WBLI uses YouTube to help fill on-air job

Here's an unusual way of hiring people: have them make a YouTube video of themselves and send it in. That's what radio station WBLI-FM in West Babylon is doing to help fill a third slot on the station's morning show, said operations manager Nancy Cambino. The station hopes to look at more than 100 entries, she said.

"The [YouTube] video gives people the chance to be creative," Cambino said. "They can do it again and again and put effort into it. That's what we're looking for, the effort."

The personality selected will join Dana DiDonato, a married mother, and Jeffrey Jameson, an openly gay male. "We're looking for a naturally funny person, someone who offers a different opinion, someone who is knowledgeable about sports, pop culture, and has a different perspective" than the current hosts.

Barbara Viola, president of Farmingdale-based Viotech Solutions Inc., a computer consulting and staffing firm, said the hiring technique is unusual, but works for a radio station with a predominantly youthful audience."Everybody is trying to use social media," Viola said. "This is a way for people to do something fun and maybe get a job out of it."