This week at STAA, our members hit a super cool milestone of which we are very proud. A few days ago we published a story about Seth Harp accepting the PD/Afternoon Drive Host position at Sports Radio 930 in Jacksonville.
It was the 800th story we have published since 2007 about an STAA member getting a sports broadcasting job.
800 success stories in eight years. It is fitting that No. 800 was Seth. He has been featured in six of those stories.
Since joining STAA at our inception in 2006, we’ve watched Seth advance his career from Kalamazoo, to Lincoln, Huntsville, Mobile, Charleston, Savannah and now Jacksonville.
Three staples of Seth’s job market approach will be helpful to everyone:
1. Research
Whenever applying jobs, Seth always researches the market, the ownership, the station’s lineup and any other relevant info.
2. Extra effort
Each of Seth’s last four positions has included program director responsibilities. Though none of the application instructions for those positions requested that applicants submit a programming philosophy, Seth always did. Doing more than is asked and doing more than your competition is always impressive.
3. Creativity
I don’t want to go too far into detail about Seth’s secrets. Suffice it to say, he doesn’t just submit his application then sit back waiting for the phone to ring. He always invests an hour or two creating station-specific follow-ups that demonstrate his genuine interest in the positions.
Me and my right-hand, STAA’s Digital Content Manager Melodie Turori, are excited for the next 800 STAA member success stories. We’re excited to share the thrill with our members as they land their first jobs, their next jobs and their dream jobs.
Maybe you’ll be the person I am writing about in 2023 when we’re celebrating STAA’s 1,600th success story. Maybe you will be that generation’s Seth Harp — the person whose career has been growing steadily because you don’t just work hard in the job market, you also work smart.
