I manage the “Radio/TV/Digital Sales Help Wanted” bulletin board at my university. I’ve been doing it for the past 7 years. I’m sometimes sad to post the help wanted ads sent to me because of how they characterize the position they seek to fill.
SUPERMAN or SUPERWOMAN Wanted
Most of the ads use the same old tired clichés. They want someone “dynamic & energetic” for an “amazing opportunity” with a broadcasting company.
Must be able to sell radio ads for top dollar, create dynamic marketing plans that utilize our company’s broadcast, digital, and NTR properties.
If the ad is for a management position, then I often see that in addition to the above, the person must also be good at managing collections, hiring, training, motivating good people and carry a list while managing operations to meet or exceed the goals set by the company. In addition, we want our people to be integrally involved in every aspect of our wonderful community. (I’m sorry, but I think Superman/woman is busy with more important stuff.)
If the ad mentions anything at all about pay and benefits, it might simply say we offer an excellent compensation program.
It’s NOT About YOU
What these ads all miss are they say nothing to the person reading the ad about what they might be interested in. Radio station ads only talk about what the station wants.
You are marketing your radio station to a potential employee. Where is the “wining & dining” of a potential candidate?
I hear from radio stations all the time that they have trouble finding good sales people. No wonder when you make the job sound as attractive as digging a ditch. We’re in show business.
Attracting Better Employees
The unfortunate part of today’s job ads is they tend to be used more as a filter to keep people out rather than a net to designed to scoop up the best candidates.
Not every job requires having a bachelor’s degree but unfortunately businesses use this requirement as a filter to keep people from applying.
Now I teach at a university and we award bachelor degrees, so you might think I would sing the academy line about getting one. But I don’t. I know some of the people in my classes who will be the best sales people are not necessarily the best students. The best sales people are high in EQ not IQ.
Colleges award students who have high IQ’s with distinction.
For radio stations hiring sales talent, what you really want are people who have high EQ or Emotion Intelligence.
Stanford University did a study to find out what their best students had in common. Best in Stanford’s eyes was a student that became a company CEO and earned a high income.
When the results came back, they were shocked that it all boiled down to two qualities: their most successful students were in the bottom half of their class and were all popular (High EQ).
What’s In It for the Candidate?
Instead of writing an ad to screen people out, why not write an ad to open the door to let people in. Write what’s in it for person reading the ad.
The person reading your ad should envision themselves working in your radio station and being successful.
Why are You Hiring?
Before you even write the ad, you really need to understand why you are hiring in the first place. What do you want the new person to accomplish in this position and how will you measure success? What is your WHY?
In today’s world of help wanted advertising on the internet, length is not the problem it was back in the newspaper days. So sell your company’s story and the job in your ad to the best candidates out there and as Valerie Geller says in her programming seminars “don’t be boring.” Budget for the sales person you WANT to have on your team, not for the least amount of money you want to pay. If you want a top performer, then offer a comp package for one.
Sample Ad
Marketing Opportunity of a Lifetime
We’re expanding our radio marketing department.
The person we hire will be using our radio, social media,
internet streaming and events
to create successful marketing campaigns
for our community’s outstanding local businesses.
We offer mentoring, training and will invest in your success.
You will be paid (salary amount here) per month salary plus
(percentage here) percent commission on sales from dollar one sold.
Benefits plan includes medical, dental, vision, vacation time and holidays.
We can’t wait to hear your story of past successes
and learning how you believe working at WXXX
will propel your career to new heights.
EEO/m-f employer
Note: This ad will attract a different type of candidate than most of the ads that are sent to me to post on our jobs board at the university. Come on folks, we’re in sales. Sell yourself.
DickTaylorBlog 
Great Ad, Greater Evaluation! Many years ago, I saw a sad commentary: “Broadcasters Eat their Young.” Often meaning the diminished chances to fix & freshen because the survivors played the game, didn’t rock the boat and champion territorial, non-innovative behavior. Radio remains powerful & connected from content. “Digital” is simply a way of getting there. We previously heard that happen when FM came into dominance, after radio’s first 50 years on kilocycles. It’s people, presentation, teamwork, curation,, connection and creativity. I was fortunate to learn that in my Hartford college years following an exciting Yorkville, NYC upbringing. Thanks, again, Professor DT. And, a salute to ETM’s Bill Smith and all broadcast production masters & outstanding engineers who bring magic to our air, chips, digital & beyond. The best is yet to come. Clark, Boston. http://www.broadcastideas.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Im going to assume that most of those ads were written by an HR Department, rather than the Sales Department. One would hope that folks who sell radio time, would be able to better “sell” a job to a potential employee. The first time I looked for a job in this industry (way back in 1972), I firmly believed that Personel Departments were in place to keep people away from the folks who actually hire. The ads you’ve used as examples sound like they have a similar effect.
Frank
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, many of the ads come from small broadcasters and they are so focused on their needs they don’t see it from the student’s who will be graduating point of view.
However, the ads from places like Google, Amazon et al speak to the student. -DT
LikeLike
Excellent! I will add that some thought be given to the amount of real money being offered, based on what other non-broadcast businesses are offering to new hires. We are in show business, but there are bills that must be paid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right Hal. -DT
LikeLike
I love the analysis, hate the ad. You’re hiring some one to do “sales”, yet that word never appears. Is it a dirty word, or something? You’re not hiring “a marketing specialist”, you’re hiring a salesperson. Yo may *teach* them marketing, even multi-level or multi-media marketing, but at core you’re paying them to bring you money to run the operation. It seems odd to try to hide that fact.
I might say something like “We’re looking for people who want to learn we help advertisers increase sales, including through the use of radio, social media, public relations, sports marketing, blah blah blah.
I might also say something like “Our local sales manager started here. Our national sales manager started here. Our previous sales manager is now at WGN [ or pick some plausible, true, and recognizable calls] . We promote from within, we train, we coach, and we help you deliver. … “
LikeLiked by 1 person
All good points Rick. The future of sales, with the advent of programmatic buying, will change from the way you & I learned. It’s already being practiced at Amazon, Google, Facebook etc. Things are changing and FAST. -DT
LikeLike
FWIW, there is no shortage of applicants for any job we’ve posted at RIPR. We routinely get dozens at least…usually more like hundreds…of applications for every job opening. Probably is, at least 90%…often 99%…are wildly unqualified. It’s common to see applications that are clearly “shotgun approach” apps with people using the same app to apply for lots of jobs in completely different fields. Hell, it’s not uncommon to see applications for the wrong job. Or for a job at another company.
I don’t know how one writes a job posting to be more welcoming but at the same time avoiding a tsunami of worthless applications that make it impossible to find anything good.
LikeLike
Your points are all valid, but here’s a bigger one. Radio has turned the sales job into a lousy one. Non competes that pretty much force someone to stay at a cluster for life or leave media sales, constantly moving goal posts and lower and lower comp in an industry that is still cutting bodies all combine to make radio sales a lousy job no matter how good the screening ad.
Take the business we know and love out of the equation and this is not a great career move. Would you recommend it to a son, daughter, family friend as it exists today?
I firmly believe that a couple of % points of revenue every year is lost to the fact that radio sales can’t attract the level of talent it did in the past.
LikeLike
I believe you will find that while those things were more prevalent a few years ago, that many broadcasters today — especially those who’ve returned — are using a different playbook. But I understand where you are coming from and lived through that after Bain & Lee bought Clear Channel.
Thank You Bob for stopping by the blog and sharing your thoughts. -DT
LikeLike
Radio sales recruitment ads have long been poor, cliche-ridden examples of the craft at which radio should excel. Recently, I wrote and produced one which I hoped would appeal to something “aspirational” within the heart of a job seeker. It represents, without rose-colored glasses, what the work is all about while showing how one could achieve an “incredible life.” Here it is: https://chirb.it/Ihgz7E (the PLAY button is in the upper right of the screen)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your voice Nick. Good Job. -DT
LikeLike
Long Island east end fm looking for self starter account exec.
Should live on LI eastern region.
http://Www.welj.Com
LikeLike
Radio is my life…! If you feel this way then YOU are AM radio bound. Rick Dees Los Angeles, Greensboro, NC. Disco Ducking nearly cost me my career!
Retired
LikeLike
In a 2011 Rolling Stone Reader’s Poll of the Worst Songs, Disco Duck was #1.
Rolling Stone wrote:Rick Dees was a Memphis DJ who spun so many disco songs that he decided to record his own parody of the genre in 1976. He never imagined that “Disco Duck” would reach Number One on the Hot 100 and briefly make him a household name. The song was a hit everywhere in America besides Memphis, whose radio stations didn’t want to promote a rival – and Rick’s own station refused to play it.
LikeLike