Dinner Interview Etiquette 101

Last week, our class was required to attend Westminster College's annual, "Dine 'n Shine," hosted by the school's Career Center. This dinner and presentation for senior students gave us some tips on how to conduct ourselves during a job interview over a meal, whether it's dinner, drinks, lunch, etc.

During the event, we enjoyed a delicious meal, while also listening to Dr. Cary Wecht Horvath, assistant professor and chair of the Communication Department at Youngstown State University and former Westminster professor. I never realized how many second or follow-up interviews are conducted during some type of meal. According to Horvath, 80 percent of all second interviews happen at the dinner table.

This kind of scared me...it adds so much extra pressure and so much else you have to worry about when trying to impress a company. However, I got plenty of advice on what to do and what not to do during a dinner interview.

While many of the tips seemed like common sense, one thing I didn't realize was never ask for a "doggie bag." I don't like wasting food, but Horvath said that by taking back leftovers, it makes you look gluttonous...just like ordering too much food. I normally don't order a whole lot of food to begin with when I go out to restaurants, but Horvath even suggested eating a little before you go to an interview over a meal, so that way you can focus more on the interview itself, instead of what you want to eat.

Also, she suggested, it's not a good idea taking awhile to figure out what you want to eat...that makes you look indecisive as a person, and companies want employees that make good, but quick decisions. This is especially true in the broadcasting business.

However, I think the most important valuable information I took away from the night was when the Career Center put on their talent show to demonstrate the difference between business casual and business professional...as well as which was appropriate for each particular setting.

I guess I just didn't think there was that much of a difference; but by watching the show, I learned that business casual is a more relaxed look, often appropriate to wear to work, while business professional is more conservative and clean-cut looking, more appropriate for an actual interview or a special presentation. For example, a business casual look for women may be black dressy pants or a skirt with a nice blouse or sweater, while business professional would be more like a suit pant set that is bought together.

Horvath also stressed that you should dress to fit your company...if they tend to be more casual, you don't want to overdress for the environment, but being too under-dressed is also not a good idea. Overall, this experience was rewarding, and I will definitely take this advice with me when I graduate and continue my job search!

The Job Seach Begins...

During the past two years, I've really started to look more at job opportunities to pursue after I graduate. This week's class assignment wanted me to take this a step further. We were asked to find a job posting that we be interested applying for, describe the job, and create a cover letter we would send to that company.

I'm not going to lie...this was really hard for me. I would like to stay near home (Cleveland, OH), but I was having trouble finding any job openings near my hometown. After searching for awhile, I decided to just look for a job that I would enjoy doing after college...I mean you've got to be flexible.

In the end, I chose a job posting for a "Multi-Media Journalist" at KNXV-15 (ABC) Phoenix. Not only does this career interest me, I think I would have a good chance getting this job because the TV station is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company, which also owns WEWS-Newschannel 5 in Cleveland where I interned this past summer. I could probably get a personal reference from those I worked with at my internship. Here's the job posting/details:

Job Title: Multi-Media Journalist
Status: Full Time
Location: KNXV-15 (ABC) Phoenix

Job Description:
1. Report, write, shoot, edit and produce stories for multiple platforms on deadline, such as Internet
2. Research and develop original news stories
3. Gather facts to support specific assigned news stories
4. Record & edit video to support the presentation of assigned news stories
5. Conduct and record live interviews
6. Deliver compelling, well-written stories
7. Perform other duties as needed and as directed by news managers

Now here's my cover letter...remember, this is a class assignment!

Dear Anice Stonerock:

As a current reporter and producer for the County Line, Westminster College's TV news show, I am very interested in working for KNVX as a multi-media journalist. I am a senior broadcast communications that will graduate in May 2009. I have more than two solid years of television reporting and producing experience.

Students are in charge of producing and running the County Line, a 30-minute live news show, once every week. This year, I have taken on the leadership role as Executive Producer for the show. I have to oversee everything. In addition, my senior project is focused on reporting, so I have been researching, shooting, writing, and editing my own stories all semester. Before this year, I have been a consistent reporter for the show.

Not only do I have hands-on experience at school, I also interned at WEWS-Newschannel 5 this past summer. I mostly worked with the noon news producer, researching, writing, and organizing the show. However, I also had the chance to go out reporters and write my own stories for the show. I know what it is like to work in the pressure of the newsroom.

In addition, I worked in other areas of broadcasting that will help me as multi-media journalist. I have experience directing, technical directing, and anchoring for the County Line; plus I am the director for our school's weekly sports interview show, Coach's Corner. Also, I have excellent writing skills. I know how to write, report, and anchor radio news, and this year I serve as Titan Radio News Director at Westminster. I even worked as a part-time news producer and anchor at WKST 1200 AM in New Castle, PA, for close to a year.

Also, I would bring creativity to the job, since the station is looking for original, fresh stories. I utilized my creative abilities when I interned in radio promotions at 95.5 the Fish radio station in the Independence, OH, two summers ago. Also, I currently DJ and produce a Christian-contemporary music radio show on Titan Radio every Sunday night.

I would greatly appreciate considering me for the multi-media journalist position at KNVX. Please feel free to contact me on my cell phone at (4xx) xxx-xxxx or by e-mail at npiszczor@gmail.com. I look forward to the opportunity to broaden my experience as a broadcaster.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Nicole T. Piszczor

The Deadline Project...

Senior year has been all about perfecting the skills I want to take with me on my future career path. Plus the senior capstone project for broadcast majors at Westminster College surrounds a group of abilities that we're working with at a higher level to create a unique final outcome. It would only make sense that we're doing something we like, something we're good at, and something that we've worked at over our years.

That's the main reason I chose to combine reporting and producing. TV reporters and video storytellers need to plan, shoot, interview, write, speak, and edit effectively. Although many classes have worked on these skills, one in particular stands out: Broadcast Journalism II: TV Reporting.

This class used the notion: practical experience is best. We spent most of our time actually creating TV stories for The County Line. Besides making a package every other week, we also had to attend a borough meeting, get feedback from a person in the business, create a resume tape, and offer constructive criticism to the other students. These assignments were beneficial to me and made me grow as a reporter and storyteller. In a way, I think this class gave me ideas of what to do for my capstone project.

OH WAIT, but I forgot one thing: the hardest, most-challenging part of the class was our most important assignment: the deadline project.

Our professor, Mr. Brad Weaver, thought it was necessary to have us experience what it felt like for TV reporters in the business by creating a package all in one day. This included shooting the video, doing interviews, capturing the video, writing the story, editing the package, and dumping the story back to tape. Mr. Weaver allowed us the opportunity to set up our story ahead of time, by doing some pre-production elements, but that was it. And really, we shouldn't have been able to do that because most reporters learn of their stories the day of and they just go do it in a matter of a few hours.

I must admit I was pretty nervous about the whole thing. Before that project, I tended to work on a package over a span of a couple days, in separate steps. Plus, sometimes (as bad as this was, I now realize it doesn't work very well) I would write the story as I edited. One of the most important things I learned was to pay attention to what video you have so you can write a story that works, then record the audio, then put the video to the story. It takes less time, and you end up having a better product at the end, because you know where you're starting and ending before you sit down to edit. That's not to say you can't change a couple things along the way, but you don't compromise what you really want to get across in your story.

Overall, the assignment was a little stressful, but a good experience. I got up early to shoot my story: I decided to do explain the role of the IRS Criminal Division by following them around for a simulation day at Westminster. Despite being up early, I wanted video from each major event, but they were spread throughout the day. As much as I wanted to edit earlier in the day, I couldn't, and I felt like I was running out of time. One thing I did learn about interviews was to ask enough questions, but don't ask about EVERYTHING. Some of my interviews were really long, and it was hard to find what I needed when I sat down to edit and pick my sound.

The editing process also was tedious, especially when I went to render the project and the computer started to freeze. I had to restart the computer and redo a number of edits, but somehow I still finished on time. The deadline project was one experience I will never forget...it also allowed me to see what you need to do when you're under the pressure of the deadline and the easier way to do things when creating a TV package. You can watch my final product below!