MARC ZUMOFF, A TEMPLE GRAD who is now the voice of the Sixers, spoke to the class about finding work in communications. Did you take notes? He walked you through the process.Here's what I wrote down:
- You need passion. Without passion, you'll be bored and not do a good job.
- When he was at Temple, he was chunky, insecure and didn't understand the media landscape.
- Now he has his dream job where they treat him like a king - five-star hotels, fancy meals, first-class flights, front row seats, etc.
- You need to network. And you can start by interning somewhere.
- Present yourself appropriately when meeting people in the business.
- When you get that internship, suck up your pride and do the little crap they make interns do. And do that stuff with a smile on your face.
- You need to bust your ass all the time.
- Take initiative. Work hard, all the time.
- Stay in touch after your internship. Internships lead to jobs.
- When you write to prospective employers or anyone else in the business, keep it brief. Explain what you want. Mention mutual connections. Use proper punctuation.
- Don't be afraid of rejection.
- As a student, you should have no life. You should be immersed in your school work, internships, jobs, student activities, and other fun journalism related stuff.
Regarding his job, he said a few things that got my attention:
- He's not a journalist. He essentially works for the team.
- He is not objective. He is a die-hard Sixers fan. It's not his role to be critical.
- He does three or four hours of prep for every game. Then he goes live on television for about 2.5 hours during games.
And here is one thing that Marc did not say: there are only 30 teams in the NBA, which means there are only 30 people doing jobs like his. People would kill to have his job. And he knows it. So he works his ass off.
What did you think?
32 comments:
It was definitely awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was full of energy, funny, optimistic, and I felt really connected to everything that he said. He was very inspiring. I can only hope and wish that I can be that passionate about what I do someday. Another thing that stood out to me is that he said: try to know how to do everything, and if some one asked you to do something close to your major but not exactly your major then do it any way!
Marc Zumoff is a sarcastic person. I discovered this when he had no enthusiasm while sharing his lifestyle. Based on his job description (charter air-craft, paid vacations, one on one with players), it seems like he has the best job in the country among the 29 other men. He gave great advice on informational interviews.I wonder how much he makes...
You should have asked!
- George
(the teacher who encourages you to totally take advantage of people kind enough to speak to the class!)
I thought he was very inspiring and gave very benefically advice to encourage people to take initiative and get themselves started in the business. I also found it was interesting that he didn't consider himself a journalist, but his reasoning was very understandable and interesting. It was awesome to hear him speak!
I really enjoyed Marc Zumoff! I thought he was definitely passionate about his job and you can tell he loves what he does (I would too, if I were staying in Ritz Carltons' and getting free hotel meals). I believe he was very realistic when he said he was going to sum up 31 years in 40 minutes; he's worked hard to get to where he is today. It is a bit of a disappointing reality check to know you have to have a job that pretty much pays nothing for a few years before you can start to make it big. I am curious however: what with broadcast journalism [and any type of medium, for that matter] constantly changing and becoming newer and faster, it seems younger and younger people are stepping up. This made me wonder if I should consider getting an internship asap so I can get connections faster and make it into the field (of broadcast journalism) at a younger age. ugh! As if today's youth doesn't have enough to worry about....
I really enjoyed his presentation. He was very energetic and entertaining! I liked what he had to say about passion and I agree whole heartedly! Passion is a big part of choosing your career.
In short, best speaker to date.
I like how honest he was. A lot of things he said were very informative and helpful.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a baseball play-by-play guy (other then wanting to be a player) so it was interesting to hear from a play-by-play guy even though I have no interest in basketball.
He was definitely a good speaker. I need to start talking to people back home about internships this summer...
I liked the way Mr.Zumoff was able to focus on the way he achieved his job and not so much about the team and their positions.
I thought he was really inspirational and that made it all the more interesting. I came out of that lecture with tools to be successful.
I really enjoyed having Mr. Zumoff in class. He touched on a lot of stuff that many other of our speakers didn't. I really enjoyed his intro just about living life in a positive way. Out of all of the speakers we had, I believe he and Jim McKairnes had the biggest impact on me and the future of my goal to be a journalist. Thanks for inviting Marc.
Joseph Schaefer
J1111
I found his networking advice extremely helpful. I never knew it could be so easy.
I loved this speaker as Marc Zumoff didnt just put us through a powerpoint demonstration, but rather what seemed like a crash course in "how to make it big in broadcast journalism 101." It was full of great information including the internship part and I feel the most important thing Ive learned from each of these speakers is, take every opportunity life throws at you and after working hard towards that opportunity you can then reevaluate where you want to head. Its great being surrounded by these monster success stories and the connections that you've given us so far with it only being Oct 28th have been hugely invaluable. So thanks! -E. Tom Winter
Marc Zumoff was awesome. Not only was he fun, energetic, and excited about what he was talking about, he took the interest to listen to what we wanted to do. His speech was really inspiring and wanted to make you do what he does and that is loving your job. Mr. Zumoff was one of the best speakers this semester so far along with Phil Jazner. Major props Professor Miller for bringing in a great guest speaker for the second time in a row.
Marc Zumoff is an interesting guy. I found him interesting and lively to watch and listen to. His tone of voice and facial expressions were what stood out for me most.
When he spoke about how to network through writing, i definitely took notice of this. I'm glad that he was honest with how he doesn't read all of the letters that people send him. That made me think twice about writing full letters when trying to network with others.
Marc Zumoff is a cool guy and very full of energy and I love that! I think he was our best guest speaker so far.
Marc Zumoff was straight up. He gave so much useful information and I loved every bit of it. They way he spoke further supported his passion for broadcast. I wanna possess that passion
Marc Zumoff while speaking was filled with energy and really tried to get his point across that you have to be passionate in what you do. I found his information very forward. The story of how he didn't graduate on time truly is incredible too! It adds a twist to all of his success in his career!
I really enjoyed him because he kept me entertained... I emailed him exactly like he stated to email somone during his speech. Surprisingly i got a response back and I will be keeping in touch..n George I mentioned your name!
It was definitely refreshing to have a guest speaker with an overwhelmingly optimistic view of the future of careers in the media. For a while there the expansion of the field of journalism (the ordinary citizen blogger being considered a journalist to some) in conjunction with the decreasing profits and therefore jobs for journalists was really bumming me out. However, Marc Zumoff reminded me that although the economy may be in bad shape, good ol' human interaction can still lead to fulfilling careers (both socially and monetarily). I found it interesting that both Marc Zumoff and Matt Lauer mentioned that their careers began by taking an internship over completing college credits. So, why am I still here....? hahahaa Overall, he was my favorite speaker yet =]
What stood out to me is the noticeable difference between with Mr. Zumoff and Mr. Jasner. Jasner cant show his loyalty to the sixers in his articles. He has to tell a story like it is and let the audience process it. Zumoff is getting payed by the team, so he can show his loyalty all he wants and cheer. Zumoff made it clear that Networking is the name of the game in this business because if you don't know anyone, it's going to make your life hard.
I appreciated, when he told the whole class to be grateful, for waking up, and seeing another day. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I don't care.
I really enjoyed the presentation. I was glad that Marc talked about how to get a job like his or how to get a job in general. I really appreciated the tips he presented and they are good points. You cannot just walk into any job at the top, you are going to be low man on the totem pole and work your way up. No one is just handed a career you have to work for it. You only get out of it what you put into it. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come and talk to us Marc.
I enjoyed Marc Zumoff's visit to class. I got a lot out of his talk, and learned new and important things!!
I really enjoyed his enthusiasm towards what he does. At first, I thought he was gloating when he mentioned all the luxuries he has but I don't think that's it. It gave us an incentive to pursue what we love and it also proved that it's all about networking and the people you know. He is very knowledgeable and gave very valuable advice.
I really liked his presentation. He was very passionate about what he does and what he said. I definitely learned a lot and took vital information away from his presentation that I hope to use in the future.
I think someone should hire me already george!!! and hideki matsui should be stined to death....what do you think?
I took George's class a few semesters ago and he had Marc come in as well. I emailed Marc after and I am still in touch with him today. He is a great resource, as is George.
I definitely would love to have his job! You get to be court side to games, get famous, and travel the country! Marc's a cool guy.
What stood out most to me was Mr.Zumoff's determination and love of life. I sometimes am afraid that after leaving college that I'll enter a world filled with closed doors. I find it comforting to hear of the experiences of others who may have felt the same way, but nonetheless moved forward, dealt with rejection,and through sheer determination became successful. I guess you could say those stories inspire me...give me hope.
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