Unemployment is brutal. Between bouts of frustration and self-doubt, you have to check in with the state, and fulfill their tedious requirements for applying to jobs. I have a spreadsheet with over 100 jobs I applied to, mostly via postings on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, and Indeed. Ask any job hunting expert, and they’ll tell you that your odds of landing a job from “blindly applying” are around 1 or 2 percent. Through rejections and non-responses, I slogged away.
My job hunt was made more difficult by the fact that I was undergoing a career change. Well, maybe it was more of a career pivot. I’d been a professional radio DJ since 2004, including 3 years running a station as a Program Director in New Orleans from 2013-2016. I was looking to break into marketing, social media, or analytics, all areas I had experience in via radio. But how would I convince would-be employers that I was more than just a monkey who talked over The Chainsmokers? My resume went through several consultants and countless iterations.
The first rule of unemployment is stay busy. Fortunately, I was hosting bar trivia two nights every week, so that got me out of the house. I also was working on a couple of podcasts, one sporadically and one weekly. During the day, I got outside and walked our dog twice a day (having another living breathing thing with me in the house was key), and tackled some household projects as well as daily laundry, dishes, etc. I even went out and bought a retro Super Nintendo, which occupied me for a nearly two-week stretch when I really was battling the doldrums of joblessness.
Another important piece of “not working” is to keep learning. Here in Michigan, to get unemployment benefits, you have to register with the nonprofit program Michigan Works. I used the Troy office, and was very impressed by their free resources. I took classes on career changes, job interviews, leveraging your LinkedIn profile, and more. I was also assigned a case worker, who showed me that there is grant money available that can be used for continuing education for career changers.
Other great resources include LinkedIn Learning (formerly Linda.com), available with a premium LinkedIn subscription. I also did Hubspot Academy’s “Inbound Marketing Certification,” an incredibly important course in today’s world where cold calling is becoming obsolete.
I lived on LinkedIn from my dismissal in early August until my new job in late November. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the premium subscription. It allows you to find and message job posters when you see an opening. It also offers advanced insights into who’s checking you out. Unlike Facebook, I accept almost every request on this platform – you never know who your connections can introduce you too.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I also carefully used Facebook to post “FUNemployment” updates. On the surface, these were meant to be self-deprecating and good for a quick laugh. My ulterior motive, however, was to remind everyone in my network weekly that I was still looking for work. This is a tactic I highly recommend, as I had many people reach out to me. This includes high school classmates from 20 (!) years ago, coworkers from 15 years ago, and industry friends that I haven’t ever met in person. While it’s important to walk a fine line and not appear to be whining or complaining, I found most people are good people and willing to help.
As it would turn out, I landed my new job by some old-school networking. My first of three budget-related radio layoffs came at ClearChannel Burlington, Vermont, in 2006. I then applied for something I was woefully unqualified for – a research consultant at Coleman Insights, a company in Raleigh, North Carolina. I interviewed with Warren Kurtzman, and despite not getting the job, I kept in touch via Facebook. We had similar backgrounds, both having gone to school in upstate New York. We also shared a love of hockey. I can’t overstate this – try to find one thing you have in common with everyone you network with. It gives you something to discuss that isn’t career related.
In July, I knew my job was in jeopardy, and I called Warren to pick his brain on my career change. He was nice enough to connect me to Seth Resler, a longtime radio guy turned consultant here in Detroit. Seth and I grabbed dinner and beers, and he gave me some great advice, eventually suggesting I speak to his boss, Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media. Fred is a legend in the radio business. He invented the classic rock format, and he’s widely known as one of the sharpest – and nicest – guys around. I had actually picked his brain when I was working in New Orleans, but I doubted someone of his stature would remember me. He did.
Fred’s a busy guy, and it took some time to find an opening in his schedule. This is another important lesson. There are some potential contacts who will “blow you off,” and others who want to help but are legitimately busy. In fact, many people compare networking to dating. Walk away from someone who’s not interested, but if a busy person wants to help, keep at it. Fred eventually suggested coffee at Starbucks at 7am. You better believe I was up, showered, and sitting there with a notebook at 6:55am.
Fred could not have been nicer and more gracious over coffee. We figured out the mutual connections we had (radio is a very small business), and he suggested I reach out to Rabbi Jason Miller. For Fred Jacobs to tell me that Jason is one of the most well-connected guys in Detroit, that carried quite a bit of weight. It should be the goal of every networking lunch/coffee/dinner/beer to have your guest connect you to at least one person they know.
I eventually grabbed lunch with Rabbi Jason. Jason is involved with a great many organizations in Detroit, and is naturally good friends with the rabbi that married my wife and I last summer. Jason also runs an IT/website/social media company, Access Technology. He needed some help with social media, blog posts, and potentially starting a podcast. Long story short, I started with some contract work and it turned into a full time position. I’m super excited to work on more and more projects and build on my skill set.
In summary, the key to a job hunt is to leave no stone unturned. Take classes, online or otherwise. Apply to jobs on every job board possible. Use your network, and build it to include people at target companies. You’ll be surprised to find out that more people want to help than don’t. Use every contact to get at least one more contact. Remind people (without whining or overwhelming them) that you’re still on the hunt. And most importantly, don’t burn bridges. You never know who might be able to help.