I noticed a blurb on Twitter last night from a guy who’s applied to more than 200 news jobs in the last few years, and only received 3 interviews and no job offers. Of course it’s possible that the individual is insane or has no marketable skills, but it’s also likely that he’s not trying hard enough. However, I’m certain that he’s not alone. I’ve got a stack of DVDs on my desk right now from people I won’t hire, for several reasons.
Here’s some advice for all the aspiring reporters out there, who are struggling to find a job. There’s an old saying that there’s an invisible wall between the sales department and the news department at a TV station. While this is true, it’s also a detriment to you if you want to get a job. Reporters can learn a lot from the sales department when it comes to marketing ourselves during our job search.
There’s a sales statistic that’s been floating around on the internet for years, even though the original source is difficult to track down. Here it is:
- 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
- 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
- 5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
- 10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
- 80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact
Think of a job landed as a “sale”. If your one contact with a News Director is sending in your resume and DVD, you’d have about a 2% chance of landing that job. (With me personally, it’s more like a zero % chance.)
Most news organizations, when they post a job, place a stipulation on the application that no phone calls are allowed. They’re afraid that they’ll annoy the News Director and he’ll throw their DVD right in the trash if they break that “rule” and make a quick phone call. I can’t speak for female news directors, because I’ve never worked for one (and never will), but male news directors will not tear your resume up if you call them. Here’s how to do it unobtrusively.
Phone call #1 - “Hi, my name is ___. I just wanted to follow up and make sure you received my application materials, and whether you needed any other information from me?”
It’s a simple phone call, and it’s perfectly innocent. If the news director hasn’t gone through the giant stack of DVDs on his desk, there’s a chance he’ll rifle through them until he finds yours. He’ll set it on top of the stack as he’s talking to you. (I’ve actually seen this pay off.)
Mark the day on your calendar, and call him again one week later. Ask if the position has been filled, and let him know you’re still interested. Do that once a week until you get the job. DON’T call every day, because that WILL annoy him. The 99 other people who applied for the job don’t have the guts to break that stupid “no phone calls” rule anyway, and it shows the news director that you have the initiative to go after the job. Contrary to your fears about annoying him, you’re displaying character traits that news directors look for in reporters: persistence, and a desire to work in his newsroom.
Here’s a dirty little secret about most newsrooms: news directors are terribly busy. They sometimes take a LONG time to hire someone for a position. When they do, they usually go with the person who has made several contacts with them. Because of the length of time that’s passed, they’re a lot less likely to call a reporter who simply sent them a resume. Multiple contacts with a news director = job. Pretty simple equation, isn’t it?
See also 5 Things I Look for When Hiring a Reporter.
Technorati Tags: Broadcast Journalism Career, Job Application, Journalism, Marketing for Reporters, News Director, reporters
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Tags: Broadcast Journalism Career, Job Application, Journalism, Marketing for Reporters, News Director, reporters
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on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 11:33 pm and is filed under Broadcast Journalism.
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