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coping with the stress of losing a job in radio

shiftless said:
I want to thank each and everyone who has posted suggestions to this thread. We all know how hard it is, when you lose something you love to do.But as I read all the posts, I understand there is life outside of radio.I will take your suggestions to heart,again, thank you for your very kind posts.
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Yes there is life after radio. I left the business last spring, not because of force but rather my choice. I actually don't regret it. As someone else had asked..is it worth it? Looking back at the last few years of employment at my last station..I didnt think it was. Seeing people fight and badmouthing other co-workers for jobs that pay less than the Burger King across the street. Seeing people who were fired from the jobs who rather sit at home filing for bankrputcy, letting their cars get repoed ( and people wonder why many banks now refuse to give out loans to people who work in radio ), getting kicked out of their homes because OMG..the thought of finding a job outside of radio is like cancer. Terrible !! I knew quite a few former co-workers of mine who were like this.
 
shiftless said:
I was hoping those of you who have gone thru this before, might advise me as how to recover, pull up bootstraps, and find another job in this market.
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I feel ya man. I was let go from a dream job 21 days before Christmas of this past year - get morehttp://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,87412.0.html . It was a crazy time for me to say the least. There is some amazing advice from some extreme talent on this blog. The one thing I can tell you in addition to the awesome advise here, is to market yourself. Brand the hell out of yourself. That's what I've done and it works great. I created a logo, web page with audio, and showcase my talents to impress PDs. Check out my site http://getgeoffmoore.com/ to get ideas and I'm sure the lightbulb will come on for you. Email me and I will help any way I can. Good luck and keep the faith.
 
Ask yourself, "what else do I do well?" (Hmmm... perhaps drywall, painting and wall-papering? You might be pleasantly surprised at the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you might derive, to say nothing of the exotic fumes you'll get to inhale... paint thinner, adhesives, lacquer, naptha...)

Radio sales is a natural extension of the post-jock progression. Think about how much you know about media and the radio business. This puts you at least a half step ahead of most sales people. Get a couple of decent suits, a pair of charcoal grey slacks, a pair of khakis, a good navy blue blazer, three good white shirts. If you're really amped, have your shirt cuffs three-initial-monogramed. This really impresses the agencies... and puts you on a fast track to Sales Manager... especially if your name is Samuel Oliver Bennett (just think about the initials.)

Then, proudly move to the Dark Side, Luke.

In a matter of weeks, you'll be dissin' jocks, making PD's and production guys' miserable and loving every minute of it. You'll be bitchin' about sales managers, collections and, if all goes well, hitting your numbers... may you never have to hear the dreaded words "charge back." You'll be, as Geddy Lee sings in falsetto, a sales mannnnn. An account executive! You'll learn to use platitudes like "under promise and over deliver," "the sale begins when the customer says no" and "I'm here to help you synergize your business." GMs who barely knew your name when you were a jock will say "hey *insert your name here* you're looking good today, did you close that *insert big annual account name here*" and you'll be lovin' every minute of it!

OK... Hope this small, lame attempt at humor hasn't made you open a vein. All of the (other) posts here have been very positive and offered great insight and compassion. Not much more that I could add other than to say, "Good luck."
 
doctor_radio said:
Anyone can get fired anytime in this industry.
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Actually you could change the word from "this" to "any" industry and you would still be correct.

Its called "employment at will"

Many, many businesses today when they hire someone they have to sign a contract that says the employer can fire you for any reason. My wife had to sign such a thing just last week..at Petsmart !!!
 
Bob_Hudson said:
Savage said:
The good news about radio: nobody who's any good at this, is out of work for long.
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That USED to be true provided you did not mind bring a frequent customer of U-HAUL, but it certainly is not true in today's radio. I know very good jocks on both coasts with great attitudes and reputations, fabulous backgrounds, etc. who are out of work or relegated to deadend jobs such as traffic reporters working split shifts reciting the same old traffic jams day after day (reminding me of the guy who had a job shoveling up elephant poop in the circus. A friend asked why he didn't quit that boring, stinky, nasty job, and he replied, "What and give up show business????").

Pay scales keep going down, the number of radio jobs - on and off the air - has dropped dramatically and a lot of that happened while the business was supposedly booming! Now the story is one of declining ad revenues and, industry-wide, no clues about how to reverse the perception of radio as a fading medium with little or no attraction to younger people.

If you are young and single and want to roll the dice with radio, make it your goal to get a morning show gig (and not as some second banana). Increasingly the morning show is the only live show on many stations and it's the one day part where stations still recognize that a particular talent can make them some serious money.

If you are married, do your family a favor and recognize that while radio was fun, it's not something that's going to position you as the breadwinner over the years. The best thing you can have for a long career in radio, is an understanding wife with a good career in some other business.

What saddens me to see friends approaching 40 who still have families and keep chasing yet one more shot at grabbing radio's brass ring only to see themselves once again the victim of mass firings. Most folks who stick to that will find that by about age 50 radio will toss them out once and for all and they are ill-prepared and too old to effectively transition to something else.

Which gets back to my belief that morning radio is the only place to be: I had fun doing morning and made okay money, but I used the rest of the day to learn other ways to make a living.
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Good points, Bob. I'm 44 myself, so that could apply to me, except that I am no longer interested in radio, myself. But I think nearly everything you said in that paragraph would also apply to the fortysomething population in general, not just radio people. Several of my cousins, all of whom are about my age, are going through some of these same issues themselves. And unlike me, they are not former radio vets.

I make this comparison because one of my cousins, who got let go from a counseling job, worked as a driver helper with UPS during the Christmas holiday season. And the only reason I made the connection between his situation and mine was because I, too, was a UPS driver's helper, after losing my job last fall with a station I had been with for 11 years! Another fortysomething cousin (actually a "cousin-in-law" since he is married to my cousin) is delivering pizzas in addition to his other job(s) to support his wife (my cousin) and their adopted daughters.

Every year, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters has a convention here in Nashville. And they have a job fair along with it. I had skipped it in recent years because of the futility of seeking radio work, but last year (January, 2007), I decided to try again. I met a former coworker (60-ish!) who wanted to find a radio job paying enough that his wife wouldn't need to work. Noble goal, I thought, but highly unrealistic!

Worse yet is that this job fair is usually held in a small meeting room of a local hotel, and participants in this job fair are packed in there shoulder to shoulder in that small room. Worse still is that most participating stations don't have any active openings (except maybe in sales), so they will just accept an application or resume and call you "if anything comes up!" (Yeah, right! ::)) And as if that weren't enough, they only hold your application for 30 days! ::) :eek:) After that, if you are still interested, you must apply again!

Participation in these "job fairs" is little more than PR for these participating stations. They can point to their presence there, and say they are doing a "community service" or something like that! ::) Some even promote it as such on their websites! :eek:
 
The Real reason for these job fairs has nothing to do with saying anything at all to the community....they are done for the purpose of having something to place in a file for the FCC to see come renewal time.

And you are correct, no jobs there!
 
alw said:
The Real reason for these job fairs has nothing to do with saying anything at all to the community....they are done for the purpose of having something to place in a file for the FCC to see come renewal time.
And you are correct, no jobs there!
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Back in 2000, I went to a previous TAB job fair, held at the same hotel here in Nashville. A former employer of mine from my days in west Tennessee (about three hours west of Nashville) was there. Even though I didn't talk to him (and that WAS intentional!), he got hold of my resume, and six months or so later, he called me! I had NO intention of moving back to west Tennessee, and told them so! This particular station is by no means a destination station. No one would leave Nashville and move to west Tennessee to work at that particular podunk station. (They are the only station(s) in that rural county.) What has me scratching my head about this situation is that they are in a college town, and all the talent they could ever need to work for them is right there under their nose! Why recruit three hours away in Nashville? I personally think my former boss is on an ego trip! Anyone who left this area and moved there to work for him would realize within about fifteen minutes that they had made a mistake.

There is another station in west Tennessee (in a neighboring county) that only participates in these job fairs when they are held in Northwest Tennessee. That makes more sense to me.
 
This thread is very cathartic and informative. Anybody who's been is the business for any length of time can appreciate the opinions expressed here, which also would benefit newbees who might want a dose of radio reality. During a period of unemployment, a friend of mine went to work loading airplanes ("tossing boxes") for Fed-Ex. Another guy worked as a pick-up and delivery driver for a lab testing company. It was the best they could find. A lot of decison-makers wouldn't hire them for desk and office jobs because they were intimidated by people who had great personal communication skills. Prospective employers also though these guys would go back to radio at the first offer. They said the worst part of their new gigs wasn't the manual labor, it was hearing, "You were great on the radio, why are you doing this?" The toughts of doing sound systems and weddings crossed their minds but each decided that putting up with boozed-up wedding partiers wasn't worth the aggravation no matter what the compensation.
 
I was told by old timers years ago not to get into radio but I didn't listen. I think some of us just have to find out for ourselves. There isn't as much on the radio to attract people to choose it as a profession.

The current generation is more visual. They'd rather be playing video games.

From what I've heard slinging boxes for FedEx is a good gig. The pay and benefits aren't bad.
 
I personally am a "box slinger" for Fed Ex right now, myself. Only I am loading truck trailers, not planes. (Fed Ex ground is the one I am working for right now.) It's very physical work, and it is hard, make no mistake about that, but I am not as bad as I thought I would be. They're very patient with me, and are giving me time to catch on. I've been there two weeks now, and the "intimidation factor" is slowly leaving me. As I said, it is a very physical job, and it could be a little tough for a fortysomething like myself, but I am hanging in there! I am a runner, so I don't fear a little physical work, but I am hoping to be out of there long before summer sets in. The hub is un-air-conditioned, and we had close to a month's worth of 100-degree-plus days almost every day last summer.

I am hoping to transition into a courier position with Fed Ex, if nothing else comes along. I have tested for other positions, and am waiting to be interviewed for still more positions.

And for all radio newbies and vets alike, I would highly recommend reading the cartoon archives at http://www.krud.com . That site really tells it like it is in radio!
 
My uncle last year started working for Fed Ex in Denver. He loved it actually until about amonth ago when Fed Ex really started to cut hours. Then again he was hired on part-time and it was after the holidays so it really didn't come as a surprise to him.

I have been out of radio since last Spring. Now I am working for Kroger. I am actually making more money now with them than I ever did full-time in radio. Yes, some of my co-workers do bring up the fact that I had worked in radio and say things like "..why are you here?" and such. Some of them are actually surprised that their jobs at Kroger pays better than radio.

But another interesting thing I learned about the public and their opinions of radio after I had left that biz, a lot of them don't like radio. If radio stations really believe the public are like sheep, they will follow them no matter what, well I have news about that. I have met quite a few people who no longer even listen to the radio..at all. School closings...its either the internet or TV now for that. In fact one of our local school district I ahve been told doesn't even bother calling up radio stations to get their message out. They just post it on their website and call up the local tv station. One of the problems I heard was that when they tried calling up local radio stations on bad weather days, no one answers the phone !! They can thank voice-tracking for that.

Music..well its now pretty much Ipods and such. I work beside many young people and most if not all of them just have no interest in regular radio.

Those who commute long distances to work? Many of them have went the satellite radio route.

Even many businesses now no longer allow radios to be played on the job at ones desk. So much for that "no repeat workday" thing. And thanks to BMI and ASCAP, many stores no longer plays the radio either and the ones who do still play the radio many of them have resorted to playing internet radio instead. I noticed that when I visted Denver last year such as the very popular Sam's Number 3 restaurant there.

OSHA I have heard has forced many factories to stop allowing their employees to listen to the radio on the job since they consider it a safety hazzard.

With all the choices available now and how so many radio stations consider saving a few bucks is more important than serving their community, even if the FCC would force stations to "become more local" again, things will not be the same. Many listeners won't be there.
 
mleach said:
Music..well its now pretty much Ipods and such. I work beside many young people and most if not all of them just have no interest in regular radio.
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I can recall 20 years ago, I could sit at a table at a restaurant and eat with my "Walkman" radio on and people would consider it impolite or laugh at me behind my back. Nowadays, I see people at eating establishments with Ipods and MP3 players at their table. Even parties of people at a single table carry on a conversation...on their cell phones. ::)
mleach said:
Those who commute long distances to work? Many of them have went the satellite radio route.
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That's because radio, as we know it now, doesn't have a product to sell nor a compelling reason for people to listen.
mleach said:
Even many businesses now no longer allow radios to be played on the job at ones desk. So much for that "no repeat workday" thing.
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The ones that do have workers at their desk with as many as 3 radios on at once waiting for a contest to start.
mleach said:
With all the choices available now and how so many radio stations consider saving a few bucks is more important than serving their community, even if the FCC would force stations to "become more local" again, things will not be the same. Many listeners won't be there.
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Message to the FCC: Good luck trying to put that genie back in the bottle. Some of their rules and regulations are so out of date I don't know whether I'm reading the FCC rule book or the NCAA rule book...but I digress. ::)
 
Could be the best thing that happened to you. Thanks to who ever fired my in 1980. The thing is you don't have to give up your dreams. Give yourself a chance to look at other opportunities. If your a jock, learn to write and do news,do Voice over work, learn to shot film or tape, produce, mix or edit TV programs, learn how to act or whatever turns you on. Nothing wrong with Fedex if that is what you want to do, but if its something else...never give up your dreams.






shiftless said:
I was recently, in November, part of the recent cutbacks. I know this is radio, and to be let go is part of the business.No offense to the radio station, I worked for since they gave me a great oppertunity, and I loved being on the air practically every minute.Plus I worked with some very talented people and people who have taught me a lot about the ways to become a good jock.I got to talk about the music which is one thing that enjoyed the most. I was hoping those of you who have gone thru this before, might advise me as how to recover, pull up bootstraps, and find another job in this market.
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paulpallo said:
Could be the best thing that happened to you. Thanks to who ever fired my in 1980. The thing is you don't have to give up your dreams. Give yourself a chance to look at other opportunities. If your a jock, learn to write and do news,do Voice over work, learn to shot film or tape, produce, mix or edit TV programs, learn how to act or whatever turns you on. Nothing wrong with Fedex if that is what you want to do, but if its something else...never give up your dreams.
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Good advice but let me mention the other side of this. Where I live the voiceover field is crowded. I'm not the best voiceover guy but I'd like to think at least the upper middle of the pack. It seems like you have to have some very good connections to get any work, it's very closed to those outside the inner circle.

Lots of jocks have moved into news but those openings are scarce too. The traffic patrol guys are also doing news for some of the FM's in the morning and if you've ever talked to one of those folks you know the money isn't there. It's worse than working for a radio station!

The TV gig could be good. The drawback there is one, getting in, because to them you'll always be a "radio person". Some view that as a lower life form! Two, I have a friend who is an engineer. He has worked on a sattelite news truck and also in sports production trucks. The horror stories he tells about the people he has to work with make the worst radio premadonnas look angelic by comparison!

Being in radio is alot like having an abusive spouse!
 
Mike Sheridan said:
paulpallo said:
Could be the best thing that happened to you. Thanks to who ever fired my in 1980. The thing is you don't have to give up your dreams. Give yourself a chance to look at other opportunities. If your a jock, learn to write and do news,do Voice over work, learn to shot film or tape, produce, mix or edit TV programs, learn how to act or whatever turns you on. Nothing wrong with Fedex if that is what you want to do, but if its something else...never give up your dreams.
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Good advice but let me mention the other side of this. Where I live the voiceover field is crowded. I'm not the best voiceover guy but I'd like to think at least the upper middle of the pack. It seems like you have to have some very good connections to get any work, it's very closed to those outside the inner circle.

Lots of jocks have moved into news but those openings are scarce too. The traffic patrol guys are also doing news for some of the FM's in the morning and if you've ever talked to one of those folks you know the money isn't there. It's worse than working for a radio station!

The TV gig could be good. The drawback there is one, getting in, because to them you'll always be a "radio person". Some view that as a lower life form! Two, I have a friend who is an engineer. He has worked on a sattelite news truck and also in sports production trucks. The horror stories he tells about the people he has to work with make the worst radio premadonnas look angelic by comparison!

Being in radio is alot like having an abusive spouse!




And I know what you mean. The I not worthy thing. Someday they will discover I AM really an idoit or George W's long lost son. When I got fired in Buffalo, my first job was in TV working at the number one TV station in the number 2 market at a job I had never done before. I think a lot of it is luck and how well people like you sometimes. Getting the gig is always the hardest thing. Look at Ryan Seacrest!! daaaah
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Best advice I can offer is (straight from old Saturday morning cartoons!) "don't just stand there, DO something!" ;D

Another one is "never let them see you sweat," with the "them" being your former employer.

Which leads me to the third one, and my favorite of them all, "living well is the best revenge!"
 
Or too old to remember when Harvey and Bob (Lord of Rings, Pulp Fiction etc ) were Harvey and "Corky" concert promotions (I abandoned my Buffalo Roots, I ABANDONED MY ROOTS) Weinstein.
 
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