Not sure whether it's being at the 50 year mark, or listing job history on an application, but I have to say references to time spent in broadcasting will be left off of future applications.

Oh, by the way, contrary to belief, fast food places don't just hire ANYONE. I had even updated the "want fries widdat", to a more sophisticated and educated "Might I suggest a large order of machine cut, uniformly produced, golden brown, flash cooked, potatoes to accompany your selection?" In case I was hired.

Also, why is it that when I was 13 I could do two paper routes on a bicycle but now I need a late model car and proof of insurance. While I do have the insurance, my 1996 Mercury Tracer is considered too old. I was however told that they will add my name to the pool of fill-in carriers.

yes, I am now in the applying for anything and everything mode (except phone soliciting)... unfortunate that these are the only two recent bites...

I find the above situations absolutely hilarious.

Really, all you CAN do is laugh. Have a great weekend everyone..................

My apologies for venting here. but I am trying to avoid biting the dog and snapping at my wife when she gets home.

A lot of it is the 50 year old thing, fast food places like the 'young uns'

....There are some companies that dont discriminate on age (Federal Law prohibits this, but you know how that goes ). Try Wal-Mart. They hire all ages. Also K-Mart, if there is one left where you live. Home Depot is another.

been there done them. I expect with Christmas fast approaching I might get on Wal or K for the holidays......

In an interview I was asked if I was offered a radio job, would I take it? I thought my answer was good. I said that since I wasn't pursuing that, there was no chance of it being an issue.

of course I would, but I have a better chance at winning a million dollars on a game show.

By the way, if you want to get on you need to send a video demo.

A _video_ demo for radio?

Sheesh.

Roger, I am truly sorry about your looking-for-job woes. While I am gainfully employed, I've had PLENTY of rejection letters and I can certainly sympathize.

My favorite is 'thank you for applying, but you're overqualified for the position.' Second is 'thank you for applying, we're looking for a more qualified person,' which I got once for a job that paid within a few cents of minimum wage.

I know folks who've done newspaper routes and have even helped them out on occasion. The reason you have to have a car is the routes are anywhere from 100-200 papers big, and you're expected to leave the depot with all the papers for your route. I'm guessing they want people with newer vehicles due to break-down issues.

IMO, venting is okay. Otherwise, everything builds up and you snap when you least expect it. Losing support of family or friends (or losing friends altogether) is the last thing someone would want to do.

I'm also going to say good luck. Looking for work is probably one of the most demoralizing things everyone has to do at some point. Hang in there.

Some reading on the subject (and yeah, I wrote it myself):

http://www.allaboutcountry.com/cfm/Articles.cfm?articleID=811

An alternative to the employment resume is a skills based one.

I've never listed salary, period. Also have not listed employment history, despite it being good.

Last time I did this, my resume included accomplishments, relevant to the job at hand, some relevant education and targeted cover letter.

Essentially, the current trend is brevity. So, leverage that. What are they gonna say? Send too many pages and it's the round file. Send extra stuff, round file.

So, just the elements they need, nothing else.

***Put their logo on your cover letter too. It gets calls.

All the other crap, salary, references, etc... remains by request. And they gotta have a reason.

Nice way to avoid some tricky elements and score your interview.

Good points all.... Thanks.... What sucks is I AM employed and have been a team manager with Hallmark for 11 years but like everyone else, they are cutting back. My last job with them was May and my next is end of September. It was a great situation since I had the flexibility to work radio and movies around the Hallmark schedule. Worked great as long as I had the other stuff as well. How quickly the boat fills with water when you pull the plug at the bottom.

(video required for game show auditions)

Roger explained:

<<(video required for game show auditions)

Ah! thanks for shedding some light on that.

Newflyer nailed it...I was just having that conversation today with a friend who's been looking for awhile....the 'overqualified' blah blah blah.

We were also griping about our favorite interview (read: most hated) question. Mine is the "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" question.

I never liked that one. Usually I'll have some posh answer ready. All that really needs to happen is you convey some sense of the job being worth your longer term time, and exit that question quick.

you can always sell cars. They'll hire anyone because they simply fire you if you don't perform (sorta like radio, actualy).

I actually enjoyed my time selling cars and was the manager of an independent lot in Federal way years ago. Made the mistake and crossed the street to manage the used car department when Ford took over HOUSTON Ford. It's someone elses now. When you take an independent successful approach into a corporate environment guess which one gives up their ideas? I found out I was doing everthing wrong, they had a ten step outline to sell cars and it was THE ONLY WAY to do it. I increased sales 3 months straight only heard the negative, so I left and went back to selling iron for awhile then back into radio FT.


the car business too has changed.

Yes, I hit all the area independents, but most are now small owner operator places. Still a few larger ones. As for new car dealerships. VERY FEW place much emphasis on honesty and integrity.

I think the worst Sleaze pit I ever encountered was Sound Ford. Yet they are very successful and sell a lot of cars Churn and turn, more sales people than desks, bottom 10 fired on the 15th of the month, If your mother came in to buy a car you would have to turn her to another salesman. If a customer doesn't talk to at least three sales people someone gets chewed. One greets you, one sells you and one closes you or takes one last shot before you leave........ Might be different now.

Thanks for the suggestion and I have pursued it...

If I am at a car dealer and I get shuffled to another salesperson after 15 minutes that is my queue to "Exit Stage Left"! I don't play those stupid games. I usually shop online for what I want, know the options and accessories I want, have sources which I can obtain actual dealer invoices, no trade in, offer a certain price over dealer invoice and they either take it or not. No negotiation. Also having pre-arranged financing through the credit union is a bonus as well.

By the way - that Federal Way Ford dealership is now owned by former Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little (and yes, he actually lives in the area).

Now - for Roger - I think your best bet is to follow Chris Taylor's lead and "cobble together" a job from home. You've read his posts about how he still "works in radio" but does it from home - and with your creativity and skill set, it seems like that would be a good option for you to stay in the "biz".

And yes, it's a lot of work to put everything together to establish your own business but think of it this way: You already know that the chance of landing that "dream job in radio" is slim to none, so why not invest time in building yourself a career rather than spending it posting on message boards?

Floyd Little. That's right. I knew it went to a ex football guy couldn't remember who. He has had it quite awhile....

You are right. I really need to wean myself from this addiction to PDX radio. I have kicked the All Access habit.... clean since end of May except for one setback. I do like the company here though. I need to acquire a bit more equipment as finances allow, but I have been moving that direction.......I am not the slouch that I appear to be and I post while doing other things so it's not like I sit here all day, though you might think so.

O.K. Point made. I'll see if I can't quit this one CT as well.

Roger - my point was don't leave the pdxradio board - instead, spend more of your online time investing in yourself.

As for finances - you have Cool Edit already, and a domain along with web hosting is free (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/default.aspx). So a basic site can be launched without any investment. by the way - kingofextras.com IS available....

As for voicing - get the Samson Q1U (usually around $40 search prices at http://www.google.com/products?q=q1u&oe=utf-8&scoring=p) - it's a pretty darn good mic for the price - and use Cool Edit plugins to process it.

I got one of those as well as Adobe Audition and that mic does indeed work very well. I am a novice with this stuff but that mic makes it easy as it has a built-in pre-amp and via the usb cable connects directly to the bus on the PC for better performance than through the sound card.

I have the TEV tm 625 mic, but the Samson has been recommended on many fronts... I have used it to produce demo spots and shopped them. but not getting any action for V.O. work yet. The 625 is useable, not my first choice but the price was right.

Had a plan all set up with another ex Froggy. He was a production whiz, while I was stronger at writing and producing the final product. Unfortunate he got away from his meds, blew off his wife and kids,ran off to Florida on a whim and is now just about a recluse living in Colorado with his dad......

There's a great country song for you...

so I am plugging along....

Great input... thanks for the help.

I'm late to this discussion, but I wanted to ask Roger if he is targeting stations that target listeners like him. If you are in the demo, your age is likely to work for you, not against you. You may also be targeting markets where your particular style is not a good fit. People communicate differently in different regions. They talk about different things. They have different accents and speech patterns. Most programmers (right or wrong) are going to think that a younger talent is going to be more easily molded into something that fits the market. Do you have an aircheck online?

*bump*

I would like to hear one of Roger's airchecks. After reading about his job search trials, I am very curious to hear what is on his demo. I promise a "no snark" review.

yah i would like to hear rogers aircheck to.