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Is the job market really that bad?

P

ProducerGuy

Or am I doing something wrong? I've sent out almost 600 resumes in the past 6 months. Maybe 5 interviews.

I'm not new to the business, and can wear many hats.

I learned the trade at a great station, and had a sterling record there.

Relocation isn't a problem for me, but seems to be for stations.

I work hard and am damn good at what I do.

How do I get that message across to busy PDs?
 
I think the majority of "likely" employers are simply sittting on their hands at this time,
waiting to see how elections go.

At the present, fear-to-greed ratios preclude much hiring in corporation-land.

There are jobs to be had, if someone essential needs replacing, but with the potential for
various profit-damaging legislation based on election outcomes, very few new positions are opening up.

Come 'n go the elections, it will be much easier for the money to decide what to do.

Almost said something too sarcastic, so I'll just suggest that we as a nation might do better if
our values chased after something more noble than the fear/greed ratio that has led us to the present situation.

It's really as simple as optimism and pessimism, but no one can clearly see their real business anymore because
everyone has been browbeaten into the idea that their business is to "make money".


Best of luck. Only a few more months of suspense.
 
A plant owner made the decision following the last election to close his plant. He calls it "idle" saying that when economic conditions permit the plant will be operational again.

A number of businesses waited to see how things shook out, and they ended up closing up shop.

Success is not evil, and money is not evil. Success tends to lead to more success, and money is made, provided the conditions are right. People can't feed themselves or pay others while running businesses that don't make money, and it is not evil to make more than an amount that others think is enough.

68 days, and we'll find out how business, including radio, will fare in the coming years. However it shakes out, the days of sitting on somebody's payroll and doing no more than what is assigned are over. The days of one radio station propping up a sister station are over. The days of jocks rummaging through commercials, snagging a few here and there and remaking them once they ascertain whether the advertiser is paying attention, so that they appear to be productive for their station are over - whether sooner or later.
 
At the present, fear-to-greed ratios preclude much hiring in corporation-land.
Click to expand...

True. For the small broadcaster. Fear is more of a factor. Lose two or three big accounts because of ad budget cuts is a concern.

However it shakes out, the days of sitting on somebody's payroll and doing no more than what is assigned are over.
Click to expand...

I would say the days of just having production or on air skills are over. You must be willing to sell and do promotions also (maybe traffic/scheduling too . No titles, everyone does everything. Not for profits, but for survival. Welcome to the future of small market radio.

Some stations now have sales people doing creative,and production too. The station featured on the radio- info video clip (gator radio) has an AE doing that now, and it works.
 
musiconradio.com said:
At the present, fear-to-greed ratios preclude much hiring in corporation-land.
Click to expand...

True. For the small broadcaster. Fear is more of a factor. Lose two or three big accounts because of ad budget cuts is a concern.
Click to expand...

It's more fear than greed.

Two years ago, I saw the low prices and considered putting together a smallish group with a couple of stations each in three to four smallish markets. As you can see, the keyword was "small" and meant markets like Victor Valley, Prescott, Palm Springs, El Centro, etc.

But even at low prices, I'd be committing a large portion of my retirement funding since I was finding that I'd have to put up as much as half the money myself, even with some seller paper. The uncertainties in the economy, complicated by a tax-business-to-death attitude in California, made me put a hold on everything.

I have 48 years of experience doing budgets and projections, but I can't safely project 18 months out today. The biggest variable is the economy, not new media. New media I can handle as it is just another brand extension.

And when I talked about my project, I got very tired of getting called "one of the one-percenters" as if being able to create jobs or preserve existing ones is bad.
 
This has turned out to be a great discussion!

I also agree about being multi faceted. Just being one thing is not acceptable anymore.

Hell, I'll answer the phones and mop the floor if that's what it takes.
 
Yes, the job market really is that bad. Its almost frozen. There is a lot of risk in leaving a radio job voluntarily, even if you have a new gig lined up. Think of the people who left 1010 WINS for WEMP last year. I haven't been following these individuals closely, but I bet more than half are still out of work. So, radio people in major markets are reluctant to give up a decent gig in Chicago for one in Los Angeles, even if one became available.

This works its way down the chain. Because there are no talents leaving Chicago, a talent in Des Moines can't get a better job, and because that guy didn't leave Des Moines, a guy in Bemidji, MN is stuck making $8.50 an hour in afternoon drive.

Throw in the proliferation of technology that allows one jock to be on the air in Seattle and Rockford, IL and Tulsa and Colorado Springs from a studio in Indianapolis, and you have a bad job market.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Yes, the job market really is that bad. Its almost frozen. There is a lot of risk in leaving a radio job voluntarily, even if you have a new gig lined up.
Click to expand...

What's changing though is the growth in radio service companies. These are former radio employees, who now do the same work for stations as outside contractors. Radio is one of those industries where it's harder to be an hourly employee with benefits, but very easy to make a deal doing the work for a fee. It takes a little imagination and some guts, but I'm seeing a lot of it. And it's hurting job hunters who are looking for traditional work.
 
Another issue rarely mentioned is that when times are tough, many businesses would rather struggle along
with the existing staff for fear of hiring someone who doesn't/can't/won't
work and then they won't have an easy time firing the new person, for various reasons.....

I have heard managers express this quite clearly and directly.
 
That's why it's easier to get part-time work or contract work than becoming a full time employee. That commitment to full time with benefits carries a lot of risks that few want to take on.
 
The real reason that they hire "outside contractors" or part-timers is simple - they're cheaper. It's all about the low cost provider. Quality, consistency, and local content are far down the list. Or, corporate dictates that services become more "centralized". You WILL use the production elements that corporate has produced for other stations running your format.

Yeah, the job market is that tough out there. Have you looked at who's on the street these days? Have you LISTENED to radio lately?
 
SirRoxalot said:
The real reason that they hire "outside contractors" or part-timers is simple - they're cheaper.
Click to expand...

Life is probably not quite that simple. Other industries also use a lot of temps, contractors or whatever they may be called. And when you look into it you may find that each company, each industry, each region has it's own reasons for doing so. In the long haul, outside contractors may not be cheaper

One of my small flock of children is an architect. She now has her own special "consultancy" but for a number of years she had to dodge bullets and arrows in the contractor and temp agency minefields.

There are some people (the worker, the contractor) who prefer the independent relationship. (Not that I understand the logic!)

Once we get past the election and we get a feel on whether "Obamacare" matures or gets repealed, that may impact which companies and what kind of companies continue to make big use of contractors/temps.
 
Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
Life is probably not quite that simple. Other industries also use a lot of temps, contractors or whatever they may be called.
Click to expand...

Exactly. That's how the Reagan administration cut the size of government. They got rid of employees, and outsourced them to outside contractors. Quite often, the same people were hired, just not as government employees. States have caught on to this scheme too. Quite often, they make more money, but don't get a pension.

But it's all relative. When my toilet is backed up, and I need to hire a plumber, cost is not the consideration. If there was someone in broadcasting who served a similar function, money wouldn't be the main criterion.
 
Nothing against contractors and agree that it's not always about cost but of flexibility. Radio lends itself to contracting out because of the nature of the work and the available technology. I question, however, whether some of these contractors would stand up to IRS scrutiny if they were to take a look. I've known of some who were paid as contractors but were using company equipment and working under the direct supervision on of the company management.
 
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