4 thoughts on “Avoid these cardinal sins in applying for public media jobs

  1. Jim, I was always amazed at the number of applicants for responsible positions who were unable to respond to a simple question: “What are some of your favorite programs on this station?”

  2. Salaries are rarely listed in job descriptions I have seen–so candidates may apply not knowing what the range is. (If they were listed, I could make a decision about whether to apply and avoiding wasting the station’s time if isn’t right for me.) Also, I hope you will consider writing about the cardinal sins of search committees–like not calling candidates back after an interview (I would rather hear no than not hearing); asking candidates to travel at their own expense and/or at the last minute; asking candidates to pitch stories or shows and then using them on the air with acknowledgement. All have happened to me. Like many candidates, I have gone to great lengths to research and listen to the station and prepare pitches, taken time off of my current job and traveled long distances only to hear nothing. At any stage of the process this is lousy, but at this stage is unconscionable. So, anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you will consider a column about the recruiters’ cardinal sins.

  3. Salaries are rarely listed in job descriptions I have seen–so
    candidates may apply not knowing what the range is. (If they were listed, I
    could make a decision about whether to apply and avoiding wasting the station’s
    time if isn’t right for me.) Also, I hope you will consider writing about the
    cardinal sins of search committees–like not calling candidates back after an
    interview (I would rather hear no than not hearing); asking candidates to
    travel at their own expense and/or at the last minute; asking candidates to
    pitch stories or shows and then using them on the air without acknowledgement. All
    have happened to me–with the not calling back/closing the loop being incredibly common (as well as incredibly cruel and thoughtless.) How about writing about that?

  4. I agree with you,Mike, that not informing a candidate about the outcome of a search he/she participated in — is just plain rude and thoughtless behavior that I would never excuse. As for salary ranges, most job ads don’t have a salary range but it is easily obtained by calling/emailing the HR Department. As for making job applicants pay their own travel, to me that shows the hiring entity isn’t serious about you. And, companies that steal pitches and use them — are crooks. Bottom line: I know that applying for a job is often not a happy or professional experience, but when these things happen — consider yourself lucky enough to have found out it isn’t a company you want to work for — before you started a job there.

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