrive five minutes early, dress
> up even if you are applying for just a board op job. You've
> heard it before but it is so true, you only have one chance
> to make a first impression.
>
> Prepare for the interview by doing lots of research about
> the station, any sister stations and the company that owns
> it. If the station does remote broadcasts go to a few of
> them to see how they do it and to perhaps meet some of their
> employees, informally
>
> You don't want to come off as a "know it all" in the
> interview but at the same time you want to be prepared and
> appear as if you know about their operation. The interview
> is not the time to critique their programming or complain
> about the state of the industry.
>
> Give the interview process (and your life) some thought and
> be prepared to answer such questions as "Where do you see
> yourself in 5 years", "Describe some of your weaknesses" and
> "What would you do if you discovered that your boss was
> cheating the company". I know you are not applying for a
> job with Trump but a good manager will know what questions
> to ask to find out more about what makes a prospective
> employee tick.
>
> They probably won't hire you as an engineer's assistant
> unless you have a technical background. If this is
> something you want to pursue consider getting your amateur
> radio (ham) license (arrl.org) and check into the
> certification offered by the Society of Broadcast Engineers,
> (sbe.org). I think they offer a basic non-technical
> certificate for board ops, not sure.
>
> Internships are a good way to get experience and to get your
> foot in the door so if you don't get hired the first time
> around look into that.
>
> To summarize, what I look for is someone who is enthusiastic
> (but not too), handles themselves professionally and appears
> to have some common sense (very important for board ops) and
> who is punctual and reliable. You would be surprised at the
> number of people who show up to interviews late or who show
> up in yesterday's jeans and an old t-shirt . . . always with
> lots of excuses but never with enough common sense to take
> the extra time to do the laundry or leave home in time to
> get to the appointment on time. I've even had guys show up
> to interviews with competitors T shirts on!
>
> > Hello All,
> >
> > I recently heard a local radio station (owned by a small
> > regional network) advertise several job openings. I called
>
> > them and was told to e-mail or fax a resume to their
> > headquarters. I'd love to be a board op or perhaps work in
>
> > programming at one of their AM news/talk stations. Being
> an
> > engineer's assistant (if they'd take me for that) would be
>
> > enjoyable as well.
> >
> > I have never worked in broadcast radio before, but as a
> > long-time listener who has "hung around" the business (I
> > knew a few of the talk hosts at WNWS 790 in Miami and have
> a
> > cousin who was a talk host there), I'm familiar with the
> > studio jargon and engineering terminology and have a broad
>
> > understanding of how a radio station works as an
> > organization. I've never worked with AM or FM transmission
>
> > equipment (other than experimenting with low-power Part 15
>
> > AM and FM gear), but I do know what the various pieces of
> > full-power matching network, transmission line, and
> antenna
> > equipment are and how they work.
> > Could anyone here recommend what to put (and what *not* to
>
> > include) in the resume? I'm not looking to be deceptive--I
>
> > just want to keep it short, sweet, and to-the-point with
> > only information that they would consider relevant.
> >
> > Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help. -- J. Jason
>
> > Wentworth
> >
>
 
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