Companies need to know that a recruiter represents the entire company. I never had any bad experiences with the first two recruiters who I spoke with a while ago applying to internships, they were the best and very helpful but the last recruiter who I spoke with in regards to the Producer in Residence position was not only very discouraging but also very invasive where I would ask him questions to the comments he would make that didn't make any sense. I hope I never have an experience with a recruiter like this again. Not only would I not apply to jobs within this company again but I would not recommend this company to a friend based on the experience I had with this recruiter. I'm not sure if this was an interview or what this was but it was a waste of time. I should have realized it was a red flag when I was sent an email by the recruiter stating that he didn't know if I was a good fit for any of the positions that I applied for but it was very confusing because it said I made it to the next phase of the interview. In this case, I thought this was an initial phone screening with the recruiter but as I got on the call I was told that he couldn't see my face, which is understandable but based on the contradicting email I was sent, I had no idea it was an interview. Not only did the recruiter push me for more answers as to why I wanted to work in News but it was also like he didn't like any of the answers as to why and wanted a reason to get off the interview with me off the bat. I explained that I had experience with various production internships and quickly undermined me as to why I wanted to work in production after he blatantly looked at all the other positions I applied for through the company. If I say I want to work in Production, I want to work in production, why as a recruiter are you not taking that as an answer? I found that completely invasive. Not only did he undermine my answer of wanting to work in production, since I applied to some other jobs, but he also didn't make any sense. When I answered one of his questions, I told him my resume reel would be in the application but per his answer, he said he would have no access to that but to all the roles I applied for. He wasn't knowledgeable about the location of the position he was recruiting for but was also very discouraging by saying if I wanted to be an MMJ then I would need to take an internship after graduation and asking did I live at home. After answering that really personal question, I replied and then he proceeded to say he was not familiar with the area. He was obviously familiar enough to tell me that I would not be a good fit for the Producer in Residence position in Greensboro because it's a really big market which it is not and as a nearby resident and someone who has interned for News Stations there is almost no one moving to Greensboro, NC for producer positions. Our big media market would be Charlotte, NC which outranks any of the NC cities in terms of DMA. While he was encouraging me to take an internship after college graduation just so a news station would give me on-camera experience and hire me full-time, I asked him does he thought that would work when internships are catered to students pursuing a degree or in school? He attempted to say that there were a couple of interns who were converted to full time. I asked if they already graduated college, then he attempted to say that he didn't know the exact timeline but they were about to graduate in a week which is exactly my point they were in school pursuing an internship which is what internships are for. I asked about the producer in residence positions since that is what my experience aligns more with and then he attempted to discourage me again saying the producer in residence positions, I would have to move because Greensboro is a huge market and they only accept people with experience. How is that a production fellowship training position only hiring candidates with years of production experience? Wouldn't the candidates with years of experience just apply for a production position, not a training program? Then also proceeds to tell me that they don't want people who want to be MMJs or have dreams of being a reporter in production positions. The recruiter made it clear he wasn't trying to recruit me for any positions at Tegna but if having over 5 internships on my resume with most being in Media and Production, is not enough then that isn't the company I want to work for. Tegna definitely needs to look at the reason why there are only 1-7 applicants on job postings , yes huge media market right? and why these positions are never filled or keep being reposted including the one I applied to. It starts with the recruiters. It's obvious by the sound of things there's no growth or career advancement within this company. The interview was not only extremely invasive, and discouraging but also a waste of time. I hope they find the perfect candidate they're looking for.
