The nervous grrl on the white couch, part 3
I had to check out of the motel at 11am, so that meant I would have three hours to kill before my interview at 2pm.
Since I couldn't seem to fall back to sleep, I got up at 7am and decided to get breakfast out, instead of the free continental breakfast in the lobby. I didn't want to get McDonald's, because I could do that at home, so I went to Shoney's. I hadn't been to a Shoney's since I left Virginia in 1999! They had a breakfast bar, so I ordered that. I only wanted to go up once, so I got all the stuff I thought I wanted the first time. It turned out it really wasn't all that much, just eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes. And I barely finished it. I think my stomach was affected by my nerves.
I was more nervous about this interview than I wanted to admit.
I packed my stuff up and put it in the van, changed my clothes, then I watched some TV until about 10:45am. I went over to the office to check out, and told the woman at the counter about the rude treatment I'd gotten the night before. She told me that I wasn't the first one to complain about that particular person. Then she told me that the radio station called wanting to make a reservation for me!
I'm sure I told them via email that I was coming up Sunday. I don't think I could have left early Monday morning then gone straight to the interview! With my luck with cars and having to get somewhere by a certain time, something would have gone wrong.
So I killed a couple of hours and an eighth of a tank of gas, then I went to my interview.
The radio station was up on this hill, and I couldn't see a way to get up there. I called the station and asked the receptionist how to access their parking area. She told me, and I was like, duh! I'd only passed the entrance about 50 times!
I drive up the hill and park, then go into the station with my portfolio and daytimer in hand. I was taken aback at how small the building actually was.
I let the receptionist know who I was and why I was there, then went to go sit and wait for the station owner, who would be interviewing me. There was only one place to sit, and that was on this pristine looking white couch. I kept myself occupied by reading all the little brochures that were on the table in front of me.
After about five or ten minutes, this man about 30 comes out and asks if I'm Stephanie. I said I was and he introduced himself as Brian. He was the person I had been emailing for the last two weeks.
He took me back to a conference room and we started talking about my drive up there, about radio in general, about my skills and experience. Then Dennis, the owner, came into the room.
The interview began and he asked me a lot of questions. Some of them I wasn't really prepared with an answer, but I think I did okay. They seemed pleased with my answers. And I didn't say "like" and "you know" once!
They had me do a recorded sample newscast, complete with adding actualities. I read over the copy out loud a few times before I started recording. I followed the station's format, so I did an intro, read the copy, put the actualities where they belonged, and an outro. I had to do it a few times to get used to the equipment.
After I got the newscast recorded, Dennis and Brian listened to it. They liked my voice, but I needed to sound a little more authoritative, to make the listener know that i care about the outcome of the story. I told them that I could do that, that I know I've done it in the past. Then Dennis said to Brian, "It'd be great to have a woman doing the news."
If they hire me, I wouldn't be working at the station I had the interview at, but in another station they own about an hour away, near Ft. Leonard Wood. The hiring decision is Brian's, and I'd know something the week after next, because Brian would be out of town next week.
The interview went quite well, I think. I left the radio station around 3pm and got on the road back home.
The trip home could be a whole other post, but I won't add it to this series. Just that it involved rain, an unexpected detour, lots of bathroom stops, and the question of whether I'd run out of money or gas first.
I made it home without any more drama than that. Woke up the following morning to SNOW ON THE GROUND!
And that's all from where I sit.
--MorelaterZ--
Since I couldn't seem to fall back to sleep, I got up at 7am and decided to get breakfast out, instead of the free continental breakfast in the lobby. I didn't want to get McDonald's, because I could do that at home, so I went to Shoney's. I hadn't been to a Shoney's since I left Virginia in 1999! They had a breakfast bar, so I ordered that. I only wanted to go up once, so I got all the stuff I thought I wanted the first time. It turned out it really wasn't all that much, just eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes. And I barely finished it. I think my stomach was affected by my nerves.
I was more nervous about this interview than I wanted to admit.
I packed my stuff up and put it in the van, changed my clothes, then I watched some TV until about 10:45am. I went over to the office to check out, and told the woman at the counter about the rude treatment I'd gotten the night before. She told me that I wasn't the first one to complain about that particular person. Then she told me that the radio station called wanting to make a reservation for me!
I'm sure I told them via email that I was coming up Sunday. I don't think I could have left early Monday morning then gone straight to the interview! With my luck with cars and having to get somewhere by a certain time, something would have gone wrong.
So I killed a couple of hours and an eighth of a tank of gas, then I went to my interview.
The radio station was up on this hill, and I couldn't see a way to get up there. I called the station and asked the receptionist how to access their parking area. She told me, and I was like, duh! I'd only passed the entrance about 50 times!
I drive up the hill and park, then go into the station with my portfolio and daytimer in hand. I was taken aback at how small the building actually was.
I let the receptionist know who I was and why I was there, then went to go sit and wait for the station owner, who would be interviewing me. There was only one place to sit, and that was on this pristine looking white couch. I kept myself occupied by reading all the little brochures that were on the table in front of me.
After about five or ten minutes, this man about 30 comes out and asks if I'm Stephanie. I said I was and he introduced himself as Brian. He was the person I had been emailing for the last two weeks.
He took me back to a conference room and we started talking about my drive up there, about radio in general, about my skills and experience. Then Dennis, the owner, came into the room.
The interview began and he asked me a lot of questions. Some of them I wasn't really prepared with an answer, but I think I did okay. They seemed pleased with my answers. And I didn't say "like" and "you know" once!
They had me do a recorded sample newscast, complete with adding actualities. I read over the copy out loud a few times before I started recording. I followed the station's format, so I did an intro, read the copy, put the actualities where they belonged, and an outro. I had to do it a few times to get used to the equipment.
After I got the newscast recorded, Dennis and Brian listened to it. They liked my voice, but I needed to sound a little more authoritative, to make the listener know that i care about the outcome of the story. I told them that I could do that, that I know I've done it in the past. Then Dennis said to Brian, "It'd be great to have a woman doing the news."
If they hire me, I wouldn't be working at the station I had the interview at, but in another station they own about an hour away, near Ft. Leonard Wood. The hiring decision is Brian's, and I'd know something the week after next, because Brian would be out of town next week.
The interview went quite well, I think. I left the radio station around 3pm and got on the road back home.
The trip home could be a whole other post, but I won't add it to this series. Just that it involved rain, an unexpected detour, lots of bathroom stops, and the question of whether I'd run out of money or gas first.
I made it home without any more drama than that. Woke up the following morning to SNOW ON THE GROUND!
And that's all from where I sit.
--MorelaterZ--
My name is Stef, and I approve this post. Posted @ 10:15 PM
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