We keep hearing about the mistakes job hunters make when applying for journalism jobs. The same mistakes, over and over. There’s no reason for you to become the next bad example. Take these tips to heart.
Make a good first impression. Be sure you have the right call letters and news director’s name in your cover letter. “I’ve seen my name and call letters change multiple times in an email,” says Bob Walters of KWTX in Waco, Texas. Avoid cutting and pasting, but if you must, make sure the font style is consistent.
Follow directions. If you’ve been asked to attach a resume and you fail to, says Robin Whitmeyer of KDFW in Dallas, you won’t get the job. Freda Rose of WBAP radio in Dallas remembers an applicant who said filling out a long form seemed like a waste of his time. Her reaction? “You don’t know how to follow directions, and you think you’re already too good to be in my shop. Just follow the directions!”
Be accessible. “Don’t make the hiring manager hunt you down,” Whitmeyer says. Put your name, email and phone number on everything you send. Include your references. And if you are linking to video, make sure every link works. Keep your resume short. “Mine’s still one page and I’ve worked at 8 stations in 30 years,” Walters says.
Share expectations. Be prepared for a question about salary and answer it honestly. The Cumulus radio application asks what you’re making now and the least you will accept. Chip Mahaney of E.W. Scripps says every job has a salary range. If you say you expect less, you’ll still get paid something within the range. “I’m not going to drop a salary range to fit yours,” Mahaney says. “I don’t want to lose those budget dollars.”
One more tip: Don’t oversell. “Don’t say you know how to do something when you don’t,” Walters advises. “I want to know what I’m getting when [you] walk in the door.”
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
