Prepared for 2004 NETA Conference by Eric Smith and Judy Weaver
NETA Consulting www.netaconsulting.org
1
How to Advance Your Career in Public Broadcasting
I.
Embrace Change: Be a go-getter:
II.
Follow Through: Increase Your Stock Value
III.
Enlarge Your Vision: Be Creative
IV. The All Important Resume
V.
Choose the Right References
I.
Embrace Change: Be a Go-getter
1. Search for Best Practices
Keep your eyes and ears open for the successful things your
counterparts are doing. After a conference like this, pick up the
phone, pick the brains of people you admire. Adopt the best
practices that will work for you.
2. Think big
Embrace opportunities to get involved in grant writing or donor
cultivation which begins by matching the grantor or donor’s
interests with community needs that the station can address.
E.G. brainstorming with your corporate buddy could open the door
to that corporate foundation.
II.
Follow Through: Increase your stock value
1. Do a first-rate job where you are: Have Fun! Smile!
Dick Munro— on his advancement from a writer for Sports
Illustrated to CEO of Time, Inc. “I just did my job to the best of my
ability and someone above me always noticed.”
2. Show your resource management skills
i. People— use tools like performance evaluation to help your
people grow, use your management skills to create effective
teams. Be an effective mentor.
ii. Budgets— be known as a good budget planner— stay within
it and, these days, prepare to make mid-year budget cuts.
3. Be low maintenance: choose your battles, don’t whine, bring
problems and solutions to your boss. Be the kind of employee you
would want to supervise.
4. Avoid the “us vs. them” net. Conspiracy theorists are high
maintenance employees. Be a high quality, low maintenance team
player.
Prepared for 2004 NETA Conference by Eric Smith and Judy Weaver
NETA Consulting www.netaconsulting.org
2
III.
Enlarge your vision— develop a track record
1. Find a