Should I give up my job search?

[RCGMac]

Ken,

I sent you a link to a position here in Illinois that may apply to you. I thought your YouTube videos were well done. Good luck and don't give up on your dreams.

 

[Tilpots]

About that. Yes, I do have a YouTube page, but I didn't post the link last night (mind was in a haze from fatigue). Not all of my works are on there, though. The link is here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/kencwong2010

So Kenneth, I saw your reel and it's not bad, but I can't see that standing out for a News Director amongst all the other tapes they're getting. I didn't see any in-depth reporting. I didn't see any memorable bytes you were able to coax from people. I didn't see you interact with your surroundings in any of your standups.

You've really gotta impress to get a job interview, especially for a first job. The person who hires you is looking out for themselves, too. A poor hire on their part reflects poorly on them. Give them confidence that your going to bring something to their team. For your reel, you need to go out and find better stories and figure out how to tell them in a more compelling way. For instance, the little girl didn't add anything to your fire story. You need to find a way to get into that chopper and report from there. In the immigration piece, with your standup by the wall, touch the wall, have a conversation with someone on the other side, throw something over that they'll throw back. Interact! Facts and figures alone don't cut it. Dive into the story and take the viewers with you. Immerse yourself in the human elements. Make us care about the people you're interviewing and make sure you get them to tell the heart of the story. Treat every story like it's the day's lead story, no matter how mundane it is. If you treat it like a boring story, it will be a boring story. Find a unique angle and go for it. Ask tough, fair questions and leave the fluff on the cutting floor.

And really, give it time. If this is really what you want to do, take any job in TV you can and prove yourself. Be willing to travel for the job becasue the market you're in only has so many opportunities. The pay will suck for a while, but if you stick with it and hone your skills, the sky is the limit. Being of Asian decent will help you stand out, diversity is huge on TV. Use it to your advantage. But bottom line, until you can tell a story that moves a viewer, you're going to continue to have a hard time finding work. Use your unemployed time to go out and tell some compelling stories, even if nobody gets to see it. Every story you cover will help you down the road.

Good luck!