Preparing For Your Future – in St. Louis

by Dana Schaeffer

The CBI National Student Electronic Media Convention is quickly approaching. The three-day event – in St. Louis this year – will not only benefit you in the knowledge gained from the variety of panels offered, but also from the people you will meet.

Think about it this way, where else can you find 100+ panels on a variety of media topics, presented by professionals in the field of that expertise? Probably very few places.

It’s important to know — knowledge is power. The more you have, the more in demand you will be. The media industry looks for people, especially younger people, who have a wide-range of skillsets to bring into their company. The more you do, the more valuable you are. CBI helps with that.

Maybe
you’re knowledgeable about radio production, but a job is looking for someone
who also knows how to use social media for branding and promoting a radio
station… these panels can get you that information to jump-start your learning
process on those certain skills. From my experience in the media industry and
attending CBI every year, I can say that the more you know, or at least are
familiar with, the better.

Networking
is very beneficial and may be the key to finding a job. Being able to be
surrounded with a group of like-minded people in the same field as you are or
want to be, can only help you in the future. Whether it’s professionals in the
field, students just starting out or professors, you never know who may be able
to help guide you in the right direction.

You’ll
be learning from attorneys, reporters, writers, producers, on-air hosts,
professors … just to name a few. While everyone has a different set of skills
that you can learn from, it’s also a great way to see what type of jobs
you may be interested in, if you’re still undecided.

Through
programs, panels, events and networking, CBI provides the educational and
professional tools to help jump-start your career. We hope to see you there!