Thursday, January 23, 2014

How Caitlin Crawford Got The Chance Of A Lifetime To Work With The Dallas Cowboys

By Judy Sullivan


When Caitlin Crawford landed an internship with the Dallas Cowboys, it was truly a dream come true for this young woman, who happens to be from Dallas herself and has been a fan of the team for a long time. At the time, Crawford was attending the University of Oklahoma's broadcasting and electronic media program, from which she graduated with a degree in 2013.

When applying for this position Caitlin realized the importance of submitting some samples of the high quality work she had produced in school, which in this case included some of her best articles. It's necessary in such a highly competitive area with few positions available that one stand out from the crowd, which she clearly did, landing her a phone interview.

Her advice to others who also hope to get a chance like she did, is to first of all work at gradually becoming more at ease in front of the camera, an essential skill in this field. Excellent written communication skills are also a must, such as those demonstrated by Crawford in her well-written sports articles. Technical know-how when it comes to producing quality video work is another key quality applicants need to possess.

This internship opportunity gave Crawford the chance to put what she had learned in school into practice. She not only became more at ease standing in front of the camera, but she also had ample requests for applying her knowledge and familiarity with numerous editing programs, and even got to operate a newly acquired playback system which she alone was in the know about.

Prior to beginning her work with the Dallas Cowboys media department, Caitlin realized the importance of doing some research about many aspects of the team including its scores, staff, and players. She was able to serve as an intern for two summers when school was not in session, and was even asked to collaborate on productions during other times of the year.

Duties as an intern tended to vary with each day's schedule for Caitlin. Her work was during the team's off-season, training camp period, and sometimes she would be responsible for interviewing the players when they were available. Active involvement in the production of televised programs, script and feature development were other tasks which made up her daily work schedule.

Crawford believes that anyone who wishes to someday end up with an opportunity like hers should be sure that he or she possesses certain qualities that are considered valuable to the Dallas Cowboys. These traits include a strong work ethic, being a self-starter who can generate innovative ideas, carry out careful research for assignments, and shows perseverance and the ability to learn from mistakes.

Her time with the Dallas Cowboys was truly inspiring to Caitlin Crawford who aspires to have a career in sports broadcast journalism. With this experience to add to her resume as well as her involvement with the school sport newscasting department, she is likely to find a rewarding position with a news station or sports organization.




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