Friday, August 03, 2007

We’re Hiring

I know. I’ve been away from the blog for too long. The good news is I’m back. In my absence from writing, I assure you I’ve been busy.

For much of the past week, I have been talking to candidates. One of the toughest things a manager has to do is hire a new employee. It sounds like a lot of fun but, in reality, it’s hard work.
Hiring a new candidate takes patience. It’s easy to hire just any ole’ person but when you want the best, that’s a different story.

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Hiring Process

One of the things I have to do, as a manager, is hire staff. While you may think it’s fun, it’s actually a very difficult and timely process.

Right now, I am interviewing for an open multimedia content coordinator position. Finding the right person to hire is not easy task. Often times your first impression of a person is based on their cover letter.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many cover letters I get that have my name or title wrong. I love when people give me a promotion. I received a resume the other day with my name on it and the title “news director”.  Where do those resumes end up? Trash can.

One of the most important things you can do is make sure you spell the hiring manager’s name correctly. If you don’t know how to spell it, call the station and ask. If you don’t know how to pronounce the name, call and ask for the person’s voicemail so you can hear them say it themselves.

As a hiring manager, once I read thru the cover letter I go for the resume. It’s not uncommon for a hiring manager to fly in candidates for further interviewing.  When I was hired, the station paid to fly me in from Boston. Background checks, drug tests, negotiating money and start dates are all part of a timely process.

You have a short amount of time to gain as much information about a prospective candidate, as possible.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Jim Black Sentenced To Jail

Do you think the punishment handed down to Jim Black is fair?

Local reaction here, here, and here 

I welcome your thoughts and comments!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Where’s Penn?

For those that don’t know, Penn Holderness is our new sports director.

Today, I received a message asking where’s Penn? Here’s the message:
“I read in the N&O that Penn Holderness is joining the NBC17 sports staff.  I thought he was to begin yesterday, 7/9, but I was unable to watch last night.  I did notice that his bio is not on the website, nor does the website mention him joining the staff.  What’s the real story?”

Yesterday was his first day on the job. As many of you undoubtedly know, the first day on any job is usually filled with paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. It’s what I refer to as the HR thing.
Beyond the paperwork, anytime we have a new reporter or anchor join the team, we usually allow them to get acclimated for a few days before they appear on air.

We are putting the finishing touches on his bio and hope to have it on our website by the end of today. As for when you can expect to see Penn… I can tell you he is very excited to be on air. If he says he’s ready, you may very well see his on-air debut on tonight’s newscast.

That’s the real story.

Monday, July 09, 2007

My I-Phone Review

I borrowed my girlfriend’s iphone for the purposes of this blog.

I have had several conversations with people about the iphone. I have a few observations that I have made about this device. First of all, it’s pricey. At more than six buck-er-oos the device is certainly not something to just run out and buy without thinking about your individual financial situation.

The style of the phone is soothing on the eyes but is certainly not molded to the contour of your hand. As such, using the phone as a, well…phone…is not necessarily an enjoyable experience.

The microphone is touchy and usually makes the iphone user sound distorted. In TV terms, we call it over-modulated.  And, the speaker is not the best. Even with the phone turned up to high, any outside ambiance will make any call difficult. No, I am not going deaf. What did you just say?

I know everyone was excited about the touch screen keypad. I am not impressed. Unless you have ultra thin fingers, chances are you will inadvertently make countless typos amidst your feverish texting.

Personally, I am sick of hearing that AT&T is the provider with the “Fewest dropped calls”. As a journalist, I read the fine print at the bottom of all TV commercials. I want to know who says they have the fewest dropped calls. Why? Because as a journalist, I ask questions. I believe no one. I even question my mother when she tells me things. Why? Because I am a journalist.  And since my girlfriend shifted to the AT&T phone plan on her iphone, I have now been disconnected more than a handful of times.  No, she did not hang up on me.

I also figured out, while you can download all those songs from itunes onto your iphone, apple did not make it compatible with the adapter that allows you play your ipod songs thru your car’s stereo system.

Finally, remember that the front plate of the iphone is glass. Crack it - and that six hundred bucks is nothing more than shattered glass.

Do you have something you want me to try out and review? Send me an email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Hope you had a great monday!
Jason