Former Yankees great Joe DiMaggio was asked why he played so hard every inning. He replied, “Because someone might be watching me for the first time.”
Sports Anchor/Reporter Bryan Kennedy doesn’t know how his new employers at CBS4 KMOV in St. Louis found him. However, because he always did his best in his previous role as Sports Director at ABC 36 in Lexington, KY, somebody noticed. Who it was remains a mystery.
“For now, I have no idea,” Kennedy chuckles. “As many of us job searching knows, when you’re looking you’re sending out your reel and resume to every opening you have interest in. I was doing that and hadn’t heard a peep from anyone.”
Kennedy does offer a hypothesis about what could have happened. “A friend was starting at a station and I had her pass on my reel to the sports director who was looking to hire someone. Turns out I didn’t fit what they needed. There’s a possibility he passed on my reel. At the end of the day, I don’t know, but I hope to find out soon.”
The move to St. Louis checks a box on Kennedy’s list of career goals. “I always wanted to do two things: move home to Lexington, KY to cover sports, and move on to a high market.”
Sense of urgency
The KMOV job culminates a job search that featured extra pressure for Kennedy. The end of his contract was coming up in Lexington. “I knew that I had a job and an opportunity to re-sign, but that’s no what I really wanted to do,” he muses. “I had aspirations of moving up and I didn’t want to get complacent with my current job. With my end date coming up I was getting more and more anxious. This happened at the perfect time.”
Revised job market strategy
Two strategies guided Kennedy in the sportscasting job market: perseverance and persistence. “Being persistent and trying to use any possible person or avenue to help,” he explains.
Another change Kennedy made was regarding cover letters. When asked for an example of something he changed in his letters, Kennedy laughed, “Changed? How about I wrote one to begin with! I previously hadn’t written one, but after reading the message boards and advice in the STAA Member Community, I decided to write one.”
Kennedy says having his demo and resume together on his STAA talent page was another valuable job market resource. “It’s a one-stop shop,” he smiles. “When applying for jobs I wanted to apply as quickly as possible. With that talent page, I was able to go through the normal application then paste the link to my talent page. Made it much easier.”
Kennedy may never know how the folks at KMOV found him. But he’s sure glad they did.
“The St. Louis market is where I’ve always wanted to be. It’s truly hard to believe that I’ll be working there.”