File for Unemployment
It's natural to be embarrassed about walking into an unemployment office to file for benefits. But you can get money to help pay your bills, which helps relieve some of the stress of being laid off.First, check to see if you're eligible to receive benefits. Next, you'll need to know the type of information you'll likely have to provide, which can vary from state to state.
Don't forget to consider COBRA insurance so that you'll have health coverage while you're out of work. While you'll have to pay more for health insurance, it is helpful to know that if you are sick or injured, you won't be stuck with huge medical bills.
Fine Tune Your Resume
Blow the cobwebs off your printed resume and see how you can best highlight your skills now that you're back on the job market. Chances are, you didn't have time to refresh your resume while you were working. Now you can examine every detail.Make sure your resume sells your strongest points that will set you apart from the dozens of other job seekers applying for the same job. Your cover letter needs to say more than "please hire me, I need a job." Rather than asking for sympathy, write a cover letter that will make your potential boss feel as though she already knows you and your abilities.
For people in broadcast news, the job market is extremely competitive. Tailor your broadcast news resume so that it targets the job requirements precisely. That includes building a job-winning resume tape or DVD.
Make a Website
Creating a website to market yourself as a journalist or other type of media worker is an easy way to showcase your skills to potential employers. You give up the ability to customize a resume packet that you might send in the mail, but you avoid the cost of mailing out dozens of resumes.It's easier than ever to embed videos of your work onto your website using YouTube. But avoid the temptation of posting dozens of videos just because you can. This website needs to be focused on getting you hired, not becoming a hodgepodge of content for your family to enjoy.
Get Out, Don't Hide
This can be a tough time emotionally. The tendancy might be to shy away from seeing friends, especially former co-workers, because you feel as though you've somehow failed at your job.Your true friends are concerned about you. Don't shut them out of your life. Former co-workers may want to check on you but are uneasy about how you might react, especially if they want to talk about what's happening at work.
Make the first move and keep your circle of friends by reaching out to them. That will keep some normalcy in your routine if you are still going out to the movies together or catching a ball game. It's not healthy to become a shut-in and worry about finding work every waking moment of the day.
Create a Network of Contacts
Your friends and former co-workers are just a small part of the network of contacts you need to build to help you find a new media job quickly.Hopefully, you have a range of contacts from previous jobs that you've kept in touch with over the years. Otherwise, you'll look awkward if you suddenly call people after 15 years and make it obvious that you want their help finding work.
Make contacts outside media. You may be surprised that people in banking, retail and education may have advice and their own contacts to get you the media interview you need to get the job.
Volunteer in the Community
Volunteering to help others while you're looking for work can help you in two ways. First, it can give you something worthwhile to do while you're waiting for your telephone to ring.Also, it can help you build your network of contacts. It's a good way to meet people outside media and some of them may have powerful positions which puts them in touch with people who could hire you.
But volunteering isn't all about yourself. Helping others is important. It may be good for you to see that while you were part of media layoffs, the family you're helping doesn't even have a home. It's a reminder that even without a regular paycheck, you're still fortunate to have a career and a roof over your head.
Don't Talk Negatively about Your Former Company
Friends, former colleagues and your new contacts will undoubtedly ask you what happened to cause you to be laid off. It's tempting to bash your former bosses for being idiots in letting you go.Fight that urge with every conversation you have. Your former colleagues can't help but return to work and tell others about what you've been saying, which will get back to those former bosses you're counting on to give you a good reference. Even if your ex-bosses only issue a standard reference letter, you need their help.
For new networking contacts, you don't want their first impression of you to be that you are a bitter person who deserved being laid off. They won't help people they barely know if they think they're risking their own reputation in recommending you.
If someone asks why you lost your job, say you were part of media layoffs at your company, that your contract wasn't renewed or that new managers wanted their own people. Keep the harsh commentary to yourself.
Find Temporary Work
Landing a temporary job can put money in your pocket while you get your media career going again. Some even come with benefits.But it's important to consider the tradeoffs. Your income from your temporary job could have an impact on your unemployment benefits. Also, if you're working 40 hours a week for minumum wage, you may not have the time or energy left to devote to your search for your next media job.
Before taking a temp job, find out if you can take time off on short notice if you have a media job interview. Being forced to quit a temp job to pursue a media job possibility will likely be counter-productive.
Seek an Adjunct Teaching Job
Put your skills to use by investigating adjunct teaching positions. These jobs are tailored to career-minded professionals who can share their real-life work experience in the classroom.Be sure you're willing to make a commitment to a school before accepting a teaching position. You owe it to the students not to leave them in the middle of a semester just because you found a job somewhere else.
Enter Media Awards
Entering to win media awards can be a tedious process that maybe you didn't have time to do when you were working. Now more than ever, media awards can boost your career.Winning an award while you're out of work is an excellent way to add a meaningful achievement to your resume. Better yet, you can make contacts at an awards ceremony where your work will be highlighted for all to see.
You've probably heard it said that looking for a job is a job in itself. Despite the disappointment of media layoffs, use your extra time in creative ways to get your career back on track.
