One of the highlights of my life thus far happened whilst I was in a high school history class. We had a student teacher observing our lessons as part of his PGCE course. One particular morning he arrived late and went to sit at the back of the class without causing too much disruption. This did not happen. I distinctly remember turning round to see him flailing (as the chair he had selected was not attached to its legs), before ending up in a heap on the ground – though I should add nearly falling out of the back door to the biology garden. Even our teacher could not keep a straight face and remarked, as the raucous laughter died down: 'You might not want to sit on those chairs, Sir, they're broken.'
As stating the obvious goes, it doesn’t get much plainer than that. It’s the same for student radio. How? You may wonder – no-one falls off chairs (well not so you’d hear anyway). No, what I really mean is that if you do student radio, there’s only one real motivation behind it all: boosting your CV credentials. It may be the elephant in the room that you don’t chat about very often with your station manager, but that’s why everyone does it, and everybody knows it.
It needn’t be that way, however. It doesn’t just have to be something you do that will eventually enhance your CV. You can really make the most of it without a lot of effort at all.
Interactivity
If you do a radio show it’s always nice to have listeners. You laugh, but you’d be surprised how many people turn up week-in, week-out to talk to thin air, just so they can put it on their CV. Getting a bit of a listener-base will help to generate reaction and chat about your show; people will interact whilst you’re on air, and hey presto! You have just managed to fill that two-minute awkward silence before the news.
To get listeners you might want to try networking socially, or, in other words: Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else these kool katz are in to these days. Set up a Facebook group and pester your friends with weekly messages to remind them about your wonderful show.
Getting a guest on your show will help to get them and their friends interested, and competitions are always a good incentive to keep tuning in.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to build up a portfolio of your work. There’s no need to record a demo, because you have a new one every week. You may be thinking I’ve gone back to CV-building, wrong! Well, you’re partly right. The better the above is, the better your show, the better the impression you give to prospective employers.
Videocasts
Podcasts will create a reasonable amount of interest for your show, mostly through people searching your kind of show rather than folks you actually know. A videocast is a step further on from this. It’s a great way to make your show truly multimedia as well as making it more interesting. For example if you’re doing a show about transport, why not film your own version of Top Gear, or if you’re talking about food, film your own version of Ready, Steady, Cook. Funnily enough, this will also look none too bad on a CV.
We’re all in this together
Finally, there’s no point in getting involved with student radio if you’re just going to show up for your slot and then run off after you’ve played your last song. Get to know your fellow presenters so you can big each other up on air. You might want to think about how to publicise the station, getting everyone on a joint venture: this could be anything from making music videos (why not try a lip dub) to poster campaigns splashed about the university with all of your lovely faces on.
University radio will always make a CV a little more attractive, but it doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be great fun, it is great fun, but only when you really throw yourself into it. If you don’t believe me, make your first videocast and tell me I’m wrong!
Hannah Brownlow - If something is there to be written, chances are I've had a go at it. Articles, analysis, blogs, book reviews, scripts, stories - I've ...
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