How to spot a healthy workplace ft. Noel King
Hey y’all!
Welcome back to Starting Out from me and Transom. If you’re new to the newsletter, here’s what you can expect: a collection of job postings for early career positions, resource guides on common issues (how to learn ProTools for cheap! How to write a cover letter!) and interviews with experienced audio makers.
I took last month off to prep the next batch of newsletters: working on building resource guides and interviewing reporters and producers. I left each of those interviews feeling energized and grateful to be in an industry with such thoughtful, generous people. I can’t wait to share those with you over the next few months.
I also spoke with several early career audio makers who were particularly concerned with finding a workplace with a healthy work environment. That makes sense to me, since the past few years have brought plenty of stories about people abusing their power in the workplace.
Though it’s disappointing that it’s something newcomers need to worry about, I’m glad to hear that they’re coming in with an eye not just for the kind of work they want to do, but the conditions under which that work happens. Inspired by those conversations, this month’s resource guide focuses on some ways to screen a potential workplace to see whether it’s a place you’ll thrive. Remember: the job search is a two-way street.
Noel King is someone who supported me early in my career — our first coffee date was at the Pret a Manger next to NPR’s New York Bureau where I was interning at the time. Over an overpriced sandwich we talked about radio and how to make a career. She’s been a wonderful mentor to me since.
Noel just started a new gig as the co-host of Vox’s Today, Explained, where she’s reporting from the field and making me feel slightly less panicked about the state of the world. We talked about finding that new gig, and prioritizing mental health and humor in work and life.
Alice: How's your new job going?
Noel King: I love it. It's a great job. It's checking a lot of boxes for me, including being able to do longer form work, being able to go really in depth with guests, being able to get out in the field. And it's still news, which I love. I've been having a really, really good time. And I'm working with Sean Rameswaram who is absolutely brilliant, and with a team of brilliant editors and producers.
I have really, really loved working with Sean. He's got such a creative mind, and he's so smart and he's so serious about making sure that the show is both entertaining and also one hundred thousand percent factual. And I think right now, in the news, those are the two things you should really shoot for.
Alice: You're covering serious topics, but I feel like it's a show that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Noel King: Yes. And we talked about this on Air Fest this past weekend, we did an episode with a young woman in Ukraine, who was in the west of the country, waiting for her city, Lviv, to be attacked by Russians. Midway through the interview, she made a joke and we left it in and I went through this process in my brain where it's like, “I wonder if at NPR we would have left that joke in or if it would have been considered tonally wrong.” It was a really, really important moment, because she was basically showing bravery and humor in the face of immense danger, which is historically what I've seen in areas of conflict. And I don't know, I just love that moment so much. It wasn't me making the joke. I laughed at the joke, but I didn't prompt her. She did it on her own and then it made it into the episode and I was really, really pleased with that.
Alice: I've had a lot of readers of the newsletter ask me for advice on how to find a good work culture. When you were looking for a new job, what were the things that you were looking for in a new workplace?
Resources
As Noel mentioned, you should approach your job search with a reporter’s mindset. It’s tempting to be excited just to have an opportunity, and not do the work to figure out if it’s the right opportunity. But if you’re able to do some preliminary research, you can make sure you’re going into a healthy workplace, or at least with an understanding of what problems exist.
Obviously this is not an exhaustive list or a guarantee that you’ll never experience something crappy at work. But I hope that it can make you feel more confident about searching for a new job.
Your reporting checklist:
This goes without saying, but do some basic Googling to see what media reporters have said about your potential workplace.
Look up the masthead and get a sense of diversity at the company. Most companies should have a “staff” page on their website, but if not, use LinkedIn.
Is there diversity across the whole company? Some concerning patterns to watch out for: mostly female producers but mostly male hosts, a diverse group of producers but white editors and executives, etc.
Use social media to your advantage: make sure you’re following radio people who you admire (listen to the credits to find out who makes your favorite shows!) and follow them or make a Twitter list to keep track of comings and goings.
You can also accomplish this on LinkedIn! I am the rare young person who kind of loves LinkedIn. Let’s ~connect~
This is all with the end goal of figuring out what turnover is like at a particular workplace. Make sure you pay attention to patterns in who is leaving a place. Is there a particular role that people don’t stay in for long? How are departures treated by colleagues?
Reach out to people who recently left the company and ask if they’d be willing to discuss their experience with you. Obviously take things with a grain of salt (you’re a journalist!) but if you’re seeing patterns in the people you speak with, that’s something to pay attention to.
If you have a professional network (aka friends or contacts who work in the same industry) reach out to ask if they have any insight (or know someone who does) into the company culture. If you don’t know many people in the industry, NBD. Try reaching out to alumni of your university who work in your industry and see if they’d be willing to share what they know. I know I am always thrilled to hear from other Tar Heels who want to make podcasts.
Some questions to ask in a job interview that will help you suss out the culture:
How many shows does each producer typically work on? How many people are on a team?
How does career development work? Is there a system for evaluating performance and giving raises?
How long do contractors typically temp before you bring them on full time?
What’s the management structure? Are there layers to it or does everyone report to the CEO?
For startups: is there an HR department?
When conflicts/disagreements/ethical issues come up at the editorial level, what's the process for resolving them?
For production companies: what’s the process for green lighting projects and putting producers on them? Are there times when they’ve said no to a client? How do they plan on advocating for producers when a client makes unreasonable requests?
What do you like about working at [company]?
Who is the most successful person you’ve ever hired and why?
Look out for answers like “they’re always on call” or other things that indicate you’ll be expected to be available 24/7.
How has your company responded to COVID to ensure employee well-being?
If a company is being flexible with their workers in a crisis then you can feel more confident that the culture is positive.
Are caregivers given extra flexibility for needs that might arise? Childless people, this applies to you too. If a loved one needed long term care due to COVID (or something else) you could find yourself in the position of coordinating medical care and helping with lots of other needs.
What’s the biggest challenge your company is facing right now and how does my role fit in?
What’s your process for new employee orientation?
If the company has a clear and extensive onboarding process, that’s a great sign.
What kinds of policies and processes do you have in place to prevent burnout?
If working remotely: how is the company fostering ~company culture~ and cohesion while working remotely?
Green Flags (aka, this is a great sign!)
Interviewers are actively listening to your answers and come to the interview having read your resume and cover letter.
Potential employer being up front about pay.
Potential employer being clear about the hiring timeline from the beginning of the process.
HR encourages you to negotiate for more money or otherwise advocates for you early in the process.
Many people at the company have been there for years and have been promoted.
The company has a union! This means you could get benefits like overtime pay, and backup during potential disputes with your manager.
The company has people that you really want to learn from. Again, a great reason to listen to the credits of shows and remember who makes the work you love.
Edit tests are paid.
Managers have experience in the job that they’re managing. Meaning: the senior producer has been a producer and understands what it’s like to be a producer, how long tasks typically take, etc. My favorite managers are people who have worked pretty much every job in radio, so they understand the difficulties that I might come up against as a producer and have reasonable expectations.
Red Flags (aka, proceed with caution)
“Work hard/play hard” language often means that people are burned out. I have nothing against being scrappy but it’s not good to be in crisis mode at all times. Again, burnout is real.
It can be a red flag if a workplace is hiring for a ton of positions at once or always has openings. This can (though not always!) point to high turnover.
If you’re in a group interview (meaning multiple people are interviewing you) and there is visible tension between the hiring committee. If one person is interrupting others or being disrespectful to their coworkers, that’s not a great sign. You want the people hiring you to be on the same page.
A job posting that asks a producer to do the work of several people. Making a podcast is a team sport. It isn’t realistic to ask one person to book guests, write scripts, handle engineering, assemble sessions, sound design and promote the show. That is several jobs!
This might sound obvious, but if the people interviewing aren’t paying attention during the interview. If someone is texting or multitasking during your interview, it doesn’t bode well for how they’ll respect you in the future.
You receive emails about the job way outside of regular work hours. If a manager is working at 11pm, you might be expected to do the same down the line. Obviously double check to make sure that a time zone difference isn’t to blame.
Thank you to Level Up (a group chat), Who’s Hiring? (a Facebook group) and Twitter for contributing thoughts and red flags.
Classifieds
Internships:
Radiolab, New York Public Radio (NYPR) ($15/hr)
Archives, NYPR ($15/hr)
All of It, NYPR ($15/hr)
Brian Lehrer Show, NYPR ($15/hr)
Death, Sex & Money, NYPR ($15/hr)
On the Media, NYPR ($15/hr)
Digital Asset Management, NYPR ($15/hr)
The Experiment, NYPR ($15/hr)
The Takeaway, NYPR ($15/hr)
WNYC Newsroom, NYPR ($15/hr)
WQXR, NYPR ($15/hr)
Media Arts Education Intern, WHYY ($15/hr)
Newsroom Intern, WHYY ($15/hr)
Newsroom Intern- The Pulse, WHYY ($15/hr)
Public Information Intern, WHYY ($15/hr)
Audio/Visual Intern, MPR ($18/hr)
Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace ($18/hr)
On-Demand Intern, Marketplace ($18/hr)
Fellowships:
Health Disparities Fellow, WHYY
This American Life, WBEZ ($6,250/month)
News Fellow, KUOW ($58,008 - $68,400 Annually)
Associate/Assistant Producer:
The Takeaway, NYPR
The Takeaway (Temp), NYPR ($38.30/hr)
Talk Programming, SiriusXM
Digital Associate Producer (Part Time), WHYY
Assistant Producer- On Call, SCPR ($23.90/hr)
Production Assistant, How I Built This, NPR (minimum salary: 60,000/yr)
Into America, MSNBC (70,000-75,000 Anually)
If you are hiring interns, fellows or other entry level positions, send your job postings and rates to startingout [at] transom [dot] org and I’ll list them in the next issue. Please note that Starting Out features only paid opportunities.