STAA's Knox Lands AM Drive Sports Broadcasting Job in Charleston

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 8, 2009 -- Jonas Knox wanted his first full-time sports radio job so badly that he hand delivered his application. He lives in Los Angeles. The job was in Charleston, SC.

An STAA client, Knox has been hired as morning drive sports update anchor and producer at WSPO Charleston’s Sports Leader. Knox will also be doing some sports talk show hosting.

It is a text book example of how to earn a job in a market that has never been more competitive.

WSPO Program Director Seth Harp, also an STAA client says, “The guy that wanted the job the most, that put in the most effort, got it. He flat out earned it.”

“The point isn’t that Jonas flew himself to South Carolina to deliver his resume,” says STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik. “The point is that he did things to set himself apart.”

Something else unique about the story is that, instead of conducting a nation-wide search, Harp decided to open the position only to clients of STAA.

“STAA has demonstrated to me that their clients are people who take their careers seriously,” Harp says. “They are committed to this industry. If they’re going to make that initial investment of time and money in STAA, then I’m going to align myself with that company. If people are coming to STAA to sharpen their tools, then that is one less step I have to worry about on my end. STAA gives them the understanding of what it takes to get the job.”

Knox certainly demonstrated that understanding. Once he learned of the Charleston opportunity, he applied a full court press to get it. The first step was purchasing an airline ticket for the cross-country flight to deliver his resume in person. He hoped for five minutes with Harp. Instead, he got eight hours with Harp and other station management. He impressed them all.

In the ensuing weeks, Knox was asked to provide his programming philosophy and several production samples. Even in the days after he formally interviewed and was awaiting a decision, Knox continued to listen online to the morning show and email Harp with ideas.

“Jonas set himself apart from other candidates with his presentation and focus and his overall willingness to do what was asked of him,” Harp says. “Every time we asked for something new as we got deeper into the process, he did it. He followed instructions and he always did what he said he was going to do.”

“I would not have this job without STAA because it was a stealth position,” Knox says. “If you go onto the Apex Broadcasting (owners of WSPO) site, the job isn’t even posted there. They went straight to STAA because they knew STAA would streamline the process. That right there says a lot to me. The fact that they passed up on the opportunity to promote the job on their parent company web site and go straight to STAA shows me that Seth believes in the process.”

“STAA has done a lot for me. Jon gave me a lot of good ideas and pointed me in the right direction. For that I am truly grateful.”

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