Looking For A Job?

Unfortunately, this holiday season finds too many good people looking for employment. As one who spends a great deal of time wading through the talent pool, I'd like to offer some helpful suggestions for when you are sending out those all-important aircheck packages.

Do: On an aircheck, put your best stuff first. It sounds obvious, but you'd be amazed at how many airchecks start with a thud. If you don't hook me from "hello" you don't have much of a chance.

Do: Include a professional picture. Video is becoming more a part of radio and how you look does matter. You don't have to be a model, but a professional photographer can capture you in the best light.

Do: Use your name in the file name you send. Do you know how many files I would have on my computer that are called simply "aircheck" if I hadn't taken the time to rename them?

Do: Run any letter you send through a spell checker. If this were obvious, I wouldn't have to note it here.

Do: Demonstrate your versatility. Sure, there may be one thing you're great at (i.e., being a morning sidekick) but let me know what else you can do in this age of multiple hats. The more skills you can enumerate, the more valuable you can be.

Don't: Start an email or letter by saying, "Your search is over!". While I appreciate self-confidence, you are not the one making that decision.

Don't: Be impersonal. "Hello" is not a way to start a letter. Address the person you're sending your package to by name. If possible, mention something that shows that you are in the know about the situation you are applying for.

Don't: Send only links. Ideally, give the person receiving the package the option to download the file or go to a link. I like to be able to save the good ones easily from an email rather than having to go through the extra steps in order to download files from a website.

Don't: Bad-mouth your last job or situation. Again, this may seem obvious, but always emphasize whatever positives you can from a situation you have just left.

Finally, I strongly believe that there are still good jobs, even great jobs, for those who have talent and/or excellent work ethics. Make 2008 the year you take your career to new heights!

Is There No End To The Stupidity? The RIAA is now telling you that you can't make MP3's of out of CD's. So let me get this straight. If I buy a CD, I can't make a copy of it to play on my I-Pod or MP3 player? If caught, I face a heavy fine and may have to give up my house? So they are going to penalize people who have plucked down hard earned money for CD's who put them into a more convenient format to enjoy the music they have actually paid for? Actions like these will only fuel the public anger discouraging them from going to legal downloading sites. Good luck with this one.