You will need to gain (over time) extensive knowledge and experience in the field. Here are some steps you can take:
Get a degree: A bachelor’s degree in broadcasting or a related field can provide you with a strong foundation of knowledge and skills required in broadcasting.
Gain hands-on experience: Get involved in student radio, TV stations, or other broadcasting organizations to gain hands-on experience.
Specialize: Choose a niche or specialty field within broadcasting, such as sports, news, entertainment, or production, and become proficient in it.
Stay current: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies, and developments in broadcasting by attending industry events, webinars, and workshops.
Build a network: Build connections within the broadcasting industry by attending conferences, industry events or joining related groups on social media.
Share your expertise: Share your knowledge by writing articles, giving talks, or teaching others in the broadcasting community.
Remember that becoming an SME takes time and dedication. Continuously developing your skills and expertise will boost your career and improve your chances of becoming an SME in broadcasting.
If you’re like me, you beat yourself up for every mid-step, mistake you make, big or small. I played softball yesterday and made a ton of good plays, ran for first to be safe like a jet, scored at home plate twice by out running the throw, but also was thrown out once at second base, bobbled a ground ball and didn’t get the runner. I remember the mistakes more than the good stuff.
The same goes for my golf game. I hit the ball straight most of the time, but a lot of the time I don’t hit it very far, or get “air” on it. The ball rolls down the fairway pretty far at least and is competitive. But, if I’m swinging over water I choke. If I swing out of a bunker or high grass, I chip like a champ. My tee shot is terrible, my short game is awesome. I love chipping and putting. I practice driving on the range into the water, and I hit equally good and bad shots. Putting and chipping, I’d say I do what I want to do and am successful 90% of the time.
On the driving range
What do I remember most? The misses. It’s time to change that. Especially after all my lofty (pun intended) plans in January. They weren’t resolutions, they were plans.
I also wanted to write everyday. I’ve written some, so I’ve attained that. But, I haven’t written everyday and posted it like I planned to.
I wanted to improve my running time, I hurt my ankle and had to take downtime, so now I started over again last week – slowly.
The Swimming – ankle support
I swim, I’m trying to improve my lap time, but my ankle kept torquing there too, I had to get a swim ankle brace, but I’ve been able to swim regularly again now, and my lap time has improved, and I now do over a mile 5-6 days a week. Days that I feel tired, I have a slower lap time, I beat myself up for going so slow all the way home, but try to shake it off while making dinner.
At work, I can do every right. Cross all I need off my list, and I feel accomplished. Then I realize I forget to get an essential ingredient(s) for dinner at the store. What do you think I think of? Not the accomplishments, but then I pivot on the dinner, and make something else, most of the time it turns out better than I thought it would.
Improvising works!
So, my point it, it’s time to reset. Reset your thinking if you’re like me. Remember the good, the great, the lucky break even. Yes, I’d rather be great or even good than lucky, but I’ll take the luck, any day.
We all need some encouragement sometimes, so hopefully this has helped someone recalibrate their mindset to remember the good or great things you’ve done and accomplished up to now. And, if you’ve taken mid-steps or not even started your plans for 2023, reset now.
There are 24 hours in a day. You can restart your 24 hours at any time, whether it’s 10am, 2pm, or Midnight. It’s YOUR 24 hours. Let go of any regret of not even starting what you set out to do – YET. You can start your 24 hours now, or anytime you choose.
Love Yourself First, the rest Will come. Act and think like “it’s on its way”, and it will come. You need to think that it’s coming first, then it will. Be patient, be persistent, be courageous, be humble, be grateful.
Love yourself like you’re the last YOU on earth, because you are.
I love to help people and animals. One of my rescues is Peter Parker (aka Spidey). He’s a jumper 😊 I adopted him when he was a few weeks old, and now he’s almost 15 years old.
Same day 12.27.22
This year, a few months after moving into a new place he ate something – I still dunno what. But he went from a playful carefree cat to practically not moving in a day.
I brought him to the vet immediately. His kidneys and liver were failing. Overnight, I picked him up gently, but he was inanimate. The vet was grim. “He’s stage 4 and won’t get better”. No more jumping, no more belly rubs, no more knocking everything off my home desk while playing.
That was the prognosis not the reality.
We brought him home with an IV bag that I learned how to administer to him. We were giving him a few days, and processing what was going on. The next day, he was a little better, and every day for weeks we gave him IV, other medication to entice his appetite, and he slowly became his playful self again.
The vet said, “he won’t make it to thanksgiving”, he did – in fact he’s back to stage 2, thriving, playful, flips over for belly rubs, and playing, he runs to eat food without medication or IV, although it’s standing by if need be. So, don’t accept the worst, better can happen.
Lola left, and Peter Parker right 12.27.22
But here he and his sister are waiting to be fed 16 & 14 years later. Everyday is a gift. They stay by me when I’m sick, they run to the door to greet me when I come home, they nudge their heads into mine when playing – we are family
I may have gone to the animal rescues to adopt them both, but in turn they have rescued me. All these years later I consider every moment good or bad, a gift from the universe.
As this year is coming to a close, I want to acknowledge how much they mean to me. They are part of my family, and as I’m writing this, the boy (old boy now) has situated himself on my lap.
I’ve been fortunate throughout my 33 year career to have found many mentors. I now happily find myself still working, but also mentoring the next generations of broadcast employees. Not only to have had such a diverse career So Far – it’s certainly far from over, but a female engineer in the world of broadcasting I have been termed a Unicorn. Who me? Yup!
Indeed, for many many years I have found myself to be the only female in the room. The only adult in the room, but that’s another story. I’d be promoted into a full room of men and me. If there was another women, she was an assistant or secretary, so I’d do my best to be inclusive and share insight. Paying back the kindness that was so graciously bestowed upon me along the way.
Although, I have to say, I was underestimated along the way as well. I didn’t spout or boast my knowledge, pat myself on the back for a job well done, I just kept my mouth shut and did my job, and did everything I could think of to “move the needle forward” for women in broadcasting.
Unfortunately, back then the loudest person in the room was thought to be “right” or the most knowledgeable, I certainly wasn’t loud, so I took the brunt of a lot of wrongs. Should I have spoken up? Looking back, absolutely yes, I just didn’t have those tools in my toolkit – YET.
Finally one day, I started a new job in the control room. I had not only one woman boss, I had two! I felt lucky. I was in certain respects, in other respects – uh, not so much.
I won’t distinguish which was which, but one superior was never satisfied. If I took care of every single aspect of my job, went beyond what was expected, took initiative to do more, it still wasn’t enough. More was thrown at me (sometimes literally) and I would scramble to “figure it out”. I could ask the other superior clarifying questions, but mostly I was on my own, they were both busy, and that’s why I was there right? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Finally about 3 months in, the superior who was never satisfied went on a 2 week vacation. I was elated, and for good reason. The other “boss”, would check in with me, and on my 2nd day with just her in-charge, she physically came into the control room. I showed her all I did, what I was watching for, what I still needed to finish, and of course asked if I could help her with anything. A simple “Nope, I’ll be in my office, if you need anything, call. You’re smart, I trust you, and I know you won’t wait until you get into trouble to call me”. Then she left. Wow! What a feeling of empowerment.
To this day I do not know that that boss knows what she gave me. Autonomy for one thing, but also confidence. She gave me an example of how I wanted to be when I was in a position like that, respectful, inclusive, giving, everything I needed summed up in a short sentence. Not only did I learn what I wanted to be like, I learned something even more important, what I didn’t want to be like. I didn’t want to create/rule by fear every time I walked into a room, I didn’t want to make anyone feel less than, no matter who they were, I didn’t want to make anyone feel like they were only as good as their last mistake. And so, I’ve taken that goal and hopefully not only successfully achieved it, but surpassed it.
I knew what I wanted, so then I sought out through positive leaders/achievers in and outside of the company. Learned from their vast historical knowledge and applied it to new ways of developing standards. All the men and women of my past have made me who I am today.
Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Really big ones? That’s an even bigger Absolutely. Have I learned and grown from them? Absolutely. Do I regret some? Absolutely. I don’t regret learning from my mistakes, I regret how I handled my failures sometimes. We all fail sometimes, or a lot of the time, but it’s how we get back up, how we recover that matters. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
I cannot change the past though, I can only move forward with integrity and perseverance in the future. I can pass on my knowledge to usher in the new generations. And, I do.
In 2019 I took a seasonal broadcast streaming engineer position at MLB Advanced Media. I was fortunate to work with a newly assembled group of engineers. All men and me (a Re-occurring theme throughout my career). Not only was I the only woman, I was also the oldest person in the room by far. The youngest wasn’t even born when I graduated college, he wasn’t even of drinking age yet. But he was/is brilliant. The takeaway is to remain open, accepting, giving, and teachable. And, check your ego at the door.
It was a new system that we all rolled out in only 3 months, so we All were learning something literally brand new together. It was extraordinary. I had as much to learn, and unlearn as they did, but we did it all together. To this day it was hands down one of the best teams I was ever a part of. We all worked together in this small closet of a room, and we successfully streamed out 32 minor league team’s games for the season, ending in an all time high of adding in some major league games too. We all helped each other through processes and SOPs, it was amazing.
The season ended, some found other full time jobs, the rest of us stayed on part-time to work on Major League ballpark infrastructure upgrades in the off-season. Another great experience. But we did it together. I’ve gone back as a part-time employee season after season with great anticipation and openness to learning all the new tech forward innovation each year. I am truly grateful to have found MLB, and many others along my Broadcasting journey. I was asked once, “What will you do when or if they hire another girl/ woman for this office?”, my response was simple, “I’d throw a parade first, then make sure you all treated her with the same respect you’ve shown me (which was a lot, and it never waivered), or you’ll have to answer to me!” That was said with a somewhat joking lilt, but it was true then, and true now. That was verbatim comment recollection. Very smart, accomplished women were hired, and the respect was given, I was proud of this group of fine men and now women.
It’s not over yet – not by a long shot!
If you’d like to chat please feel free to contact me. I can learn just as much from you as you can hopefully from me.
If you want to be successful in job hunting, you need to be persistent and never give up. You need to believe in yourself and your ability to find the right job for you. The universe is full of opportunities, and it’s up to you to find them.
I started a great new position this week. After years of seasonal, and short contract work at various places, I wanted to find something full-time, and permanent. Permanent is a relative term to me. One can be “let-go” at any time these days, because there was a restructuring, not because one wasn’t doing well, for cause, or just lay-offs. It can be disheartening.
When I was offered my current job, I literally had gotten another offer the very same day, and a third offer the next day. I asked each possible new employer further clarifying questions so I could make an informed decision. That doesn’t give me any guarantees, but gives me the best chance at what I want and need. Note: I also only applied to jobs I really wanted, but was still looking because nothing was “final” until I, and the company have finished the on-boarding process. But, more on that another day.
FINDING THE OPPORTUNITY
Fear not, there are many opportunities out there, one just has to find them. Make looking for a job, a full time job in itself. Let me break it down a bit with some specifics. Set-up job parameters with automated Daily alerts on multiple sites, visit specific company sites daily (there are jobs there that are not posted publicly), filter for job keywords, position, desired location, (or on-site,remote/hybrid), and then of course latest or newest listings. This cut down on how “far” back anyone will have to cull through a seemingly endless list of jobs (most of which that wouldn’t fit one’s skill-set, or ones that aren’t of interest, or titled oddly). I only applied to jobs I wanted, and that I was at least 80%+ qualified for. My resume was updated nearly weekly to tweak it, and so was my cover letter.
BOTS
I’m sure job-seekers already know about HR bots: ATS system: Applicant Tracking System. It’s designed to automatically find keywords from the job description and find those skills in your resume automatically. If your resume doesn’t match up to a certain percent, then it automatically gets rejected, and the hiring manager, or HR person never gets to see your resume at all. So weave the keywords from the job description into your resume (assuming you truly have those skills), and your resume will actually get a human’s eyeballs to look at it.
Otherwise you’ll more than like get the dreaded automated response of, “while we are so excited that you’ve spent time applying for this position, and you’re highly skilled, we are not moving forward with your candidacy, and moving forward with other candidates that are more closely aligned with this position.” Even worse, you may have now been put into their system in an automatic reject for X amount of time. It’s true, so always try to present yourself in the best light, your effort upfront has big pay-off.
Now, keep in mind, every company must legally post a position even if they already know the candidate they Will be hiring. I’ve gone to job listings that were only a few hours old, saw there were no other applicants, but also was removed or “no longer available” almost as soon as it was posted. “Whatttt!!!??” The company legally did what they had to do, they posted the job, then removed it as soon as legally possible. I found this annoying at first, then took a different purview of the action, “at least I didn’t waste my time going through the entire application process”. It all depends on how you look at it. I chose the latter – be positive.
CONNECTION IS KEY
If you have a connection at a company you’re applying to, reach out to them. This is not just to ask them to recommend you, it’s also exploratory to find out more about the company, and if you want to work there too. It’s equally important for YOU to interview the interviewer about the company, culture, company and job challenges, who had the position prior to this, where did they move up or onto, and why. There are many other questions, but that’s a good starting point.
Next, there is the “quick apply” tactic. Job sites that offer a seemingly “one-click” application process, followed usually by a couple of generic questions like: Are you a US citizen?, Will you now or ever need sponsorship?, and are you at least 18 years old? I would advise if you decide to apply this way that you should also write a cover letter if the app provides the option. If not, note who the hiring manager or job poster is, and contact them through email if provided, or LinkedIn (In-mail).
DUE DILIGENCE
Don’t underestimate the cover letter. Many Recruiters and Hiring Managers automatically reject resumes from highly qualified applicants simply because there was no cover letter. Why? It shows interest, and a level of effort. Even if you don’t have the name of the job poster, or hiring manager, simply start with Dear Hiring Manager, then in the body of the cover letter say why you’d be great in the position, something that’s NOT in your resume and be positive.
Finally end with something like, “I look forward to hearing from you”. Then your signature. Boom! You’ve written a few short sentences and “Submit”. You’ve just upped your chances of being contacted by a Recruiter (whether in-house or not) by approximately 80%.
FOLLOW THROUGH
Lastly, if you haven’t heard anything for over a week, follow-up with a “checking in” email. Don’t ask for a response, the hiring manager and recruiter are very busy people. Just let them know you’re still interested in the position (you didn’t just one-click apply). A little effort goes a long way. If you’re willing to put the effort in before you have the job, you’re a good candidate to actually DO the job.
If you’d like more tips please leave questions in the comment section, or email me directly (it’s in the contact area of this site).
Good luck in your search. I look forward to hearing feedback from you!
You finely honed your resume and cover-letters to the jobs you really wanted. You made it through the recruiter interview (whether in-house or independent). You also met with your potential new colleagues, the boss, and the boss’s boss. Whew!
After all that, they made you an offer of employment. Now what? You might just think to jump right in, do the onboarding paperwork, and you’ll find out everything you need to know later, right? Not so fast, you can’t make an informed decision without asking the proper questions of the recruiter or HR manager.
1) Health plan: Is there a waiting period before it is available to me? Are there different plan levels? What is the employee contribution (full contribution or a percentage of the plan premium or a set amount)? I assume any employee contribution would be on a pre tax basis.
2) Dental & Vision: Same questions. Is there a waiting period? Are there different levels? What is the employee contribution? Full contribution or a percentage of the plan?
3) Is Pet Insurance offered? If so, at what cost?
4) I understand it’s a 40 hr work week. Is there overtime? How is overtime paid ? After 8 or 10 hours, is that straight time, time and a half, or double time after a certain amount of hours have been reached? Also, how long is the contract for (if going through an outside hiring agency)? 12 months to convert contract – or extend. Will this position convert?
5) Is there a retirement plan? A 401K ? If so, is there a company match up to a certain percent? What is the waiting period to join the plan ? What is the vesting schedule for any company contribution if any?
6) How many vacation days are offered per year? How many sick & personal days are allotted? What holidays are offered?
7) Working on holidays (which I personally love working). How is that compensated (i.e. Payback day(s), regular pay, 1.5 pay, 2x pay, or something else)?
8) Personal growth: Is there reimbursement for courses for skills to enhance training for the growing skillset?
9) Commuting, tolls, parking reimbursement to defray the cost. Is there a commuter plan (if you’re not working remotely)? Is there Transit checks, or Wageworks? If there is a plan, how much is that every month? Do you offer a pre-tax transit plan if the employee has a contribution they must make?
We all have to think beyond the initial offer to really see what the full compensation would be. It varies wildly from company to company. So, do Post offer research questions, before you sign anything. It is merely outlining everything for you so you can make an informed decision.
That's News To Me 