People magazine once profiled Kurt Russell. The story was titled, “What I Know Now.” (And just so you know, I don’t regularly read People. Uh…my wife left it lying around the house.)
Anyway, I immediately starting thinking of things I know now about the sports broadcasting industry that I didn’t know back in the day. Here are 12 of them.
- Hiring timelines almost always get delayed.
- Knowing a lot about sports isn’t enough to make someone a great sports talk host.
- Great sportscasters prep at least two hours for every hour they are on the air.
- You are doing well in sportscasting if your salary equals your age.
- Success is more about who you know than what you know.
- Employers prefer to hire locally.
- Employers prefer to hire people they know or who come recommended to them.
- Many employers don’t read cover letters (but you still have to write good ones just in case).
- Sportscasting is a small industry. The dorky intern might one day be your boss.
- Employers are no more perfect than you. No need to be intimidated by them.
- Never accept a job based on “hope to” and “maybe.” Those things almost never come true.
- Money shouldn’t be a factor when considering a job opportunity.
By the way – back to Kurt Russell for a second – he starred in the first movie I ever saw. It was 1972. My dad took me to see Now You See Him Now You Don’t. Russell played a college student who could turn himself invisible. Wouldn’t that be a great trick for a sideline reporter?