(July 21, 2016) Some people take new jobs for opportunity, others for location. Adam Hildebrandt is getting the benefit of both. An STAA member, Hildebrandt has been hired as Sports Director at Wright Radio in Weatherford, OK, and to be the new voice of NCAA Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
When asked which he values more in his new job – location or opportunity – Hildebrandt hesitates. “I would probably say the chance to have my own DII broadcast was more attractive, just because I was willing to move wherever necessary to take the next step,” he says. “That being said, the fact that it was in Oklahoma and it gets my family and I back to our home state was a home run. It doesn’t get better than advancing your career and getting closer to home at the same time.”
In Weatherford, Hildebrandt replaces fellow STAA member John Liddle. Liddle left after eight years to work at a sports radio station in Dallas and broadcast DI women’s basketball play-by-play at the University of North Texas.
A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Hildebrandt has spent the past four years at KRES Radio in Moberly, MO. His responsibilities included football and basketball play-by-play for NAIA Central Methodist University and select games for NCAA DII Truman State University.
One thing that benefitted Hildebrandt in the application process was keeping his demo and resume updated. “Having my STAA page up to date was big,” he says. “I wrote a cover letter and applied within 24 hours of when I saw the opening, and I could do it because my resume and demo were ready to go.”
In addition, Hildebrandt says he benefitted from STAA’s suggestions for following up on his application. He also attended two of the last three One Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminars. “I had met John Liddle at ODT14, so I was able to contact him and ask him about the job the day it was posted. I also used a follow up technique that I learned from someone that I met at this year’s event. So it’s safe to say that people I met at ODT events were helpful in one way or another to me getting this job.
“If you continue to work on your job market strategy, you’ll be ready when the right opportunity comes along. I’ve applied for some jobs where I was shooting pretty high that I didn’t get. However, I fine tuned my job market strategy with every job I didn’t get, and it paid off big time when the right opportunity came along.”
(Visit Adam’s STAA Talent Page).