Anyone who has applied for sports broadcasting jobs has experienced some degree of frustration.
If it makes you feel any better, the things that annoy you are annoying to other people as well.
Here are three common job market frustrations (and how to make the best of them):
1. EEO posts
For job seekers, EEO means a lot of position descriptions are published when there isn’t really an opening. The position has either already been filled or there never was a position available in the first place.
Some stations send out the same position descriptions every three months but never make a corresponding hire. Two stations in particular are so notorious for this that we rarely even post their positions in our job board any more.
One time I posted a sports radio position in the STAA forums. I then posted a follow-up comment along the lines of, “This is likely an EEO post. Don’t get your hopes up.” The PD of that station immediately emailed me to tell me that the opening was legit. I replied that the reason I wrote what I did was because he hadn’t hired anyone the last several times they had posted the position.
They didn’t hire anyone that time either.
Make the best of it: Submit your application on the chance that the employer might actually see it.
2. Applying to Human Resources
This is usually another result of EEO posts. Sending your demo and resume to the Human Resources Director is like putting a message into a bottle and throwing it into the ocean. You wonder if the actual decision-maker is ever going to see it.
Make the best of it: When instructed to apply through HR, also send your application directly to the decision-maker.
3. Local hires
Employers who prefer to hire talent who knows the history of the local teams is understandable, especially in sports talk radio. However, if you know you are going to hire local, don’t solicit applications nationally. It wastes people’s time.
I know an employer who always hires locally. Still, he feigns interest in out-of-town candidates — even for part-time positions, gets their hopes up, then tells them in the end that he wanted to make a local hire. Considering that the employer knew that from the start, it is disrespectful to applicants to put them through the charade.
Make the best of it: Demonstrate that you can instantly sound local by customizing your demo for the market to which you are applying.
