Journalist and author William J. Holstein provides colleagues with the top 10 ways of coping in today’s media world.
1. What happened was a good thing. No one wants to hear about how the evil green eyeshade boys did you dirty. Get over it.
2.You are not unemployed or freelancing. Those words are death. You are exploring exciting business opportunities. You have a burst of ideas. Doors are opening on all sides now that you’re no longer trapped in an office. You are independent. You are winning. That’s what the world wants to hear.
3.Thou shalt market thyself. You are now an intellectual entrepreneur. What do you really know best or do best? What is your point of differentiation? Figure it out and tell the world.
4. The Network is Thy God. Your connections, associations, friendships and relationships in general are how you will learn about opportunities and how the world will beat a path to your door. Maintain a full schedule of activities at non-profits and professional organizations, and have frequent lunches and dinners with old friends and contacts in the business world. The worst mistake that laid-off journalists make is to retreat and isolate themselves.
5. This is forever. In today’s environment, there are no other jobs that are remotely comparable. So adjust accodingly. Create a company, get business cards and stationery, and build a website. Yes, all that costs money, but the alternative is to disappear from the face of the earth.
6. Thou shalt have a portfolio. There is only one way and that way is to create a portfolio of activities that mutually reinforce each other and may actually make money.
7. The purity of your past career is just that–past. It’s possible to write books, teach a little, do some freelance journalism, write speeches, consult in the public relations field and get paid for public speaking engagements, all at roughly the same time. The burden of maintaining your ethics is now up to you. You should maintain a personal Chinese wall between activities that may represent the appearance of a conflict. But purists who insist on trying to make a living on journalism alone starve to death. They do not inherit the earth.
8. Thou shalt not send resumes, certainly not in making a first contact. This is so very 20th century, a sign of certain desperation.
9. Keep learning. You may have worked for decades in the media, and may have been at the peak of your career, but a much broader skill set is needed to make it on your own. Learn about managing client relationships, marketing, social media, personal and corporate taxes, and all the other aspects of life as an independent.
10. Learn to manage the three volatilities—time, money and emotion. Bank accounts rise and fall. Time pressures fluctuate wildly between periods of no work activity and intense deadlines. And your personal emotions, including relationships with loved ones, could be affected. Learn to recognize those volatilities—and manage them.