We were lucky to catch up with Linda Hamburger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Linda, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?
Very few people can shrug away the pain of being laid off or fired. Turn-over in the creative endeavors of a publicist, writer or artistic talent can be frequent, more so than other professions. Creative talent is highly sensitive to perceived rejection, and I am no exception.
Perspective is crucial. There are a bazillion number of reasons for life and job changes.
To that point, I didn’t overcome the hurt I experienced from personal trauma. My negative experiences did not make me a better person. I already was a darn good person!
Often these clunker positions are not isolated experiences. Other fantastic people may have come and gone before you (and after) with the same job, employer, tasks and met with – you guessed it – the same fate and ensuing angst.
Instead of just moving on, I established and promoted networking groups to deal with the “what’s wrong with me? What could I have done better? What did I do wrong?” syndrome.
These channels of support, in turn, helped hundreds of others. The ventures include: On Call Resumes; On Call PR (public relations); The South Florida Public Relations Network (SFPRN); and, Florida Riggers and Stagehands, primarily a Facebook-based group.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions, we had for you?
I must tell you that my parents wanted a doctor, lawyer or a “married well,” daughter. It was difficult to take a path different than what they desired. Also, public relations was barely considered a legitimate career choice in the days before computers, software skills, and degrees that now award this profession credentials.
To find my niche, I interned for media jobs including TV, journalism, government and nonprofits. I gravitated to public relations, fought to break in, and my first professional position was with the Greater Delay Beach Chamber of Commerce, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and Downtown Development Agency. It was the first year of the CRA which then led me to a position that provided salary and tuition with a brand new FAU graduate program in Urban and Regional Planning. I was in the first class of students.
I won’t varnish history. In those days “women’s lib” was a relatively young movement. Sexual harassment did occur with frequency. Perhaps these barriers still exist?
As an intermittent adjunct professor of marketing and related coursework, I dish in a bit of history in the classes that I teach. To this day, it stings when a student says that I can’t relate to their modern-day barriers. After all, I want to be liked, popular, and understood just the same as our current generation of rising professionals and students.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that are important to develop include a competitive nature, creativity, and great office skills.
Ultimately, everyone learns that it is not revenge or an aggressive nature that makes a career, but the impetus to stay competitive, no matter the reason. A life is well spent learning new skills and staying ahead of trends.
Creative. Anyone can write a press release. But can you make it compelling? Interesting? Timely? Get attention by busting out of the box of conformity. Take brave chances to be noticed, but not annoying.
Typing, filing and how to answer a phone. Two master’s degrees, a few awards, and I just couldn’t land a high paying glamorous job when I graduated. So, I landed one as a secretary that didn’t pay well but was fun and challenging. I worked hard, enjoyed my position, and over time doors opened for career growth.
My advice: If you need a job, take the job. Maybe it’s not your career at those down times. But it is the most important time to keep busy, meet people, get out of the house and earn some money, even if it is minimum wage. Keep in mind, it’s temporary! Learn how to be a cashier, uber, or tutor. Keeping busy is far better than staying home and perhaps wallowing in sorrow or anger.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth Paperback – February 4, 2003
(Book, available on Amazon). Excerpt: “…this book continues to help us explore the very nature of loving relationships and leads us toward a new serenity and fullness of life. It helps us learn how to distinguish dependency from love; how to become a more sensitive parent; and ultimately how to become one’s own true self.
In the famous opening line of this book, “Life is difficult,” we can acknowledge that the journey to spiritual growth is a long one. The author never bullies his readers, but rather guides them gently through the hard and often painful process of change toward a higher level of self-understanding…”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.oncallresumes.biz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindahamburger
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindahamburger
- Other: www.oncallpr.com www.sfprn.com
Image Credits:
The first photo is at an event, Celebration of the Arts at Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL in 2022 Celebration of the Arts is an annual variety-style performance featuring musical theater, dance and contemporary music, complete with Broadway-style singing and dancing. Celebration showcases the talents of Lynn University students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as a special performance by Lynn’s Conservatory of Music. The second is at an event at Fort Lauderdale Escapology on A1A — https://www.escapology.com/en/fort-lauderdale-fl I will send 3 additional this week with a focus on: The Haitian Chamber of Commerce is extremely arts and culture oriented and I want to send a couple pictures to illustrate my work with them as well as a Boca Raton coffee house/performance venue. / https://www.haamcc.com/
