Do not underestimate the people you work with

Who is he?
Kamen Alipiev – Kedara, sports commentator, some call me a civic activist, as a result of which I am also an outsider. In school, I thought I was a basketball player, but during my time in the army, I realized that this has little to do with reality and after some wandering at the age of 26, I decided that I would become a sports journalist and I have officially been doing this for 33 years. In fact, the path is predestined because my father also did this, although according to many, if you are a miner and take your child to the mine, that is continuity, but if your father takes you to the place where he worked, it is nepotism. I worked for five and a half years as an assistant director before I took part in a competition organized by Sasho Dikov at EFIR2 and started making reports and trying to “steal the craft” almost four years after my father retired.

I earned my first money:
I started working at the age of twenty, two months after I was discharged from the army. I received my first salary in March of that same 1987 year.

The career development strategy is necessary:
If I go back so many years, I will certainly say “YES”, but back then I had not only no strategy but even an idea of what would follow and how far I would get. After my unsuccessful basketball career, which ended right in the army, I had no plans or ambitions, especially since even before “serving regular military service”, as it was called back then, I had come to the conclusion that in socialist Bulgaria, the opportunities for serious development are not many, especially if your parents are not members of the Communist Party and “active fighters against fascism and capitalism”. This was also the reason I did not apply to any of the existing higher education institutions at that time. If I have to give an answer with today's date, I will say that the career development strategy is simply mandatory, but we all know that plans and strategies are not always a guarantee of success.

The first job shapes professional habits:
For me, the first job turned out to be practically the last one, at least for now. I spent 32.5 years at BNT, and since I am no longer there, I find myself in the role of “self-employed person”, which is as pleasant as it is risky, especially for someone who is about to hit sixty. But let’s return to the habits – some of the most important – punctuality and discipline I acquired as a son and athlete. Our father (I have a younger brother) taught us never to be late; for him, this was the eleventh deadly sin, and because of that, to this day we are condemned to constantly wait for someone for a meeting. Discipline came from training and juggling them and going (not very often) to school, but television turned these habits into a daily routine, which, in the end, has been useful to me even today. Here it is important to say that the profession of a sports journalist and journalism in general is a craft that is not learned but stolen. You may have solid preparation and the appropriate education, but without practice, you cannot orient yourself and create habits. You need to have good examples, but bad practices are absorbed more easily.

Events and people leave the biggest mark on career development:
In my case, there are a lot of them. The first broadcast, which was a big failure, and the support I received from my then boss – Sasho Dikov, with whom (unfortunately) we worked too briefly. My decision to engage in American sports – basketball, baseball, American football, which made many people consider me crazy, because the last two sports were “terra incognita” here at that time, but again Dikov wanted to broaden the audience's horizons, and in this, we were like-minded. The invitation from Sasho Avdzhiev and Iliya Kostov to lead the sports segment in “Good Morning”. Again, Avdzhiev and Asen Grigorov took me to lead the sports in the morning block, despite my colleagues from the sports editorial office, who had completely different proposals, and the morning block is an excellent school for both discipline and team work; moreover, the whole team was amazing, and we genuinely had fun, regardless of the early rising. I even had a few weeks as the main host, first with Iveta Dobromirova, then alone, but then I gave up, because the Olympic Games in Athens were coming, and sports gave me more freedom. Covering the Olympic Games is the ultimate test for a sports journalist, and what we did at BNT between Athens 2004 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 with the establishment of our studios at the event site remains a model for covering the games and an important moment in improving our work as reporters, commentators, and hosts. A significant contribution to this was made by Metodi Manchenko, who initiated these ambitious projects, unfortunately concluded in Brazil. An important event in my career development was also the refusal of the proposal from Grigor Hristov (one of the people I also owe a lot to) to engage in football. If I had accepted, I would no longer be a sports journalist; the same goes for leading the morning block. But since the question is about career development in general, perhaps I should summarize – major events in sports leave the biggest mark on the careers of people in our industry; covering them and the opportunity to feel part of the world enhances the quality of work, and the people who leave a mark are the mentors, those who lend you a hand and stand behind you, even if you have made mistakes.

Lessons from mistakes are invaluable:
Since I take everything personally and what has been written so far resembles a selfish autobiography rather than career advice, I will use the answer to this question to say that I am more of an example of unrealized potential and I could give advice on how not to do things, but with my typical stubbornness, I have often seen my mistakes and yet I have continued to make them. One of the most important mistakes is to not underestimate the people you work with and to not treat them arrogantly and haughtily. As for the correct reaction – it is to try to analyze the situation, to admit that you were wrong, and to try to understand the reasons for your mistake. Do not fall into depression because mistakes, if you manage to benefit from them, are a much better school than success.

Key qualities for rapid career development:
This is a very interesting question. I have seen all kinds of scenarios. First – to get the chance for rapid development, you need to have qualities, someone to notice them, and to give you a path. When things come too easily and logical gradual steps in career development are skipped, it is entirely possible for people to start taking this for granted, to demonstrate excessive self-confidence, and to act arrogantly instead of continuing diligently and demonstrating the qualities that brought them rapid growth. Usually, gradual and hard-earned advancement in a career helps to better appreciate what has been achieved so far and to move forward. Unfortunately, in the media, career development is not always based on personal qualities and professional skills; the good thing is that the lack of class and preparation is very easily seen and heard. If I reformulate the question as “What key qualities are necessary for rapid career development?”, then we can talk about expert knowledge combined with ambition and leadership qualities. Unfortunately, in the world of corporate loyalty and political correctness, showing that you are better than others is tantamount to a mortal sin.

The role of family in career development:
It is certain that parents want the best for their child and are happiest about their successes, but sometimes (even quite often) excessive parental ambitions lead to distorting their perceptions of the possibilities of the precious heir, and this places the object of their hopes in a bubble full of illusions. Perhaps the most dangerous thing is when parents want their children to fulfill their dreams rather than their own. In sports, especially in team sports, parental involvement is sometimes quite toxic, which is why more and more gyms are posting notes with the text: “Parents stop here”. With this, I do not totally reject parental support and advice, because we increasingly see the return of the tradition of children inheriting the family business or the profession of one of their parents, and then practical advice based on experience is invaluable. Unfortunately, in our country, it is accepted for children to “suck for 25 years”, that is, to be spoiled and under the care of their parents until quite late in life, which prevents them from being more decisive and making independent decisions.

The role of friends in career development:
I don’t know. Most of my old friends have no idea what the nature of my profession is. One (who has an idea) told me that there is no way I can make a lot of money with this job because it does not depend on human life ;-) Another large part of my friends are also colleagues, with whom we are doomed to constantly talk about work, and this is really beneficial for development. But, it is important to mention that career development in its classical sense is not the best thing that can happen to a reporter, journalist, commentator, or host. Especially at BNT (and not only) the position of chief editor (producer) is associated with colossal amounts of paperwork and bureaucratic procedures, which rather take you away from active journalistic work and turn you more into a bureaucrat. This again is not an answer to the question, but a deviation in some strange direction, but in an ideal world, the role of both family and friends should be stimulating and supportive, and true friends should not constantly remind you how good you are, but should be able to be critical and boldly point out your mistakes. Sometimes such frankness ruins friendships.

Balancing personal and professional life is difficult but important:
If there is one, I certainly do not know it. In a job like mine, where you work even when you are resting because you need to be informed 24/7, and also because the profession of a sports commentator is one of the best (although thankless) in the world, it is very difficult to make this balance, and your closest people suffer from it. And when on top of everything you take everything personally, the “catastrophe” is complete. Television, especially news and sports journalism, are not normal professions for people who want to work from nine to five and be free on Saturdays and Sundays. Anyone who sets out to engage in them must account for this, and if they manage to find a way to set boundaries between their professional and personal life, they will be close to nirvana.

Horizontal career development is preferable between 20-35 years:
It may sound too “old school” to you, but in my opinion, the answer here is categorically horizontal. Now many seek quick success, quick money, even money without putting in much effort. Because of this, as well as due to political correctness and influencer culture, there are no longer incompetent, unprepared, foolish people, but only people who are engaged in their next “project”. In fact, gradual accumulation of skills and knowledge in any craft helps to understand the process and the small details in the work, which can subsequently be extremely useful if development becomes vertical. Moreover, gradual growth teaches you to appreciate the steps along your way. But if you believe in your skills and invest yourself fully in your work, and do not receive not only the opportunity for development but even a little encouragement, you should consider whether this is your place.

The most valuable career advice I would give:
When I was still a wandering aimless, long-haired assistant director at BT (it was still called that back then), one of the most important people on my path, the director Naycho Tokin asked me: “Kedara, what is the most important thing?”. I stupidly replied that it is important to make good money, have fun, and party. The answer was: “No, the most important thing is to find YOUR job!” This is also the advice I can give today, even after so many years of unrecognized hard work, the most important thing is to find a job that you like, to love it, and to be ready to invest your maximum every day.