主播大秀

This is what I did to get selected from over 2000 applicants for an apprenticeship at the 主播大秀.

An apprenticeship is a mixture of classroom learning and on-the-job training. It's an opportunity for those without degrees to make a break in their chosen industry, in my case journalism.

To begin with, I knew this is wanted I wanted to do, I was sure this was the path to take. I had researched as much as I could, read the role requirements repeatedly and knew I had to do something special to get the opportunity.

I had applied at least three times in previous years for various schemes at the 主播大秀 and many times elsewhere yet had little or no success. 

In short, I had to do everything possible in my power to write an amazing application to get the interview. That was the first step. The biggest hurdle here was a 45-second video or audio recording 'demonstrating my passion for the news'. Now that was a challenge. I looked on YouTube and saw what others had done - standard shots of themselves speaking to the camera. To be fair I hadn't been very creative in the past: I had done very simple voice recordings the year before for the same application. I had learnt my lesson.

I thought of two ideas to show my creativity which is what they were looking for. I wrote two scripts. One was a voice recording about the importance of the news and what it means in the modern world, accompanied with pictures and a nice soundtrack.

The other was me explaining what the news was about - stories, voices, social media, audiences - the things they were looking for in the application. It featured me in different locations in a slightly comic style where one scene saw me sitting on a chair with my mobile pretending to be clicking retweet, like and share. It took me quite some days, over some weeks here and there filming and making the video. It was fun and I chose this video when a friend said it better showed my personality.

I filled in the rest of the application, got it checked by the same friend and sent it off quite confident that the video alone - which I thought no one could beat - would get me an interview at least.

So, after weeks of praying and waiting, I was ecstatic when the email for my interview came through. I had two weeks or so to prepare and dedicated almost all my time to preparing a 16 page document of 主播大秀 research, my skills, how I met the job description and potential interview questions and answers. I printed it out with my CV and the job description. I went over it again and again. I also listened to podcasts and read as much as I could about what employers and especially the 主播大秀 are looking for. I couldn’t find much from former apprentices, which is why I’m writing this for any future applicants.

Having done my research, I asked my friends and family to interview me. I was average to say the least but I knew on the day I’d speak more passionately.

I really wanted to show how much I wanted it so I called up my local station asking to be allowed to shadow for an hour or so - just so I could say I did so in the interview! They first said you have to apply for work experience but then a nice lady gave me the email of the editor who very graciously allowed me to visit.

On my visit, I met last year’s local apprentice who had secured a permanent job. He and the radio presenter gave me some invaluable tips. Listen to the station on the day, have an opinion on the output and suggestions ready at hand and be yourself.

On the day, despite not getting enough sleep I went in ready to give it my all. In the interview I brought out my notes with story ideas which they had asked for and answered the questions as best as I could. Giving examples is always good. When I asked my editor later why he picked me, he mentioned my tenacity and “never taking no” as reasons for believing I’d be good in the newsroom. I gave him examples of when I was rejected by editors but tried again and got published in the Huffington Post.

For the group task we had to discuss how we would cover a breaking news story. Previous apprentices gave me tips like listen to others, encourage quiet members and speak up with your ideas.

Then we had to write a Twitter post, Local Live post and plan what we’d need to cover a specific news story.

After the interview, I had no idea how it had gone and the wait was excruciating. Four weeks later I got the call that I had got the apprenticeship! And for the rest of that day to this very day in fact, as I write this, I can’t stop smiling. So the massive effort, the preparation (you can’t be over-prepared) was all worth it in the end.

So to summarise, you have to really want it badly, do something to stand out, show you’ve done something similar before, ask others for advice and just try, try and try again!