There is a lot to be learned in the following story.
An employer contacted me last fall looking for someone to do play-by-play for high school and small college sports in his community. I gave him contact info for three people — let’s call them Andrew Roth, Mitchell North and Kevin Black.
Here is the follow-up information the employer shared with me via email:
Once again thank you for giving me the announcer leads. Andrew Roth is now the play-by-play announcer for [high School name] Football on XXXX. His third broadcast is this Friday.
Some stuff that may be of interest to you:
- All three were sent e-mails Monday morning, September 16 within a 10 minute span.
- Andrew was the first to get back to me later that afternoon.
- Mitchell North got back to me on Wednesday, September 18.
- No reply from Kevin Black (small chance reply was deleted by filter)
- Andrew supplied me with his STAA link where I could look at his resume and listen to a football demo.
Andrew got the job because he responded quickly, and presented me with access to demo materials to make a decision (STAA link). He is in line to sub for XXXXX on an upcoming broadcast of [local small college] football. I plan on calling on Andrew beyond the football season, getting some games for other high school teams in his area of [town].
I’d consider contacting Mitchell North in the future if we need another [local] announcer. At this juncture, I’d have to cross Kevin Black off my list.
Here are the two things I hope folks takeaway from this story:
1. It is courteous, smart and professional to reply to employers who contact you, even if you aren’t interested in the immediate opening.
2. The timeliness of your reply is a reflection of your interest in a position, whether you intend it to be that way or not.
