I have to admit I’m jealous…Not that I want to be 21 again but as graduation approaches and students try and find a job, I’m amazed at the opportunities…<\/p>\n
There are two steps in securing the first position…”Finding” the job and “getting” the job….Getting the job hasn’t\u00a0 really changed over all these years…During the interview process you convince someone you have the skills they need…But finding the job has never been easier…<\/p>\n
Every major media outlet lists their openings on a website…It’s as simple as clicking and scrolling…Take WHDH-TV<\/a> in Boston, for example…They currently have no less than eighteen(18) jobs listed…Some full time, some part time…But 18 jobs in a top ten market? …What could be bad?<\/p>\n 1735 DeSales Street NW, Washington DC 20036….it’s still ingrained in my brain after all these years…The address for Broadcasting Magazine<\/a>, back then, the only and I say “only” source of jobs in the TV news industry…Click the link for the magazine and scroll to page 160…I did that every week…But as you’ll see, almost none of the listings told you where (or what station) these jobs were…Lots of box numbers where to send your 3\/4 inch videotape resume in hopes of starting the process…Most of the times, you never heard anything, let alone got your tape back…It was kind of like applying for college…If you got a “thin” letter it meant “thank you for your interest and we’ll keep your resume on file”…<\/p>\n But today, sites like JournalismJobs.com<\/a> and TV Jobs.Com<\/a>\u00a0do much of the heavy lifting….<\/p>\n Now it’s time for you to do your part…Matt Pepin<\/a>, Digital Sports Editor for The Boston Globe\u00a0<\/em>recently told students at the Boston University Sports Journalism Seminar Series, “Do some research when you’re applying for a job, learn something about who the paper’s audience is before you interview”…\u00a0 \u00a0Pam Bechtold Snyder<\/a>, an Executive Producer with NBC Universal was even more candid…”Look at the station’s bio page(s), see what demographic they might need”<\/p>\n Perhaps selfishly, I asked Bechtold what skill she wished she had learned here at B-U that came up in her job travels…For the record, Pam was\u00a0 student of mine and later a teaching assistant…”I wasn’t used to the crisis mode in my first jobs” she told the students…Something for me to integrate into my teaching – time limits, last second story coverage, producing a package from start to finish “in” class perhaps…<\/p>\n As someone who works closely with students trying to join the workforce for the first time, I sometimes am frustrated by the desire “to get a job in Boston\/New England” mindset…Let’s be honest, you’re not ready for this market and limiting your job search is not the best strategy…Employers understand that also…”(the smaller markets) are were the next talent is gonna come from”, Pepin said…The understanding being that it takes time to refine your craft and there’s a certain progression to that learning curve…For Matt it was Middletown and Poughkeepsie, New York…For Pam it was Plattsburgh, Vermont and Greenville , South Carolina…I spent my journalism formative years in beautiful downtown Malden, Massachusetts…<\/p>\n Now, we’d all like to think we’re ready for that first job, eager and willing to do whatever it takes…Taking the steps before the interview process is worth paying attention to…”We search their social media pages” Pepin as much as warned…That’s as much to see that you understand the technology as it is to see how you portray yourself publicly…After all, you will be a face of their station\/newspaper\/outlet…<\/p>\n There are currently 45 sports jobs listed on TVJobs.com in places like Grand Junction, Colorado, market 187, to Chicago, Illinois, market 3…JournalismJobs.Com lists some of the same jobs but among its 116 jobs listed are sixty one in newspapers and 50 in television…I know I could land one of those!…And so can you!…<\/p>\n I’m jealous….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have to admit I’m jealous…Not that I want to be 21 again but as graduation approaches and students try and find a job, I’m amazed at the opportunities… There are two steps in securing the first position…”Finding” the job and “getting” the job….Getting the job hasn’t\u00a0 really changed over all these years…During the interview 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