The Applicant

"To thrive, you need to identify those with the highest potential, get them in your corner and on your team, and help them grow."  -- Claudio Fernandez-Araoz

The songwriter who created Ronnie Dunn's hit "The Cost Of Living" originally had titled it "The Application," due to the stress of trying to land a gig you want.

This is about the opposite side of that situation, which can be equally difficult.

Great radio stations - looking from the outside in - seem to be a magnet for the very best people, but when you talk to the programmers of them you learn that the same “average” people apply at those places as do as every other one.

The difference between the best and the rest:  programming management takes time to thoroughly interview every possible candidate for each opening and is much more selective in hiring.

They start by having each person they interview sign a confidentiality agreement and even assure the applicant that they’ll do the same if they desire, making it clear that keeping secrets is important.

They want to know..

• Exact detail of experiences from each radio station they have worked. 
• How they got into radio.
• What interests them most about listeners.
• What they see as their strengths as well as their own weaknesses.
• Name of individuals you can contact that are NOT on their resume.
• What would five of their closest friends say about them?
• Where do they hope/plan to be in five years?  Ten years?  Next year?
• What are their philosophies - whether they have ever programmed a radio station before and even though they are not applying for a PD position - on music, info, personality and promotion.
• Contest some of their assertions just to see how diplomatically they can defend their position and also how sell they handle criticism of their opinions.

Grade on a scale of 1-10:  their appearance, bedside manner, knowledge, on air work, willingness to do more than requested of them, team spirit, availability.

Don’t permit yourself to take shortcuts in this process if your goal is to hire and hold onto the very best people.

"That's A (Not) Good Question"

You're interviewing someone famous and after you ask them something they respond "that's a good question."

Translation:  "I have had media training and thank you for asking one of the questions they prepped me for and this is what they recommended that I say to every interviewer who asks them.  I appreciate your asking it because now I don't have to think or get off my prepared script of the things I want to get into every interview I do."

Advice:  If you can't come up with fresh questions that make your subject have fun, think and get off of their prepared verbiage, at the very least pre-record your interviews off air before you run them and edit out the canned phrases like "that's a good question."

The interview isn't being done to make you feel better about yourself. 

It's supposed to entertain and engage your listener.

"Brief Moments Of Relevance"

A&O&B's prep producer Dan Vanlandingham (aka Dan Van) has a way of finding and tightly editing celebrity audio clips which defy the conventional wisdom that "PPM doesn't like interviews."

He says, that's because so many interviews on radio take too long and aren't entertaining, which must be the table stakes for any content to get on air.

Just a testimonial to what I stress all the time about prep:

1. Everyone is worthy of an interview, because they can have brief moments of relevance.
2. Old prep can be new again, with a good edit for brevity sake.
3. Questions of the moment can always find a moment in time again.
4. Recycle all great prep, because if they haven't heard it....it's new to them.

The key to creating compelling content is recognizing those "brief moments" at the precise instant and having a system to locate the right voice for it immediately.

Good Questions

Selecting the "right" job-seeker for a gig has always been important, of course.

Now that savviest managers look at every hire as an exercise in branding as well as people skills and talent, it has taken on even greater value.

As you interrogate candidates for your next on-air opening:

• Describe the type of relationship with the Brand Director that works best for your show?
• The Market Manager?
• What kind of prep system (if any) is used to prepare your content?
• How do you structure it to keep entertainment level consistent?
• How much time do you spend preparing and when/where do you do it?
• Describe one of your best ever bits, stunts or other content that really did exactly what you wanted it to do?
• What characteristics make your persona distinctive?  
• How does that work in your interactions with coworkers, other personalities and listeners?
• What are your strongest/weakest areas as a personality?
• What does "creative" mean to you?  Give an example of creativity in action for you as you work?
• How do you define our station's target listener?  What is cool/not cool with them?
• What is your theory on controversy on your show?
• What if a morning competitor attacks you on air?
• How do you integrate podcasting, social networking, blogging, the mobile web, texting, phone calls into your prep and content?
• Where do you want to be in five years?

Note to applicants:  if your potential employer doesn't address the 'right' issues in your job interview, that may be a red flag for you as well, before accepting the position.

While the employer is quizzing you, make certain that YOUR needs and concerns are honestly discussed as well.