WCMJ Extra: Q&A with NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Guzman
"In the world where you hear a lot of 'Nos,' you may find a job that finally says 'yes' and it could ultimately be the best job you ever worked for."
Hey everyone,
Last year, I did a bunch of 1-on-1 calls with subscribers during the early pandemic and one of those calls was with Stephanie Guzman. I enjoyed chatting with her back then, while she was job searching, and I was excited reconnect with her again for the below Q&A.
Earlier this year, she started working as a Digital Editor at NBC O&O station KNTV (NBC Bay Area) in the San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland market. She’s a member of NAHJ, SPJ and CCNMA. Stephanie is a SoCal native, who is happy to be back in California and is a proud fan of SoCal sport teams, which makes working for a Bay Area station even more interesting (if you know, you know).
For your current role at NBC Bay Area, you’ve been working remotely for the past few months. How has that been covering a community remotely?
It’s definitely something I was not accustomed to. Anytime I moved to a new market, I had the opportunity to see and visit new places in the community during my weekends. With COVID-19, I sadly don’t have that opportunity. While I have adapted to work from home, I do miss working from a newsroom and having that human interaction. I worked for this station for almost 6 months and haven’t met any of my managers or coworkers in person yet. That is one thing I’m looking forward to once we are safe to go back to the office.
What tips do you have for journalists who are working remotely in one area — but who may be covering another?
Do the research online on the big towns and issues. Follow local groups on social (Ex: Facebook groups) for any news stories ideas and whatnot. Talk to a coworker or a friend, who may know the area well on tips to cover it. If you can do this safely, take a trip to the community you are covering to get a feel of it and see the places in person.
What has your career path been like leading you to NBC Bay Area?
My career path has quite been a journey. I started working digital for ABC affiliate KERO in Bakersfield after I graduated from ASU in 2015. About a year later, I transferred to digital for KERO’s sister station KMTV (CBS) in Omaha. Then in 2017, I had the opportunity to return to Phoenix. I worked a hybrid role of digital and assignment desk for Duopoly stations KTVK (Independent) and KPHO (CBS), or what it’s called locally “Arizona’s Family” for about 3 years. After all of that, I decided that I wanted to move back to California to be closer to family but continue to work in journalism. I took some time off before my current job to focus on myself and reflect what I wanted to do next in my career. One day, I saw there was an opening for a freelance role for NBC Bay Area, I applied and got it. After two months freelancing, I was promoted to a full-time position in May 2021. I am happy I have this opportunity to work at a great TV station.
You’ve worked in so many newsrooms across the country. Which place(s) have been your favorite and why?
This is a tough question to answer. To me, that’s like asking what is your favorite child or sibling? Hard to choose. To be honest, I don’t think I have a favorite newsroom. All newsrooms had its pros and cons. But I learned so much, made some great friendships, and worked with some of the best people in the business at all my newsrooms.
In Bakersfield, this was my first job out of college. It helped me get my foot in the door. I also got the opportunity got to work digital in a breaking news situation, as I didn’t get that opportunity in college.
Omaha helped me get out of my comfort zone as it was the furthest, I lived from family. It also taught me to work in severe weather coverage and got to see parts of the country I never saw before.
Phoenix will always be a second home to me. I went to college there. I got to work in the market. Got to work with a talented group of people. Phoenix also gave me an opportunity to get work in another position that wasn’t all digital, all the time for the first time. I got to fill in as an assignment editor from time to time. Phoenix is also the one newsroom I spent the most in my professional career thus far and the first big market experience.
For my current job at NBC Bay Area, I’m working from home for the first time in my career just like everyone else due to COVID. But it shows that I am capable to work at home with a talented group of people. But I really can’t wait to be in their newsroom in San Jose and meet all my bosses and colleagues in person one day.
What was it like job searching through the pandemic?
It was an experience, that’s for sure. I did dozens of interviews from Summer 2020 through May 2021. I learned lots of Nos and a few Yes. For some jobs I applied, I never heard back. Many of the interviews were through Zoom, Teams or by phone. It was something I never experienced before. It felt weird not doing the interviews in person or actually going to the newsroom to see it. But even with the rejections, I didn’t give up. Thankfully, I got the yes and the job I was looking for and I’m glad it happened the way it did.
What advice do you have for people who have also been job hunting through this pandemic?
Three things: To be patient, keep trying and don’t give up. It may feel discouraging at first, because you may have gotten rejected or never heard back, but I believe things happen for a reason. Maybe that’s a sign that the job wasn’t meant for you. In the world where you hear a lot of “Nos,” you may find a job that finally says “yes” and it could ultimately be the best job you ever worked for.
Just know you are a lot alone on this. A lot of people are experiencing the same thing. I also recommend talking to a mentor, a friend or an organization to be part of your support system. I never would have gotten far in my interviews at top 10 markets during my job search if it wasn’t for my support group.
You can find Stephanie on Twitter @MsStephGuzman, Muckrack, and LinkedIn.
Next time…
Remember that interview I solicited freelance questions for? That one is coming up later this month…in a different format. It’s an experiment! Let’s see how it goes.