-
Between Jobs ...
March 20, 2018
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
The radio business is a small community and there are good and bad times. These days many are experiencing the downside of our business -- unemployment. If you're on the sidelines trying to cope, try and find ways to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind. It is important to refocus and reevaluate while waiting on the next opportunity.
Weigh All Options ...
In radio it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose touch with the regular world. My personal experience with unemployment taught me to embrace everything around me while waiting. You've got to be open to life and the rest stops along the way during your journey.
Hard To Wait ...
It seems as if applying for a job and getting hired takes a lot longer than it used to. There is nothing you can do to speed up the decision-making process. Don't try to figure out why radio employers make the decisions they do. Most times they are simply doing what they are told. I recently spoke with an OM who was caught in the middle of company layoffs. He told me, "If I hadn't fired the promotions assistant, they would have just reached around me and fired her and then maybe would have fired me, too."
Think ...
When you are unemployed, days seem to crawl by. Be patient and if in a position to do so, don't take just any job to get back in the business. Do some soul searching. Knowing what you want will help you zero in on the opportunities that are a good fit. Now at the same time, you may have to adjust your salary requirements or work in a market that might have not been on your radar.
Keep Busy ...
The waiting is the hardest part of being unemployed. Regardless, don't let your talents go completely to waste while you're searching for the next opportunity. Try to pick up some freelance or part-time work. If you're a morning guy, don't sit idly by. Submit some material to prep services. If you're an air personality, get out and do some parties or look for voicetracking jobs. If you're a PD, keep in touch with your programming buddies. Maybe one of them can lead you to some consulting work. And if nothing is available in radio, take a regular job to pay the bills.
My Jobs Between Radio ...
I speak from experience when it comes to waiting it out between gigs. The three non-radio jobs I remember the most: car sales, selling newspaper advertising, and going business to business selling vibrating massage pillows. All three taught me something. I learned how to negotiate and read people from selling cars. Ad sales gave me insight as to how hard it is to convince someone that spending money could potentially make them money. Peddling massage pillows was a cash in hand business and taught me people will take time to listen to anything if you can pique their interest. All three of those non-radio gigs gave me insight about listeners.
After It's All Said & Done ...
When you are employed again in radio, you'll look back and know you've learned valuable lessons about yourself and those around you. Lessons you could never have learned if not for unemployment. You'll know just how strong you can be.
Remember What It Was Like ...
Try and keep in touch with your unemployed colleagues; don't let them drift. It is important to not abandon those on the beach. Give them leads in the industry or on part-time jobs you might have heard about. The simple act of being there will have greater significance then you could ever imagine.
-
-