Interview questions

[Combat Correspondent]

I was wondering if some of you can post common questions asked by news directors during job interviews.

[user name]

"your tape shows solid writing skills, how'd you like to be a one man band?"

[TVNewsLady]

"I see you can put together a story, but how much action do you put into your live shots?"

[Charlie Brown]

If you want to be a reporter, make sure you know a thing or two about the market you're going to beyond its name. Think biggest employers, major cities in the market, etc.

Know a few things about the station as well - at my second interview in the biz, I was asked to name their main news, spx and wx people.

Be prepared to talk a lot about yourself but also come prepared with your own set of questions.

[Spike]

If you want to be a reporter, make sure you know a thing or two about the market you're going to beyond its name. Think biggest employers, major cities in the market, etc.

Does anybody still do a current events quiz? You might want to make sure you're up to speed on national news. One station in my city used to quiz job candidates on not only news, but the newsmakers as well, expecting them to know who the governor and senators were at the state level and some of the cabinet members at the national level. I assume they still do that. And the more research you can do about the market itself, including influential local people and politicians and recent big news stories, the more prepared you'll be if the conversation goes that direction.

[Rambunctious]

the more prepared you'll be if the conversation goes that direction.

To me the key phrase is... "If the conversation goes that direction." No matter what you know do not try to force it into the conversation just to show how much you know.

How was your plane ride?

Rough... but not as rough as getting Senator Smith's Bill 289 out of committee.

[Charlie Brown]

well and that's the other thing too - every news director is different.

I've interviewed with several and not a single one of the interviews has followed the exact same format. In one place, the ND invited me to stay the whole day, took me on a tour of the main town they cover, allowed me to watch the morning meeting and see what goes into producing a newscast. Heck at another interview, the ND interviewed me out in the station's lobby and I didn't even get to see the newsroom. I'm sure the news directors that read these boards will tell you the same thing - no two job interviews in the teevee news industry are alike.

My point - make sure you're ready for anything and everything, and get used to that because as a reporter you're going to have to take the same approach. Be prepared to answer questions about your tape and the stories that are on it. Brush up on your knowledge of that particular market - at least know the major cities in the DMA, and the major local government leaders...I'm sure the ND won't fault you for not knowing the city administrator's name, but you'd better know the state's senators. Think of situations where you were forced to multitask and be ready to explain how you handle them, because in this business that's 90% of what we do.

[Roy Hobbs]

"How soon can you start?!"
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/sioncampus/09/13/cheerleader.nelson/p1_usccheer.jpg

[Gil]

When I was young and a new news director, I tried to find a formula for interviews. It didn't work.

Eventually, I learned it was best to just have a conversation. That's all. Tell me about yourself. What do you like about the business? What makes a good story? What are your career aspirations? Know anything about us or the market?

Really, that is about all I would need to make a pretty good decision. Is this person sincere? Does he or she have any questions for me? (You better, if it is for a reporting job.) Does he or she project a professional image that will reflect well on our station, and does he or she make me feel comfortable?

When you go in for an interview, you want to let the hiring person know that you like what you do and want to learn to do it better, and that you have good work ethics and will be a good representative of the organization.

And above all, answer questions honestly. I will always remember one person who I hired to be a news director after I became a GM - he had been in his current job for a few months, and I asked why he was interested in moving so soon. He replied, "As long as I am accepting a paycheck from this company, I won't say anything bad about them... I just know that it is not going to be a long-term relationship. I hope you understand."

I did, and it increased my respect for him.

[vuphinder]

If you were a tree....?
Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years...10 years?
Does this look infected to you?

[Spike]

Maybe the strangest question I've been asked came in an interview for a camera position.

Her: "So you're a producer?"

Me: "No, I'm here about the camera position."

Her: "Are you sure? You look like a producer."

Me: "Uh, no. I'm not a producer."

Her: "Hmm. Would you be interested in producing?"

She interviewed me for about fifteen minutes for the camera position. Then she said:

"Are you sure you're not a producer?"

I got the sense that if I were interested in producing, I would have been offered the job that day.

[formerbeauty]

As a small market ND I liked to ask, Where do you see yourself in 10 years? If they said anything referring to Matt Lauer or Katie Couric they were out. But that was back when people aspired to be Matt or Katie. One guy said, "considering the salary I will make in TV, probably penniless and living with my mom and dad." I hired him :)