“I’m Back, Baby. I’m Back!”

Hat tip to Seinfeld character George Costanza for the title of today’s entry. Let me explain why the line is fitting. Oh, when he used the line, it sounded (and looked) like this…

The Summary
I’m back in radio with a part-time on-air gig at Clear Channel’s WMZQ in Washington, DC. This is, hands down, the one station I wanted to work at when I considered moving to the area in 2012. So, count this opportunity as a “win”.

The Mission
A sharp contrast to my last few years of work, my main responsibility now is to simply be available for weekend and fill-in work. No music scheduling, no staff to oversee, no writing and production of station imaging, and no promotions to work out with sales.

As much as I love all those, I can now focus solely on putting together a show. In 2014, that includes 3 main tasks: devise and execute well-thought “talk breaks” on-air, find interesting online content for my work blog, and compose clever blurbs on social media resulting in listener engagement with our many platforms.

A Renewal
Even when transitioning between stations and markets, there was never a time of unemployment in 13 years. So, the more than 18 months of downtime provided me with a great (and very different) perspective on life. I never took my career for granted, but it means so much more each time I now walk into the studio. I feel more creative freedom, an overall sense of calm, and love the increased listener interaction that comes with migrating to a large market. Even though the work is sometimes sporadic, the happiness void in my life is finally, at least partly, filled.

What’s Ahead
Like I said, this is just a part-time gig. I still seek full-time work with a strong emphasis on web content creation and curation. My experience is highly transferable to the worlds of PR and marketing, but it’s very difficult to get attention from those in those fields (yes, I’ve tried phone, in person, email, regular mail, and social networking with pros in several states). Who knows, maybe a full-time radio opportunity will arise. If it feels right, I’ll be all over it. In the interim, I will return to more frequent posts here.

The Takeaway
It’s great to be able to return to an industry I’m passionate about and know that I did it on my own. I hope I can use my experience to help others who are struggling with the career search and advancement. At some point, most of us will have to endure short-term pain to gain traction for long-term success. I can’t wait until I can complete this process and use my experience to inspire others.