(By Loyd Ford) You have two kinds of people: the world is ending people and
opportunity is presenting itself people. If you believe the world is ending, you’re not ready to help yourself up and out of unemployment or a bad employer. If you’re looking for opportunity, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve all gone through a tough year. 2021 is rapidly approaching and will largely be shaped by two things, the vaccines and recovery from Covid-19, and people rolling up their sleeves and applying strategy and strong execution to strengthen their resolve, their opportunities and their path back to revenue growth.
If you are looking for work in this environment:
- Make a lot of phone calls and visits when appropriate to potential employers, consultants and key holders in our industry.
- Create your job search so it can function as a service for others; in other words, look for ways you can be helpful to everyone you touch along the way.
- Make certain your resume and job search materials (including digital) are up-to-date with today’s standards.
- Seek out a mentor or two to help you present the best you to employers.
While we all know the industry is under significant pressure and jobs are more difficult to come by, don’t focus on that. Focus on your special gifts and skills and the available opportunities that match those gifts and skills. - Use your non-working and non-job searching time to build in additional skills and value so you are more attractive to employers.
- Find ways to communicate rapidly with employers that your skills generate additional revenue and are supportive and encouraging to the business process of sales and revenue productivity.
- Specifically work on your networking to encourage others to connect you to movers and shakers you may not know or even jobs that you may not be aware of today.
- Don’t take it personal when you don’t get prompt call backs or someone seems promising and disappears for days on end; it’s a busy world and you don’t really know what is happening behind the scenes.
- Stay positive; there is NO ONE like you in the world. Own it and keep your energy up until you uncover the place for you and your special talents.
What about when a job offer comes?
- Know what employers know: Research the numbers on pay, location, the company you are going to work for and how they treat employees; it’s not just about getting a job offer.
- Let them tell you what they believe the job is worth. Don’t tell them. This will tell you a lot about them.
- There is no harm in asking. Ask about negotiation of salary and other benefits.
- Once you have negotiated salary, think about things beyond salary that could be negotiated. There are a variety of other possibilities, including moving expenses, temporary housing and other things that can make moving less painful and also make you a more productive employee in the first 90 days of work.
- Other things can be negotiated like bonuses (people and companies value what they reward), vacation time, flexible work schedules and more.
- Find out what kind of 401k or other retirement planning the company provides.
- Set the tone by negotiating for educational values, including cross-training in other areas of the cluster or company. This let’s an employer know right up front that you are self-motivated and energized about helping beyond only your job description.
- A severance package should be negotiated up front as well; you can trust a company to do the right thing in the end, but you are more than likely to be disappointed if you don’t plan for the worst and hope for the best here. It takes on average 1 month for every $10,000 in income you want to make in your re-employment. The more specialized you are in your field, the longer it may take.
- Get every single thing in writing. In this country, words don’t count unless they are written. Take care of you and your family on the front end of a job and you will be happier along the way and if things don’t go well.
We are about to end 2020 and kick off 2021. Turn the page and find your positive values and what you love about this business to stay in it and hopefully thrive. It’s changing and it’s still fun. Sharpen your digital tool kit, your ability to shift and change as priorities will. If you are working, seek other opportunities inside your company and in your market to strengthen your value and revenue producing abilities. Consider that every interaction you have is an opportunity to make someone else’s life easier. This will make hard decisions come down in your favor should that be necessary. If you’re not working and looking for a job, go back up to the first section of this article and try to live those 10 things to propel you into new employment that is the right fit for you.
Remember: The only thing worse than being unemployed is being in a company or job that doesn’t fit. There is still a positive future for you if you build it.
Loyd Ford consults radio stations, coaches personalities, and provides behavioral and strategic programming to radio that propel ratings (and revenue) with RPC. Reach him anytime. 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
