Life after radio: Beccy Hockmeyer
Beccy was a journalist and newsreader at Lincs FM, Radio Aire, Classic FM, IRN and Sky News Radio.
Why did you leave?
I moved into Interactive TV at Sky News, since there were more opportunities for career development and better earning potential in TV.
What are you doing now?
I work in pre-sales for a broadcast software company.
Was it difficult changing careers?
It was a big culture change when I switched from journalism to sales (much more than switching from radio to TV because that was still journalism). It would have been far worse if I hadn’t spent the last few years of my journalism career working on interactive TV and web TV related projects which prepared me for a different type of industry and role.
Do you miss radio?
Terribly! I missed radio even when I was working in TV. I miss it even more now that I’m in sales. But I don’t miss the shift-work!
What would your advice be to anyone who is thinking about leaving radio?
Try to get as much experience as you can while you’re still in radio to develop skills that will be transferable to other sectors. For example: if you can manage people (and egos!) effectively in radio, you can manage people in any sector. If you are involved in running/updating/developing your radio station’s website or social networking services then this will be excellent experience for working on web properties for any employer. If it’s too late and you’re one of the unlucky ones who has already been forced out, think hard about the skills you’ve developed in radio and how they might be transferrable into the 'real' world. You’d be surprised how valuable employers will find the kind of experience you take for granted. For example, talking confidently and clearly in front of a group of people is a skill most companies would kill for – many of their existing employees would be too terrified to get up and speak in front of people, whereas anyone who’s done presenting, voiceover work on news reading will have presentational skills by the bucket load. You can use these skills to do all sorts of things – present a company’s products to sales prospects, provide 'facilitation' services at training sessions, and more.
Now married, Beccy lives in London, and claims she has no photos of herself.
Why did you leave?
I moved into Interactive TV at Sky News, since there were more opportunities for career development and better earning potential in TV.
What are you doing now?
I work in pre-sales for a broadcast software company.
Was it difficult changing careers?
It was a big culture change when I switched from journalism to sales (much more than switching from radio to TV because that was still journalism). It would have been far worse if I hadn’t spent the last few years of my journalism career working on interactive TV and web TV related projects which prepared me for a different type of industry and role.
Do you miss radio?
Terribly! I missed radio even when I was working in TV. I miss it even more now that I’m in sales. But I don’t miss the shift-work!
What would your advice be to anyone who is thinking about leaving radio?
Try to get as much experience as you can while you’re still in radio to develop skills that will be transferable to other sectors. For example: if you can manage people (and egos!) effectively in radio, you can manage people in any sector. If you are involved in running/updating/developing your radio station’s website or social networking services then this will be excellent experience for working on web properties for any employer. If it’s too late and you’re one of the unlucky ones who has already been forced out, think hard about the skills you’ve developed in radio and how they might be transferrable into the 'real' world. You’d be surprised how valuable employers will find the kind of experience you take for granted. For example, talking confidently and clearly in front of a group of people is a skill most companies would kill for – many of their existing employees would be too terrified to get up and speak in front of people, whereas anyone who’s done presenting, voiceover work on news reading will have presentational skills by the bucket load. You can use these skills to do all sorts of things – present a company’s products to sales prospects, provide 'facilitation' services at training sessions, and more.
Now married, Beccy lives in London, and claims she has no photos of herself.