How to Write a Cover Letter for a Radio Job

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The radio industry is one that's dying down. Satellite shows are taking over the airwaves, so to move up the ladder in the industry, or to break in, you need to make your cover letter stand out in the thousands the program director will receive for the one open position. I'll share some tips with you on how to make you stand out.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Find out the name of the program director who will be reading your cover letter. Some job ads will list that name, some will not. The easiest way is to go to the station's website and look under "Contacts." It could be under the "On the air" section as well, as many program directors are in fact on the radio themselves. If that doesn't work, call the main desk and ask. It's better to be right and address your letter to the right person than to not know and not address it to anyone.

Step2

Jot down your experience that you want to emphasize on a separate piece of paper. This will be a good guide to follow along with as you're writing the cover letter.

Step3

Emphasize the job you are applying for and where you heard about that job in the first paragraph of the cover letter. Next, get into your experience. Make sure you reference the job ad as you are writing your cover letter. See what kind of experience it says you need, and make sure you emphasize that in particular in the cover letter. Does it say you need to have production experience? Does it say you need to have knowledge with certain programs such as AVAir or Cool Edit Pro? Emphasize what you've done as far as production experience or using those programs. You can still say what you've done with other programs or other experience you have which may attract the employer to you.

Step4

Make sure your cover letter makes sense when you read it over. Phrasing is an important part to making sure it stands out. Have someone else read it over too and see if they understand it and think it flows well. You want to make sure all of your experience is in there, but you don't want to make it too long where the employer loses interest and throws it aside. In order for the employer to read your resume, the cover letter has to catch their eye. They have thousands to go through, and only a few will be granted an interview. Make sure the wording is tight and concise. Don't throw in fancy words or extra things. Say what matters to the job.

Step5

End your cover letter asking for the employer to contact you (make sure a phone number is included in the letter) to set up an interview. You will probably also need to include "Enclosure" on the bottom of the letter as most radio jobs require an aircheck be sent in with the cover letter. Print the letter and sign it at the bottom.

Tips & Warnings

Once you send out the cover letter and resume and aircheck, follow up on it after a week or so to make sure it was received. Then the employer can know you are interested and can put a voice with a piece of paper and know you really do exist.