How To Boost Your Local TV Recruitment Success

I know how hard it is for local TV broadcasters to recruit.

I was reminded of that plight when a news director emailed me to say that advertising on a well-known search engine for job listings generated “a lot of bartenders, construction workers and servers” for an opening that station had for a news producer.

I’m not an expert in recruiting, and my suggestions are based on my experiences trying to hire staff in creative services, and feedback I’m getting from station managers in sales, creative services, and news about their challenges finding qualified candidates for their departments since I’ve become the manager of TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center.

Here are my suggestions for enhancing your station’s recruiting:

Use Your Own Reach: Create a segment that could air within the morning news (where most stations have newscasts that air for two hours or more). This could be a taped segment that features the manager discussing the role, its importance to the station’s operation and why working at your station is attractive. The segment can include bites from current staff on the merits of working there.

This serves not only as a recruitment tool, but also provides viewers with a name and face of key personnel and a peek behind the curtain to see how your station operates. These segments could be uploaded to your station’s Facebook page and website and updated as needed.

In every TV market, there are news producers, account executives and creative services writer/producers — some of the most difficult job openings in local TV to fill — already working in your market, albeit, at your competitors’ stations. Poaching experienced staff from your competitors, who are not under personal services contracts, is a legitimate, practical and inexpensive option. Recruitment videos appearing on your own air are a good way to reach them.

Of course, local colleges and universities, ad agencies and video production houses can be a source to mine for certain openings. You may have to provide some training but growing your own is always a coup when it comes to recruiting.

Station Recruitment Video: Show prospective candidates who you are, where you are, what it’s like to work there. Post this video to your station’s Facebook page, website and use in any job posts.

Welcome Wagon: Have station personnel act as a liaison to candidates interested in working at your station. In addition to alleviating any anxiety about working at your station, they should be able to speak to neighborhoods, schools, public transportation, lifestyle, etc.

Perhaps recruit a local Realtor to help counsel candidates about home buying and rentals.

Talk to the Chamber of Commerce to see what info it can provide to ease any anxiety a candidate might have about moving to the area.

Corporate Recruitment Video: Broadcast companies should have recruitment videos that welcome anybody thinking of working at any of their TV properties. Speak to innovations, culture, advances and location lifestyles.

Advertise: For some openings, finding qualified candidates within your market is not feasible.

If you decide to place an ad on TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center, your ad will reach qualified candidates. Make your best pitch in the ad. Use your corporate recruitment video if available. Use your station recruitment video if available. Share the salary range if you can. Use the ad to generally speak to the duties and qualifications with a link to more specific information. Talk about your station’s ratings information, awards, legacy, and location in the market.

NOTE: I’d like to hear from you about what your station is doing to recruit for job openings. Have you used your own on-air to recruit? Have an example of that you can share? Have a station recruitment video or a corporate one you’d like to share? Tell me about your successes when it comes to recruiting. What other suggestions can you share about hiring new people at your station or broadcast group? Contact me at paul@newscheckmedia.com or 817-578-6324.