How Giving Up on Your Dream Job Leads to Greener Career Pastures

Remember that neither an internship nor that first or second job following your internship are the end game.  They are steps along your career path.  That path will turn and might even double back but the opportunities you experience all shape your professional and many times your personal life. 

John Engelman is well into his career and can attest to that.  He started in the sports media world and is now in a rewarding role as a public relations professional in Arkansas.  He can speak to the volatile nature of TV news and the importance of translating skills from one industry to another. 

In the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay It into a Successful Career" we have featured the following: 

• The story of my internship with the Houston Rockets.  
• Part II focused on nine things you should do to ensure a successful internship.  
• Part III outlined eight specific things you shouldn't do during your internship.   
• Monday, Chris Bullock, the sports producer who reviews and approves sports department interns for CBS11/TXA21 shared his advice for getting the most out of your internship.
• Tuesday, I introduced to you Victor Nguyen, a sports producer for KDFW-TV in Dallas. 
• Wednesday we featured Casey Phillips and outlined how she landed an amazing job as the digital correspondent for the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Capitals.   
• Thursday current Fox Sports Southwest intern Ashlea Bullington taught us about the art of juggling to internships, school and work to gain experience.

Let's hear John's story.   

What did you do for your internship?
I interned at WFAA in *gulp* Fall of 2001.  As an intern, I logged games we were taping (remember tape?) for exceptional plays, touchdowns, Home Runs, etc.  I also carried tripods in the field, bounced light, and begged photographers to shoot my stand-ups.  I was eventually allowed to do some "light editing."  Much of what I did, in the early internet age, was look up facts either online, or in media guides.

What did you hope to achieve during the course of your internship? 

I wanted to learn how to put together a sportscast, as well as put my first tape together.

Do you feel you did that? 

I absolutely did.  Had great guidance, too.

Did your internship help you get that first job out of school?  Or did it lead to a career opportunity? 

I was already doing Ticket Tickers part-time at the Ticket, but wanted to get into TV.  My tape from my internship, guided and critiqued by several producers at the station, led to my first job at KXII in Sherman, TX.  

From Sherman, I went to KDBC, the CBS Affiliate in El Paso. I went there to be the weekend anchor. My Sports Director at the time got the #2 position at the ABC in Philadelphia, and 4 months after starting there, I was a Sports Director in the State of Texas! 

Sadly, we had 6 News Directors there in 4 years, and one of them landed at KFSM, the CBS Affiliate at Fayetteville/Ft. Smith.  KDBC started to go through bankruptcy, and we weren't sure how long they were going to keep the doors open, so I jumped at the SD (sports director) opening in Arkansas.  

What did you like the best about your internship?

The people at the station were extremely helpful in guiding me.  I treated the internship like I was "gym-rat."  I was there as often as I could be. Let people know that I'd do anything for anyone, and in exchange, I'd pick their brain (see how it's done).  Always loved knowing that I couldn't be learning from a better crew.  At the time, I was at the Harvard of local TV sports news.

What did you like the least about it?

THE DRIVE FROM ARLINGTON!!! Seriously though, for me, it was tough not being able to do everything there. I wanted to be counted on and contribute more. But, alas, it's impossible to count on interns, as they aren't employees.

What was your approach to it?

Work through it. That was my approach to everything.

Is there anything about your internship you would have done differently? 

Nothing at all....

What was your approach to interns you worked with in TV news or ones you currently work with now?

I was a Sports Director in El Paso, and Fayetteville, AR.  I based internships that we offered for students similarly.  In smaller markets with smaller departments, we allowed them to do more out of necessity, but rarely had a bad experience.  I loved nothing more then helping kids get their first real gigs.  I still talk to them all today, and I'm quite prideful of those little nerds.

What advice do you have for interns? 
In both places, I always told interns that if they wanted to be in TV, they had to be self-starters.  I wasn't going to chase them to make a tape.  If their internship ended without them making one, oh well.

I also wanted to get them to think towards deadlines.  In these smaller markets, if they proved worthy, I'd start to rely on them some.  There was even a point where I put one on the air. He was exceptional, though, and "got it" pretty quick... He's now a chief photog at a station in Chattanooga (his hometown)... 

What do you do now?  

Account Executive for Mitchell Communications Group in Fayetteville, AR.

What skills and applications are using now that you used in TV news?
Well, there's the obvious:  Being in TV News for 11 years, I know what news/sports departments are looking for as far as stories go.  Additionally, learning how to be a storyteller was huge.  Everyone loves a good story.  It's what sets you apart in the news world, but it can also set you (or your product/brand) apart in the business world.  As we all know, people pay a premium for engaging your audience.  (my two cents - PR people should take a journalism class.  Too many of them really don't understand the complexities of a good story).

More specifically, as I continue to learn my new field, I'm finding that my background in news has helped me in knowing what kind of questions to ask, and how to prepare to tell a story. I've had a leg up there thank to my past.

Was it a hard transition? 
Yes and no. Yes, in that I'd had my own department (Sports Director for 7-8 years), and had people working for me in that time.  Now, I'm mostly starting over in something that I didn't intern in, nor did I focus on it in college.  It's BRAND NEW, and I'm starting the climb all over again.  The part that's not as hard refers back to question #1, in that I know what News Departments are looking for. 

Volatility in the TV News business climbs every year.  Younger generations are growing up getting their news from internet portals (Twitter/Facebook/Websites).  The "Here and Now" generation wants their news immediately, not at 5,6, and 10:00.   Viewership is on the decrease, as are station hiring patterns (as compared to the early 90's and before).  Stations are going out of business (went through bankruptcy at KDBC in El Paso), and stations are trying to figure out how to boost revenue per click on their websites.  Just last week, I found out that my former station group (Local TV LLC) is now for sale.  The future of TV News has never been as uncertain/volatile as it is now, and in the smaller markets especially, it will continue to be that way. 

I LOVE how much fun he's having in his new gig

Would you ever go back into TV news? 

I don't plan on it.  For the first time since the late 90's, I have my nights and weekends free.  I never knew how great that would be.  Don't get me wrong, I love sports and sporting events.  But I don't mind paying for a few tickets to games now, as opposed to having to go to every one of them with a camera on my shoulder, worrying about having post-game sound edited in time to trouble-shoot a liveshot that I'm delivering a game report on that I can't see since digital signals promote a delay, being run by a weekend producer that's most likely still in college!!  So, I think I've had my fill of TV news...

Gina's takeaway:

What a story, especially in the "media is dying" world of TV news.  It IS an evolving landscape and for those of you studying to enter this industry it is tougher than ever to succeed.  

Changing jobs and careers is okay!  If you make the most of the experiences you have you will be rewarded whether it's with a long TV news career, one in sales, life as an entrepreneur or as a stay at home parent.  The world will always need ambitious, hard working individuals who want to make an impact.  Many times, that first step on that path is with an internship.  Make the most of it.