Back in August, I gave a presentation at the AMS Broadcasters Conference about how to help entry-level meteorologists make the jump from college to local television. I finished the presentation about two minutes early and had time for one question from the audience. Way in the back, a student raised his hand and asked me, “But looks matter too, right?”
Yes looks matter, perhaps more than we wish they did, but television (and a lot of online media) are visual. Viewers, as well as News Directors, judge us first on appearance before we ever get a word out of our mouths. It’s something that we need to be aware of and take into consideration as broadcast meteorologists develop in college. If you are going through college and preparing for a career in broadcast meteorology now is the time to take an honest look at your appearance and make a few changes as needed. You might find that a couple of tweaks are all you need to go from college kid to tv pro.
It starts with awareness. College kids look like college kids because that is who they are, but just like you need to clean up your social media profiles as you prepare to enter the professional world, you need to clean up your appearance as well. You need to be able to take an honest, objective look at yourself and decide where you might need to make changes. That can be really hard for a twenty year old. Unfortunately, that is the business you are getting into and if you want to play the game, you need to learn the rules. Ask a trusted friend or adult for objective advice. Encourage them to be critical. Telling you that you are perfect to pad your feelings will not help you get to where you want to be. Here are the four big areas you should look at.
