Interview with Professionals, Ramar Communications

My goal is to help students like you get the inside peek of possible internship and job opportunities. I want to help you put the best foot forward and get the upper hand on “hot spots” in Lubbock.

chris-flemingI met with Chris Fleming, chief revenue officer of Ramar Communications. He was slightly intimidating but nice during our interview. He was very honest in his answers, which was refreshing. I feel that students can take away a lot from his responses!

Ramar Communications is a parent company for many radio stations and news stations here in Lubbock. It is a privately held, debt-free corporation. Ramar has 17 broadcast properties with an equal number of digital properties, including web and mobile. They have 130 employees with seven in Albuquerque, N. M.

Internships

Ramar has a variety of internships available for students during the fall, spring and summer semesters, but require students to receive credit.

  1. Newsroom – uses six to eight students a semester
  2. Promotions Department – uses one to two students a semester
  3. Sales Department – uses one to two students a semester

The newsroom is pretty self-explanatory. The promotions department is essentially the marketing department for the company. The sales department has two different sides, television and radio.

The Resume

The best way to apply for an internship or position with Ramar Communications is to send an email to whoever is in charge of that department. During career fairs on campus, they hand students a piece of paper with each department head’s name and contact information. Chris recommends following up in a different format if you have not heard back from them through email.

“Don’t follow up by email. Follow up by some other method. I’ve already ignored you by email. Call me. Do something. Stop me in the street. Find them. Make an additional contact.”

Chris says the company is looking for someone who can be that “squeaky wheel” that will stand out against all of the other resumes they receive. If you think sending a bizarre gift will help you stand out then send something. Chris once received a case of beer from a new representative. Of course that man got a call back!

Treat your resume like the USA Today, says Chris. Clearly state the headlines and then fill it in with small details of information with no elaboration. During the interview is your opportunity to go into the specifics.

Don’t:

“…turn your first job from walking dogs into the president’s executive assistant.”

“…forget the goal of the resume. The goal of the resume is not to get the job or the internship. It is not. Most people forget that.”

Chris believes the goal of the resume is to get a call back. Figure out the best way to make your resume stand out to where someone wants to call you back. Also, do not forget to put down references! Chris will toss your resume to the side if there is no one he can call to get to know you first, but make sure they know you’re putting them down.

“There’s an interesting thing about the human brain. Curiosity is satisfied by three. Four is bragging and two is not enough, so I would suggest three.”

Looking For

Each department is looking for someone who is self-motivated and ready to learn. They are a fast-paced company and need someone who is active. Ramar is also a creative and attention-getting company looking for someone who has experience in these two areas.

“For instance, if it’s in the promotions department, I’m looking for something you’ve done that is creative and gets people’s attention. If it were in the news department, I’m looking for something you’ve done that creative and got attention. If it happened to be in the sales department, I’m looking for something creative that you’ve done to get somebody’s attention. Notice that pattern?”

Internships and Student Organizations

Internships and student organizations are important to put on your resume for many reasons, but they need to have a purpose for being there. If you were there and did not do anything but stand around and watch people work, that’s not helpful to a company you’re interested in.

“…tell me what you did. Don’t just say intern at Ogilvy & Mather. Okay, what did you do? Tell me something you did that is important to me.”

It might look great on your resume, but you better have something to say about what you did and how you contributed to the company you interned with.

Applying

Do not just send your resume to one company expecting them to fall in love with you and want to bring you on. Give yourself a fighting chance and apply everywhere that you can. Make sure that each resume you send out is tailored to the company or agency that you want to work for. Each place is looking for someone different with different qualifications so be sure to express those in your resume and cover letter.

“What’s more, you might even call in advance and ask if there is a description of the job and/or internship. Figure out what people are looking for and try to satisfy the need.”

Best Advice

“Figure out what you want first. What is the goal of the internship? If you’re just satisfying a three-credit course requirement, or one-credit or whatever it is, it doesn’t matter what you are doing. If you want to get something out of it, some sort of life skill or career skill, figure out what it is that you want then pursue that. Push the intern leader to get what you want and make that available to you.”

About Olivia Utley

Advertising Manager - Advertising major, Class of 2014
Olivia is from Plano, Texas. She started noticing her love for creativity while taking art classes growing up. She plans on working for an advertising agency in Dallas, where she can gain experience to open her own agency specializing in outdoor advertising.