My First Job: Frank Catalano, senior vice president marketing

September 25, 2005

My First Job: Frank Catalano, senior vice president marketing

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Frank Catalano

Current position: Senior vice president marketing, U.S. Assessments & Testing Group, Pearson Education, a global educational publishing and testing company. Catalano works in Seattle for the New Jersey-based company.

First job: A radio DJ at KUHL-AM Santa Maria, Calif. I did the midday shift and anchored the afternoon newscasts ... typical of the jack-of-all-trades approach in small-market radio.

Pay: About $550 a month — a fortune to me at the time (1977) when I was 18, because it was above minimum wage.

How I got the job: I was persistent, almost annoyingly so. I sent my aircheck tape and résumé, followed up politely by phone to make sure they got it, sent them a thank-you note for acknowledging the receipt of the tape, and made myself available — anytime —to come up for a job interview. I think I got the job because they wanted me to stop thanking them.

What I learned: I got to make mistakes — and keep my job. Anyone who wants to start at the top quickly learns that there is zero tolerance for major errors at the top of any job heap. But at a small-market station or a small company, there is a built-in allowance for green staff errors. Paying your dues really isn't about paying your dues; it's about learning what works without the fear of losing your job.

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