Last week, I shared the first five prompts media pros can use with AI after a layoff. Since then, I have heard from people who said it helped, whether they were officially wished well in their “future endeavors” or were already smart enough to start looking for future endeavors on their own.
Last week was about getting your story right, and in some cases, helping you write it right.
Here are prompts 6 through 10 in my radio RIFs series: Real Internet Fixes.
6. Do Not Use Your Old Job Title
One of the biggest traps after leaving media is searching only for the title you used to have.
I used to have hair. I used to look like I was in a boy band. But this is not about the former way you describe yourself. It is about what your experience qualifies you for now.
We say, “I programmed a station.”
A hiring manager outside radio may hear, “So you made playlists?”
What you actually did was manage a brand, grow audience, coach talent, analyze data, generate revenue, produce events, and make decisions with incomplete information.
Not bad for someone who once had frosted tips and hoop earrings.
Prompt: Hidden Job Title Finder
Act as a career strategist for a media professional. Based on my resume, identify 25 job titles I should search for that may not use my old media title. Include keywords, industries, transferable skills, and language to translate for non-media hiring managers.
A company may not be looking for a “radio person.” But it may need someone who knows how to earn attention, build an audience, and still believes they could murder “Bye Bye Bye” at the Christmas party.
7. Build A Target List Before You Apply Everywhere
When you are looking for work, panic can make every posting look like a possibility, especially around the 1st and 15th of every month.
Before you apply everywhere, build a target list: media companies, podcast companies, sports teams, entertainment brands, creator platforms, agencies, streaming companies, universities, and tech companies that need people who understand audience, community, storytelling, and all five members of O-Town.
Prompt: Target Company Builder
Act as a job search strategist. Create a target list of companies and categories for someone with my media background. Include why each fits, job titles to search, keywords to use, proof from my career to show, and who inside the company I should try to reach.
Pick 20 companies. Follow their leaders. Invite them to connect. You may only be 98 degrees from Kevin Bacon.
The worst time to build a relationship is after the job is posted and 50 million people have applied. I just picked that number out of thin air.
8. Write Outreach That Does Not Sound Like Everyone Else
Most networking messages are awful. They are too vague, too long, too needy, too formal, and written like the lyrics of a 2gether song.
“Hope this message finds you well.” It found them annoyed.
Prompt: Human Networking Message
Act as a thoughtful career coach. Rewrite this message so it sounds human, specific, and confident. I want to reach out to [PERSON] because [REASON]. My background is [SUMMARY]. I am looking for [TARGET ROLES]. My ask is [SPECIFIC HELP]. Give me a warm version, a professional version, and a short LinkedIn DM.
Follow-up matters too. If someone gives you advice, thank them. If they make an introduction, update them. If they send a job, tell them what happened.
9. Prep For Interviews Like You Already Work There
Media people are usually good talkers, but being good at words and stuff is not the same as being prepared.
An interview is different because the person across from you is not just listening to your experience. They are evaluating the risk of bringing you into their company.
Can this person do the job? Will they fit here? Are they stuck in their old industry? Can they manage change? Do they understand business?
Prompt: Interview Prep Room
Act as the hiring manager for this job. I am pasting the job description and my resume. Give me the 10 most likely questions, the concern behind each, the best story from my background to use, a conversational answer, three smart questions to ask, and one thing to avoid saying.
Then practice out loud. Show them you are not the new kid on the block. Go through the interview question by question, step by step.
10. Build A Weekly Job Search System
A job search can become a full-time job with no boss, no structure, no feedback, and no idea how you are doing.
One day you feel productive because you applied to 18 jobs. The next day you cannot remember which resume you sent, who you followed up with, or who you already told the story of your life to.
Prompt: Job Search Operating System
Act as my job search project manager. Create a weekly job search system with a spreadsheet format, Monday through Friday plan, weekly checklist, follow-up schedule, opportunity scoring system, and a short Friday review prompt so I can learn what worked.
AI will not get you hired by itself. But it can help you move faster, search wider, follow up smarter, prepare better, and stay organized while you process what happened.
Your previous company may have used innovation to decide your role was no longer part of its future.
But you can use that same innovation to find yours.
So the next time you are sitting in the interview chair, you can confidently say, “It’s gonna be me.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Phil Becker is a weekly music columnist for Barrett Media who has built his career at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and operations leading brands, marketing, and content teams across more than 200 radio stations worldwide.
Known for being ahead of the curve, he was the first to integrate social influencers into broadcast brands, launch station apps years before his peers, and pioneer AI air personalities before anyone else in the world.
With leadership roles at Clear Channel, Citadel, Cox Media Group, Alpha Media, and international ventures—as well as owning and operating stations—Phil blends entrepreneurial vision with operational discipline in the messaging and marketing space. He also hosts the Phil-Osophy podcast.