(July 17, 2013) Since graduating college this spring, Brendan Gulick has applied for one full-time broadcasting job. He’s one for one. An STAA client, Gulick is joining Texoma Broadcasting in Durant, OK as an air talent and play-by-play broadcaster for NCAA Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State University football and basketball.
“This opportunity is precisely what I was seeking,” says Gulick.
In addition to play-by-play, Gulick will serve as a morning show host on Texoma Broadcasting’s new station, 99.7 FM KLBC. “It’s a full-time opportunity with a quality ownership group that will help shape my career,” says Gulick. “I’m equally as excited to be on air as I am to get involved in the community.”
When the opening arose, Texoma Broadcasting chose not to post it publicly. They had used STAA’s job placement assistance services in the past and asked that the job description be shared privately with STAA clients. Gulick learned of the opportunity in an STAA email.
“The job opening did not appear publicly in the [STAA] job forum, so it’s very unlikely that I would’ve heard about it if I weren’t a client,” he says.
Immediately upon learning of the position, Gulick applied a full-court press. Within days, he traveled from Rockford, IL to Durant to hand deliver his demo and resume and personally introduce himself to Texoma Broadcasting GM Todd Tidwell. It was the first post-college job he applied for because it was the first in which he was genuinely interested. He recommends selectivity as a valuable job market strategy.
“In my opinion, it is important for anyone in the job market to be focused – you can’t truly put your best effort forward into the application process for a job if you have sent applications to dozens of job vacancies at a time. Aside from that, find a way to make yourself the candidate by which all others will be measured.”
Gulick joined STAA during his junior year at John Carroll University in Cleveland. Each of the past two years, he has been in the top 13 in STAA’s ranking of the nation’s top collegiate sports broadcasters. After graduating this spring, Gulick moved to Illinois to join the Rockford Aviators baseball broadcast team.
“My life changed when I became an STAA client in January, 2012,” says Gulick. “I’ve been blessed to have good mentors throughout my development at Saint Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, but from a broadcasting perspective, [STAA CEO] Jon Chelesnik guided me in a unique way. I wouldn’t have been ready for this opportunity in Durant if I hadn’t spent as much time as I did using STAA’s services preparing for this chance. You never know where your first big break will come, and thanks to STAA, I was ready for mine.”
(Visit Brendan’s STAA Talent Page).