I may change my name to Sue Actually. Why? This is what I've been saying all week on the phones while filling in for Jennifer on our country radio station. (http://www.bigcountry979.com/) This happens any time she takes a day off or vacation. Listeners will call up and say, "Hi Jennifer" not realizing she is gone and then I'll say, "Hi! it's Sue actually." Sometimes they get embarrassed or feel bad that they didn't know it was me, but they shouldn't -I don't! I've been doing this for years.
See, I'm not a full time disc jockey-I'm not all that famous nor do I have my own time slot during the week, so I'm not all that surprised if they don't know who I am. I'm a full timer in a part timer's body-able to fill in for anyone needing a day or week off, no matter the format or time slot. Over my 30 year career I have had lots of full and part time gigs-Classic Rock, Top 40, News/Talk, Country, Adult Contemporary, Traffic and News reporter....
When my kids came along, I decided to go part time and raise them. In the meantime, the radio business was changing-lots of consolidating of stations where there were less jobs and more technology so everyone had to adapt. With 5 stations in a building, someone was always sick, needing a day off or on vacation! So in addition to a couple of weekend shifts, I was nearly full time just filling in. This turned out to be the perfect choice for me-lots of variety so I didn't get bored and didn't have to deal with any office politics (everyone was always happy to see me).
In the current economic climate, it turns out that this was an even better career path. Even though I am a part timer, because of my diverse experience, I am able to dodge the lay off bullets because I am one person who can do a lot instead of a few people with less experience. Am I getting rich? Nope. Will I continue learn, evolve and adapt so I can keep myself indispensable? You bet! Do I still have a job? Yes (at least as of this writing!)
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