Friday, January 7, 2011

Resume Tape Week: Sometimes you need two tapes

We're going to conclude this week with a tip that some of you might not have considered.

Let's say you're a reporter who has filled in on the anchor desk a lot. You're looking for a job and you don't really have a preference if it is a reporter or anchor gig.

So why would you send a reporter tape for an anchor job, or vice versa?

That's why many people have two tapes, one for reporter jobs, one for anchoring. If you do this, you'll need your packages first if you're applying for a reporter job, your anchoring clips first if it's an anchor job you seek.

Weekend anchor job? Then your anchoring goes first. A ND sees those skills as more important when hiring for that position.

Finally, sometimes you run into a station that just does things differently; maybe they like long form stories and your regular tape has nothing but minute-fifteen packlets. So you knock out a special tape just for that station. Or there's a station that does "real stories" as opposed to scanner chasing. Make a separate tape if necessary. Do your homework, and find out the style of the station running the ad.

Remember, consider each job opening carefully and don't just send stuff out blindly. Sometimes switching things up a bit can make a big difference.

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