THE WRONG WAY TO USE THE INTERNET QUESTION/COMMENT FROM BOB WALKER: Hi Dan.... I've always thought of you as a young jock's best friend. Your columns in R&R (which I miss) and talent seminars are a must. I attended my first one ten years ago and it jump-started my career like nothing else. But there is something that young talent is doing today that is ruining their chances at getting that next gig. I have a morning show opening here and have posted ads in trades and on the Internet. I always give my e-mail address because it's a great way to touch base. But I can't believe how applicants are abusing it. Today I got a note with a resume attachment in Mac form. I have a PC, so my only choice was to send it to the virtual recycle bin. ( I wouldn't have wasted my time downloading it anyway.) I got another applicant who directed me to his resume and aircheck on his personal web page. What the hell are these people thinking? Tapes and resumes are still the easiest thing for a PD to handle. Therefore....they get attention. I know that computers run our business from Selector, to traffic, to on-air servers, but you've still got to impress a PD with the personal touch. Use the technology to enhance your package....not be your package. I zapped an e-mail back to these guys giving them a simple analogy: If a vacuum salesman came to your door and inquired if he could clean your carpet, but asked you to go to his shop and pick up the vacuum...you'd just slam the door in his face. The same applies to jocks selling airchecks to PDs. Dan, please address this in your seminars. Other PD's have told me they are getting the same response these days. DAN REPLIES: I absolutely agree. The smart job applicant makes it as easy as possible for a prospective employer to sample his/her work - as easy as possible for the employer, not necessarily for the applicant. In fact, when I was interviewing prospects to build this web site, one guy called me up and made a big pitch for the job. I described what I wanted the site to do, and he said he would work up a proposal. A few days later he left a message on my answering machine, advising me to go to his web page to view his completed proposal. Of course, he could have e-mailed, faxed or mailed it to me. But it was easier for him this way. As it happened, I was looking for a web designer who was concerned with the customer's convenience above his own....So I never took the time, effort or interest to look at his proposal. This mentality is similar to the job applicant who lists only a "vanity" phone number on the tape & resume - e.g., 476-BRAD. The apparent assumption that having to decode a job applicant's phone number is going to make that person more appealing to an employer strikes me as less than well thought out. Suggestion: Don't include your e-mail address when advertising jobs...at least, not if your goal is to get them to send you a tape. Including the e-mail address simply invites e-mail from them. (I am NOT suggesting that it's "your fault.")