“If you’re going through hell, keep on going”
– Rodney Atkins
“Never trust anyone in radio who’s never been fired.”
– Me
Remember the days when you’d pull up the trades to see who was killing it in the ratings, who scored a major gig or who pulled off the greatest on-air stunt ever?
Me too.
These days, with a hard gulp, we look to see who got sacked. Oh wait…”exited” is the term de jour. Sometimes you get to read about your own “exit” and while we all like seeing our name in print, there are times it’s not so fun.
Although it’s much more commonplace elsewhere in the world these days, ours is an industry where you can be doing an excellent job, be loved and adored by your audience, the sales staff and their clients and still be blown out “just cuz” on any given day.
We are a group of people known to be a little arrogant – yet dichotomously insecure – and grossly overconfident but deep inside, we are gushy just like the next person. We take firing hard and we take it personally. And you should. If you’re a pro, you put your heart and soul into your work and when someone tells you your baby’s ugly, you’ve got a right to feel your feels.
Once again we find ourselves in a season of “downsizing,” “re-alignments,” and “exits.” Hundreds of very talented people have been given a copy of the home version and shown the door. And it sucks, a lot. A reduced job market, a flux of people on the beach AND that silly little thing we call AI are making it harder and harder to get back on your feet.
I should know, it happened to me (again) August 4th.
For some of us, it’s just another day in the biz, for others it’s a moment of total panic and feelings of desperation. So to help get you through it (and to exercise some of my demons), here are the five things you need to do after you’ve been “exited:”
You’re a pro, act like one:
It may be too late for this but when you walk into the boss’ office, or in my case, the conference room, and the first face you see is the HR Director, chances are real good the conversation isn’t going to revolve around your thoughts on the station’s Christmas party. Don’t do what I did and say “Oh…it’s one of those meetings…” as you toss your keycard on the table. Put on your poker face, sit quietly and let them say what they want and need to say.
When they ask “do you have any questions for us?” The one and only thing you should say is, “I need some time to digest this, can I get back to you?” Oh it may feel good to blow up or breakdown but the only thing that’ll do is make a bad situation more awkward. You’ll likely need a good word from these people in the near future so don’t say or do anything you’ll have to apologize for later. Besides it will change absolutely nothing.
After you waltz out the door – or in some cases, are escorted by armed police – with your box of personal items, save your meltdown for the ride home. It’s perfectly fine for you to go through the seven stages of grief. Truthfully, I’d be worried about you if you didn’t. But get it all out before you have to walk in the door at home and face the family. At this moment, they need you to be a rock…a rock with a plan.
Make your job search your full-time job:
I learned this decades ago – ironically from a guy who had just fired me – you are no longer a professional in broadcasting, engineering, sales or widget manufacturing. You are a professional job seeker. Hopefully, you always keep an updated cv alongside any and all related items, tucked away in a folder on your desktop. If not, congratulations, you’ve just put item one on your “to do” list. Take all that energy you have left over from your rage ride home and channel it into something that will actually help you. Set a schedule every day to work on your job search and stick to It. Park your carcass at whatever work station you’ve created and challenge yourself to accomplish one thing daily that will help you advance your job search. Create routines of sites to visit, make lists, network, consult any and every source you can think of and find the hiring trends and other needs of the industry and then go deeper. And unless its search related, stay away from the phone, the internet and the X-Box. Work now, play later.
Re-assess, Re-invest and Re-invent.
First thing you gotta do if you haven’t already is get versed on social media and AI because if you’re not, you’re useless. There are thousands if not millions of sources available to teach you but if you can’t find one, the average 8 year old can get you up to speed. Then the most important thing for you to do is some deep soul searching: do you continue on the career path you’ve been on or is it time to pivot? Get opinions from your circle of professional friends, mentors and others who’ve gone through it themselves – call me, I’ll help you – If your choice is to stay the course then you’re probably way ahead of me in the process so…it’s been nice chatting with you. But if you’re thinking now is the time to change, you have to ask and answer some tough questions:
- What do I want to do?
- What do I have to offer?
- What skills do I need to learn or brush up on?
- Am I willing to move or work remotely?
- Do I have the energy to start over?
Seriously, write down as many questions you can think of and get real because the answers will become the foundation for your next moves. This is the most personal aspect of your professional life but you’ve got to treat it as though you’re trying to sell a can of soup. Remember, you are a product. What is it about your product that’s special, different than the rest? What does your label say about you? What do you possess that makes you the better brand? Once you find those answers, everything you do from here on needs to reflect and elevate that brand.
Now it’s time to create your brand of soup.
Woah not yet…there are two things you’ve got to do first.
Recognize, Utilize then Create:
Erik Logan, my former boss – one who never actually fired me – taught me this last weekend. After some research I discovered this is a common workflow used in nursing but it works for anyone, especially us creative-types. Essentially he said when people create a new direction for their life, they generally fail because they don’t take the two most important steps first. Now I tend to listen to Erik since he was one of the most effective bosses I ever had, he spent over ten years running Oprah’s networks and he now is Tony Robbins top consultant. On these matters, he’s rarely wrong.
Tremendously oversimplified, it kinda looks like this:
Ultimate goal: To use your knowledge, experience and skills to create a brand or product that has value and can be monetized.
The workflow:
Recognize – what’s the need, where’s the hole, what’s missing?
Utilize – what do I possess or have at my disposal that can serve to address the issue and has value?
Create – once you have a clear message, use your knowledge, experience and skills to create your unique brand or product and make it happen
Here’s an example: A friend of mine was unceremoniously blown out from her morning show gig after literally twenty-plus years of being a ratings and revenue winner. She made the decision to pivot. She knew she wanted to continue to serve the public, wanted to make her own schedule and she wanted to utilize her desire to be part of the medical community.
Research showed her she had options. She could go to nursing school but that involved a serious commitment of time and frankly, she had neither money or patience to take on nursing school; she could take on some clerical front of office job but that was more of a nine-to-five job that really didn’t satisfy the desire to be a “medical professional.” She recognized there was a legitimate need for medical professionals that didn’t require the depth of education of being a nurse ie: pharmacy or x-ray tech. She utilized her network of medical professionals and a local program to get her certification and then; created a phlebotomist. Since 2023, she has been blissfully happy being her own boss, working when she wants, serving the public as a medical professional.
Carry on:
You know what you’ve got to do, so go do it…you got this.
Final Thoughts:
- The only person you an depend on right now is you. You are the one in control of your future.
- People really do care and really want to help but they have their own issues to deal with and they’ll do what they can when they can
- Taking a side-gig is not a step backwards, it keeps your mind engaged and your skills sharp.
- Learn to tune out the noise
- Patience is a virtue…and sometimes an impossibility
- Outrageous success is the best revenge.
Be Brilliant!
Call me if you need me. First one’s on me.
Skip – 615-307-0607/skipshow@gmail.com
