By Walter Sabo
Consultant, Sabo Media
A.K.A. Walter Sterling
Radio Host, Sterling on Sunday
A shocking number of highly qualified broadcasters have lost their jobs. The venture capitalists that financed the big radio companies are the people who should be fired, but that’s the next column. Let’s get you a job.
When you lose a job there are three actions that will help you land the next job.
— For the first few days, say nothing. Don’t post on social media, don’t answer the phone. You will say something very wrong.
— Every word from you should be that the company that fired you is a great company and you were proud to be there.
— File for unemployment. It’s your money.
Get the Job
— Resumes are a waste of time. I’ve never written one. Focus on the exact job you want, identify the decision maker (which is never in HR) and study. Learn everything you can about the target company and their problems. Write a solution plan. Identify exactly how you can be of service to your potential employer.
— Go to the gym. Just go. A lifetime of pizza delivery doesn’t look great! Get busy. The busier you are the faster you’ll get the job you want. Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Dollar Tree will hire you today. Get into the stream of work life, it will change your energy.
— In your solution plan, write out how you will help your new employer. The more knowledge you show of your “new” job and company, the more flattered and impressed the decision-maker will be. No one will hire you because you need a job, they will hire you because you will solve a problem. Your plan and solutions will probably be very wrong. It doesn’t matter. You have demonstrated a sincere, studied interest in the company and have made a remarkable effort. Then they have to deal with you. A plan in a three-ring binder cannot be filed. Your plan will sit on the top of a credenza and every time an exec walks into that office, there you are at eye level!
— When you get the interview, show up 20 minutes before the meeting (not an hour). Check out in advance how the employees of the company dress and dress like that. This is no time for self-expression. After the interview, send thank you notes to everyone you met on real paper with a real postal stamp, no emails.
— The goal is to start doing the job weeks or months before you are actually hired. Bring a sales order. Write a positive critique from a listening monitor. Show up at a remote and help.
— TIP. Your odds of landing a job are much greater if you aim for one in the city where you now live.
— Go to the gym.
Walter Sabo was the youngest Executive Vice President in the history of NBC. The youngest VP in the history of ABC. He was a consultant to RKO General longer than Bill Drake. Walter was the in house consultant to Sirius for eight years. He has never written a resume. Contact him at walter@sabomedia.com. or mobile 646-678-1110. Hear Walter Sterling at www.waltersterlingshow.com. Meet Walter Sabo at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2.