• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Movin's hiring! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!!!

fordranger797 said:
At the same time, how will a minor position on a large morning show allow you to forge a career for yourself? If your goal is to host your own show, wouldn't you be better equipped to make it happen if you've actually been the host of your own show before?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.

Being on the team of a winning station's morning show gives you insight on what works and does not work and how to put a show together. You benefit from probably decades of collective experience from the other participants.

In my part of the radio world, I saw three of the top rated Los Angeles morning show talents (Humberto Luna, "El Cucuy" and "Piolín") rise from being assistants on other morning shows. As they learned, they got greater participation and eventually got their own shows. Each of the three eventually became #1 in LA, beating all the general market stations with considerable frequency.
 
fordranger797 said:
At the same time, how will a minor position on a large morning show allow you to forge a career for yourself? If your goal is to host your own show, wouldn't you be better equipped to make it happen if you've actually been the host of your own show before?
Click to expand...

Are you serious? There are countless stories of people in radio making it from simply being an intern to making a great living in the business (and some did it without talking over an intro of a record). It's not just radio, it happens in many business sectors.
 
AQH said:
Are you serious? There are countless stories of people in radio making it from simply being an intern to making a great living in the business (and some did it without talking over an intro of a record). It's not just radio, it happens in many business sectors.
Click to expand...

Ah, you just reduced my bio into 100 words or less!

I began by hanging around a station and doing anything I was asked to do, from filing records (those black round things with a hole in 'em) to cleaning the bathroom to getting coffee. I learned more doing that than in any college communications class.
 
AQH said:
Are you serious? There are countless stories of people in radio making it from simply being an intern to making a great living in the business (and some did it without talking over an intro of a record). It's not just radio, it happens in many business sectors.
Click to expand...

That would make sense, but does it still happen in modern day radio (and especially a market like Seattle)? You can definitely do that somewhere else, but from what i've seen, people who want to make it in the Seattle market need 3+ years of experience, a track record of success, in addition to on-air and imaging airchecks to be considered for any available position. That alone is the reason why I find it a little hard to believe.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Not necessarily.

Being on the team of a winning station's morning show gives you insight on what works and does not work and how to put a show together. You benefit from probably decades of collective experience from the other participants.

In my part of the radio world, I saw three of the top rated Los Angeles morning show talents (Humberto Luna, "El Cucuy" and "Piolín") rise from being assistants on other morning shows. As they learned, they got greater participation and eventually got their own shows. Each of the three eventually became #1 in LA, beating all the general market stations with considerable frequency.
Click to expand...

Thank you David for that information!
 
If you interned on a top morning show for 3 years, being a part of a morning team. Getting experience working with guest, talent, station personal, seeing how the a radio station operates. Getting contacts, hopefully making friends. Getting comfortable in a studio, boards and automation/play out. Over the three years you may get pulled in to help with production, either voiceing or producing. Even as a station engineer I got pulled int the production room to do some rare voice work.

If you intern or are part of a morning team/radio station for three years or more, then that can be a track record of success. You have to start some where to start that track record.
 
One other piece of career advice: Apply for EVERYTHING. Even if you don't think you qualify, apply anyway. And make your demo unforgettable. That sells more than experience.
 
fordranger797 said:
That would make sense, but does it still happen in modern day radio (and especially a market like Seattle)? You can definitely do that somewhere else, but from what i've seen, people who want to make it in the Seattle market need 3+ years of experience, a track record of success, in addition to on-air and imaging airchecks to be considered for any available position. That alone is the reason why I find it a little hard to believe.
Click to expand...

It happens even more now in modern day (and Seattle) radio. There are less people trying to make a career in this industry, and less jobs to go around. As someone mentioned earlier, a lot of times companies will post a job even if they already have a candidate in mind because they legally have to. Typically it's someone in-house that's getting the gig, and those requirements that you mentioned go out the window. You know that phrase, it's about who you know? That's more applicable now than ever.

Reference: I was the unqualified former intern who was eventually hired
 
iamarussianpirate said:
It happens even more now in modern day (and Seattle) radio. There are less people trying to make a career in this industry, and less jobs to go around. As someone mentioned earlier, a lot of times companies will post a job even if they already have a candidate in mind because they legally have to. Typically it's someone in-house that's getting the gig, and those requirements that you mentioned go out the window. You know that phrase, it's about who you know? That's more applicable now than ever.

Reference: I was the unqualified former intern who was eventually hired
Click to expand...

Thank you for the explanation. I've always been under the impression that nobody is getting into a market like Seattle without significant experience from a small market, but it would make sense that there would be a track for in-house advancement. It certainly makes the goal of getting into a larger market seem much more attainable for newcomers to the business. It's fantastic to hear that internships can still be utilized to break into the radio market. I've always been told that large market internships result in street team positions where the intern may rarely ever set foot in the business office.
 
Last edited:
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom