Mel Proctor is the former TV voice of the Orioles, Padres, Nationals and Washington Bullets, among other teams. He is also the author of I Love the Work But I Hate the Business. In this interview Mel shares how he balanced family and a career on the road, why a sense of humor is crucial to a sportscasting career, how to handle executives who don’t know broadcasting, and more.
Is one of your biggest career challenges not hearing back from potential employers? Take comfort in the fact that you are far from alone — not hearing back from employers is one of the biggest challenges that sportscasters face.
With employers often receiving hundreds of applications for a single opening, a detail as small as incorrect capitalization in your cover letter might be automatically landing you in the reject pile. Small things matter in a big way when it comes to the job market.
In this Member Makeover, Jon reviews the demo, resume, and job market strategy of Joey Jenkins, a Sports Talk Show Host at KPRL AM 1400 ESPN Radio in Moscow, ID.
John Hanson, Program Director at 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City, shares why the first segment of your show should dive deep into one topic, how aggression is the key to making the jump from a small market to a large market, how he defines sportscasting success, the most important non-broadcasting trait, and more.
In the radio section Jon covers basketball, baseball and sports talk. In the TV section Jon reviews soccer play-by-play, an on-camera open, and a sports package.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Are you doing a lot of things right in the job market? When you are confident that you have a solid demo, resume and cover letter, the challenge is to find the small details you can improve.
Here is one of the biggest details you might be missing: sticking to a passive, reactive approach to the sportscasting job market. If you are content to wait until your time “arrives” your potential to miss career opportunities rises.
In this Member Makeover, Jon reviews the demo, resume, and job market strategy of Keaton Gillogly, Director of Broadcasting for the Modesto Nuts.
Tennessee Smokies Director of Broadcasting, Mick Gillispie, shares the factors he looks for when hiring a broadcasting assistant, how older sportscasters should approach applying for minor league jobs, and why broadcasters just entering the sportscasting job market should attend Baseball’s Winter Meetings.
Plus, Gillispie evaluates the pro’s and con’s of staying in minor league ball and suggests an alternative career strategy for getting to the majors.
Are you beginning to doubt your abilities as a sports broadcaster because you’re submitting job applications, but not even getting to the interview stage? You feel like you’re shouting into a void.
Most likely, it is not your ability holding you back, but rather a series of easy-to-fix mistakes in your demo, resume, and cover letter.
In this Member Makeover, Jon reviews the application package and job market strategy of Samantha Waddell, a television Sports Reporter in Houston, TX, working to break into sportscasting.
After a few years in the sportscasting industry your resume and demo has probably built up some excess fat. To maximize the impact you have on employers when they review your job application, you need to keep your application materials lean and focused.
In this Member Makeover, Jon reviews the strategy and application package of Nick Gryniewicz, a host and update anchor for ESPN 580 AM in Orlando, FL.
ESPN TV Play-by-play broadcaster Roy Philpott shares how he leveraged his website as a door into broadcasting, tips for constructing a TV demo, and more.
This session includes radio and television sections. In the radio section Jon covers football PBP, basketball PBP, and sports talk. In the TV section we cover sports reporting and anchoring.