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drummerman

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chebby:And there was I thinking you meant EB Acoustics. (After your recent and numerous posts casting suspicion on such an 'alliance' with EB)

Nop. Good try though ....
 

Clare Newsome

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As Andrew says, I don't think there are many (any? I forget - someone's attitude and abilities are more important than their qualifications when I've recruited) with a journalism degree on WHF - plenty of passionate interest in our subject matter, however.

Significant part of my degree involved learning how to make and edit sound and vision recordings and movies (including mixing movie sound). You haven't lived until you've spliced real film
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Anonymous

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clare, just out of interest, are there any specific qualifications that potential employees, think more reviewers of whfi need? i would have thought a degree in, or at least a very good knowledge of english would be important?
 
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Clare my daughter is at Lincoln uni doing a jurno cource they certanly through them in at the deepend. You can check her out on U tube just search Ella Meadowcroft fr a short clip.
 
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Yes thankyou Andrew and looks a million times better, she also kicks a mean football. She was the sports personality of he month in the local rag way back in March 2004
 

Clare Newsome

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maxflinn:clare, just out of interest, are there any specific qualifications that potential employees, think more reviewers of whfi need? i would have thought a degree in, or at least a very good knowledge of english would be important?

The very first thing an advert will say when we're recruiting reviewers is 'Do you love music and movies' or somesuch - that basis of being really into great-sounding/looking entertainment is the core element.

After that, once we've got people's CVs and a sample review (we always ask people to review a piece of their own hi-fi/AV equipment) we invite the best prospects in for interview and time in our test rooms - we need to make sure they are confident assessing products (and have a good eye/ear!)
 
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ah, thats interesting clare, i can think of a few of the resident hifi gurus here that may be suitable on that score, mathewpiano, chebby, joel, and a few more, joel only lives around the corner too, although im not sure you could afford him
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Clare Newsome

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Well indeed...

Other things we look for are the ability to work well in teams - remember, we test in teams; no review is one person's opinion - and then the experience in modern-day niceties such as being confident in front of camera (for video reviews) and knowledgable in SEO/web writing are a bonus. But only a bonus - the passion, ability and attitude are the key.
 
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Clare Newsome:
Well indeed...

Other things we look for are the ability to work well in teams - remember, we test in teams; no review is one person's opinion - and then the experience in modern-day niceties such as being confident in front of camera (for video reviews) and knowledgable in SEO/web writing are a bonus. But only a bonus - the passion, ability and attitude are the key.

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chebby

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maxflinn:ah, thats interesting clare, i can think of a few of the resident hifi gurus here that may be suitable on that score, mathewpiano, chebby, joel, and a few more...
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Thanks but no thanks Max.

I am certainly not a 'hifi guru' (and don't relish being thought of as such).

I even hate going to equipment demos at hifi shops. (Let alone having to audition gear for a living!)

We have a really well equipped Audio-T some 5 minutes walk away with really friendly staff, and yet I still can't drag myself in there more than once or twice a year. (Nine years without going in a hifi shop is my record.) I find the whole 'auditioning' process most tedious, artificial, and - more often than not - dissatisfying and/or necessitating a Neurofen and recuperative cuppa post-ordeal.

As far as journalism is concerned, forget it. My standards of punctuation and spelling and grammar are awful. I have to edit a lot and I still find mistakes hours later (even days or weeks later) and that doesn't include the mistakes I don't see but must be glaring to others. Most importantly, I don't have a writing style. (Not a professional one anyway.)

I hate teamwork and have been known to excuse myself and run away to... (a) throw-up or (b) laugh out loud (c) bodily throw myself at walls, if people start guffing on about... "leveraging our synergies" and suchlike at 'team meetings'.

Then there is the small matter of the voices in my head. At meetings I am never sure if they bother other people or not. Worrying about this distracts me from the point of the meeting.

So Max, no more talk of me being a reviewer.
 
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chebby:
maxflinn:ah, thats interesting clare, i can think of a few of the resident hifi gurus here that may be suitable on that score, mathewpiano, chebby, joel, and a few more...
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Thanks but no thanks Max.

I am certainly not a 'hifi guru' (and don't relish being thought of as such).

I even hate going to equipment demos at hifi shops. (Let alone having to audition gear for a living!)

We have a really well equipped Audio-T some 5 minutes walk away with really friendly staff, and yet I still can't drag myself in there more than once or twice a year. (Nine years without going in a hifi shop is my record.) I find the whole 'auditioning' process most tedious, artificial, and - more often than not - dissatisfying and/or necessitating a Neurofen and recuperative cuppa post-ordeal.

As far as journalism is concerned, forget it. My standards of punctuation and spelling and grammar are awful. I have to edit a lot and I still find mistakes hours later (even days or weeks later) and that doesn't include the mistakes I don't see but must be glaring to others. Most importantly, I don't have a writing style. (Not a professional one anyway.)

I hate teamwork and have been known to excuse myself and run away to... (a) throw-up or (b) laugh out loud (c) bodily throw myself at walls, if people start guffing on about... "leveraging our synergies" and suchlike at 'team meetings'.

So Max, no more talk of me being a reviewer.

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, no probs chebby, it was obviously toungue in cheek
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, but still, i promise i wont nominate you for any potential positions in the future
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matthewpiano

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I can feel myself agreeing with Chebby here Max. Its flattering but I wouldn't profess to be able to do Andrew and Clare's job. I love talking about hi-fi and I love hearing music come to life on a really good system (like the one that is now playing in my lounge!) but professionally I'll stick to Bosendorfers, Schimmels and the like as it is where my real expertise and fascination lies.
 
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Anonymous

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Andrew Everard:Max will be interviewing next week, it seems...
na, i think id better leave that for clare
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, she knows what she's doing
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..

i better withdraw mathew from my reccomendations aswell actually, before i get myself into all sorts of trouble here
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im leaving joel in though, i still reckon he fits the bill, and i reckon he'd love the job
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edit.. no probs mp, do keep posting you're mini reviews though, i always enjoy reading them
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Clare Newsome:

Well indeed...

Other things we look for are the ability to work well in teams - remember, we test in teams; no review is one person's opinion - and then the experience in modern-day niceties such as being confident in front of camera (for video reviews) and knowledgable in SEO/web writing are a bonus. But only a bonus - the passion, ability and attitude are the key.

...and able to deal with different aspects on a daily basis. And whether one could do this job with tight deadlines to meet...etc etc.

It certainly takes far more than just a good command of English and knowledge of AV systems, otherwise we'd all be applying.
 

Clare Newsome

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Well, quite - there's so much you learn about people after a few interviews/test and - far more crucially - their three-month probation period.

Everyone gets a set of trainer wheels when they first join WHF - takes some time (and a lot more hands/eyes/ears-on action) before their views are weighted the same as more experienced members of team.
 
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Anonymous

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matthewpiano:I can feel myself agreeing with Chebby here Max. Its flattering but I wouldn't profess to be able to do Andrew and Clare's job. I love talking about hi-fi and I love hearing music come to life on a really good system (like the one that is now playing in my lounge!) but professionally I'll stick to Bosendorfers, Schimmels and the like as it is where my real expertise and fascination lies. Matthew, i think the fact that you are a musician and that you can tell when the bass is too slack, or you can tell when the mid section and treble is to muffled together, rather than guessing it is, would make you a great candidate. I kind of touched on this subject with Andrew before and he did point out that at least two of the team are indeed musicians, and therefor know what a note or passage should sound like, rather than guessing.
 

matthewpiano

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maxflinn:
Andrew Everard:Max will be interviewing next week, it seems...
na, i think id better leave that for clare
emotion-10.gif
, she knows what she's doing
emotion-15.gif
..

i better withdraw mathew from my reccomendations aswell actually, before i get myself into all sorts of trouble here
emotion-1.gif


im leaving joel in though, i still reckon he fits the bill, and i reckon he'd love the job
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edit.. no probs mp, do keep posting you're mini reviews though, i always enjoy reading them
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No worries Max. I can't see any other gear appearing in my home for some time now, but I will be going to the Manchester Show so I'll try to post a few thoughts about anything I hear there.
 

drummerman

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My ex-brother in law started a computer software development business after leaving uni. They specialized in supplying the rag trade. It grew and they added most of the big names to their customer base. Eventually, the company floated and was sold for a lot of money.

He had a policy of only recruiting degree holders. Partly because it meant staff had academic ability but also because these people showed they could see something through from the beginning to the end. I can understand his way of thinking and it served him well.
 

John Duncan

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drummerman:He had a policy of only recruiting degree holders. Partly because it meant staff had academic ability but also because these people showed they could see something through from the beginning to the end. I can understand his way of thinking and it served him well.

There's a lot in that. Though I'd prefer somebody with a degree in French than in Software Engineering.
 

drummerman

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JohnDuncan:drummerman:He had a policy of only recruiting degree holders. Partly because it meant staff had academic ability but also because these people showed they could see something through from the beginning to the end. I can understand his way of thinking and it served him well. There's a lot in that. Though I'd prefer somebody with a degree in French than in Software Engineering.

Whichever floats your boat JD ...
 

drummerman

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While I got you on here John, are WH planning any listening sessions to which you invite readers between wk commencing 28th Nov and 13th December?

I keep missing them mostly because of work commitments of one sort or another. I could use the opportunity to personally apologize for some of the comments made over the past two years ...
 

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