It sounds like the formula for getting a job in the media industry is hard work; some media classes in college and networking with friends. Lots of friends.
“You need to call everyone you know,” said David Gleason, the speaker at “Careers in Communication 2005: Focus on Media” last Thursday night at Fairfield University.
In a career where the heads of different media organizations do not come to universities to recruit people, calling your friends for favors is one of the best ways to get ahead, according to Gleason.
Gleason should know. He is vice president of Spike TV’s Brand and Consumer Research Group where he oversees all research on cultural trends, consumer behavior, Spike’s brand and shows. He worked at MTV networks for six years.
Other ways of getting into the media business are through internships and assistantships. What is amazing about an internship at MTV, said Gleason, is “you will not be the one who gets the coffee and all that.” He went on to add that an intern gets great experience by taking a hands-on approach to working in the media. The intern might even have their ideas put on television as one of his interns was able to do.
There are many different jobs in the media industry.
“No matter what you like or are good at, there is a job in media for you,” said Gleason. “We have four flight attendants on our staff.”
If a person is going into law and they like media, they might work for award shows because the lawyers have to sign off on nearly everything for the show, according to Gleason.
Other jobs are found in the fields of talent recruiting, advertising sales, writing, producing and Gleason’s job, researching, to name a few.
Gleason is responsible for anything and everything about the audience.
“We need to understand what people will respond to,” so the network gets the most amount of viewers, he told his listeners during his talk.
He holds his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his education in 1999. While at school, he studied media industries, representation and cultural studies.
Gleason completed his doctoral thesis on the ethnography of Provincetown on how identity and difference were conveyed through interpersonal communication and local media.
Both students and teachers alike found the close-knit talk very informative and worth the time of communication students.
“Lots of jobs support the production of the media,” said communication professor Dr. Sallyanne Ryan. “There are so many jobs to get people from point A to point B.”
“I understand now how to go about getting an internship and possibly a job in the industry,” said James Nguyen ’07.
He feels his fellow students are unclear about the jobs out in the media industry and events like this one help.
Some students were worried that when they e-mail their resumes to different media organizations, the resumes would get lost in the shuffle. Gleason said to do informational interviews.
“It takes the pressure off of the people hiring,” he said.
This helps companies get to know you better and when a job comes up, they have the person’s face in mind for the job.
Ryan liked this approach.
“It is practical information,” she said. “You have to be resourceful because the recruits won’t come to campus. You have to seek it out.”
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