12 Responses to “Jobs a plenty at CBC”

Eric R says:

You know, I’ve applied to about 100 jobs at the CBC since Jan. 2006. So far, I haven’t had any luck. No job interview. No “Thanks but no thanks” e-mail. For someone like me who is “on the outside, looking in,” do I even have a chance?




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Fotoografa says:

I’m in the same boat, Eric. I’ve worked in outside organizations as a broadcast journalist for 3 years and the goal has always been to get on with the ceeb. I’ve “seriously” applied to maybe 10 jobs in the past couple years. I was finally able to get to the board interview stage twice in the past six months. I’m still waiting for word on one of those jobs.

My only advice is to focus on applying for the jobs you’re actually qualified to do. 100 jobs sounds like a pretty broad spectrum of skills, and not everyone has the focused experience the CBC seems to look for when they bother to consider outside applicants over “their own”. But hey…what do I really know?

I guess I figure there are probably 10 CBC part timers for every posting who are often clambering for full time work, so unless you have the experience/focused skills to beat them out for a gig, it’s probably a long shot. For example–if you’re applying for a Reporter/Editor posting, you better have some very good reporting experience and a very good demo–or someone who’s been doing an associate producer’s job (or whatever) within the CBC will likely have a better shot than you.

Good luck. I know your pain, man!




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anonymous says:

In my experience, there are 2 kinds of workplaces: 1) places that will hire right out of college/community TV 2) places that will only hire people who have worked full-time in the industry for some years. The best starting place IMO is to volunteer at a community TV station. Also lots of places hire internally, so if you’re applying for a non-entry-level job right out of college, odds are not in your favour. Get your foot in the door by interning, then once they trust you, maybe they’ll pay you.




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Eric R says:

Thanks “Fotoografa.” I appreciate the advice.

I’m also pitching freelance pieces. Hopefully, that will have some success.




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Jason Paris says:

Another one here feeling the pain. Over the last three years I think I’ve applied to about 25 jobs at the Ceeb and heard back from none of them. I even wrote some “shot in the dark” letters to a few key people and never got a response from any of them either. I know my CV is decent, if not great, and I know my cover letters are also well written, yet I never hear back. It’s very frustrating as I can honestly say that working for our pubcaster is one of the few places I can imagine myself being truly happy. Any advice Todd?




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anonymous CBC'r says:

I am with the CBC in Saskatchewan and there’s a constant shortage of people. If you actually want to work at the CBC consider applying for a job outside of Vancouver or Toronto and you’ll have a chance.




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Anonymous says:

where do openings for the cbc shop get posted?




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Fotoografa says:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never once applied to a job in Vancouver or Toronto. That would be totally unrealistic, not only for the CBC, but for any broadcaster.

If some of the places I’ve applied aren’t hinterland enough, I don’t know where is! Even to get a job with the CBC in Prince Albert, or Yorkton, SK is tough–from friends’ experience, they don’t just hand out jobs to anyone who’s willing to go there. That may work for the private radio and TV stations out yonder, but not for the CBC.

Just my two cents, but hey, you’re working with them and I’m not, so again, what the heck do I know?




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CBC Recruiter says:

It’s hard to get a job at the CBC. A lot of people want to work here.

That being said, the way to get you résumé looked at is to work the job posting site. Hiring managers use this tool to filter out the wheat from the chaff and it is not perfect.

Pay close attention to the words used in the posting, as these are the ones the job site uses to find worthy applicants.

For example, if it says it needs people with “managerial experience,” don’t get fancy in your résumé and say that you were a “supervisor.” The job site will not select your résumé as one worthy of consideration, even though these are the same things. Use “managerial experience.”

The best idea is to quote the posting point by point, using exactly the same words.

And when you apply for a job online there are usually some questions at the beginning of the posting. If you answer these wrong your résumé will be buried.

The answers are obvious. If the posting says the applicant should know Dalet, and the question asks: “Do you know Dalet?” the answer is “yes.”




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Tod Maffin says:

> If the posting says the applicant should
> know Dalet, and the question asks: “Do you know
> Dalet?” the answer is “yes.”

In the case of Dalet, the full answer, actually, is “Yes, but I’m in therapy to get past that.”




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Jason Paris says:

Thanks CBC Recruiter! Much appreciated.




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anonymous says:

I wanted to do audio, but after awhile I realized that lots and lots of other people wanted to do that as well!

I ended up doing Chyron in a small-market station. There was no Chyron at my college to learn on, so when they wanted me to learn it for my co-op, I said yes. (my friend who does audio post did Chyron for his first job, otherwise I mightn’t have heard of it) I figured if I learned to do something else no one else knew how to do, that it was a good thing. I learned about my workplace from someone I volunteered at community TV with, otherwise it certainly might have gone under my radar.

*still googling Dalet*




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