If your goal is to be paid better for your work as a broadcast engineer, then look the part.  As an employee or contractor, you wish to be perceived as part of the management team of the business that’s paying the bills.  I worked at this and it paid off at my successful contracting business for over 40 years.

You’ve seen them — engineers with long unmanaged beards, uncombed hair and untied shoes. Managers tolerate them but often do not fully appreciate them or compensate them for their technical skill.  These engineers degrade themselves and their trade through a lack of professionalism.  If you have a beard, keep it short and neatly trimmed. 

Clients hired me because I looked and acted like them. I bathe daily, cut my hair and dress in clean clothes. When on the job, I never wore the same clothes two days in a row and never put on shirts or hats with advertising or written statements. I didn’t give a customer a reason to think of me as anything but a professional. (I do have a tie showing 1930s vacuum tubes, as well as a Nautel T-shirt with a Smith chart, worn to SBE gatherings.)

My wife Paula’s advice is, “Tuck in your shirt, pull up your pants, polish your shoes and tie your shoestrings.” Women and managers notice things like that.  As a contractor, I was not salaried; repeat business relied on happy clients. The proof was in the pudding. I was called to do work again and again because clients appreciated my previous work.

Some of these lessons I learned while serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in the late 1960s. My job was to run an aircraft avionics repair shop, to “keep ’em flying.” We were winning when I left!  Your job as a broadcast engineer is to keep ’em broadcasting.

ON THE JOB
Sweep the engineering area of your studios regularly. The same applies to transmitter sites. Keep workbenches tidy and ready for the next repair job. It’s not demeaning to be a maintenance person. A messy office or shop sends a message to management that you are a disorganized person; that’s bad for your reputation. The same goes for your car. It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, but it should be clean inside and out. 

Do the best work you can and be sure to document that work so the next engineer doesn’t speak poorly of you. Funny how those things can come back to bite you.

The author on the job.

Managers typically know little of what you do; don’t give them a reason to doubt that you’re doing what is best. Put the job first. Always show up on time for appointments. Being late wastes people’s time and is a chink in your armor.

Good friend and broadcast engineer Shane Toven once told me, “Don’t say anything if you can’t say something good,” a a great philosophy. Be a good listener. Do more listening than talking, even if it is not in your nature. You might even learn something.

Don’t wear dark glasses when communicating with others, even outdoors. Eye contact is so important; lack of it will cause distrust. You can put the sunglasses back on after the meeting.

Don’t mumble; speak clearly and distinctly. Don’t use slang or swear. Use real, everyday words to relate your thoughts effectively.

Don’t use technical mumbo jumbo that makes a client’s eyes glaze over. Jump past ohms and volts to tell the client how you are working on a difficult problem to make the station whole again. Give technical details only if asked. He or she wants to hear that you are making best use of the resources available.

Avoid talk about politics. You are sure to disagree with someone. Political discussions are divisive and can be bad for relations even if the other person is of your political persuasion. Politics is a personal philosophy, not a business agenda.

Don’t chew tobacco or smoke while conversing with a client. Don’t take calls or text messages during a meeting. Give your full attention to what is going on in front of you at that moment.

Emails:

May 1, 2018:  Hello Mark:  A Dale Carnegie toned article from YOU !!!  Your extrapolation of what the military used to call ' character ' and then ' leadership techniques ' and now in the PC world, 'inter-personal relationship skills and self projection,'  was excellent.  Another giant from your pen ... a true classic ...keep up the great work ... Best, Charles "Buc" Fitch in Avon CT

May 1, 2018: Hi Mark:  Just a quick email to say that I enjoyed your recent Radio World article.  All the best, John Whyte, Nautel