Why Radio Stations Can’t Hire You & What You Should Do

The truth is that it’s not that radio stations don’t want to hire you; it’s that they cannot afford to hire you. Radio has never been a low-budget business. When the COVID–19 pandemic happened, less advertising budgets were allocated to radio and more allocated to digital advertising. It is amazing to see that most of the major podcasts in the 254 have advertising.

With less advertising on the radio, radio stations are being forced to downsize and even let go of staff. But the end of a radio career is not the end of the world, especially for radio presenters that have built their brand there is the option of podcasting. Podcasting has shown that if you are willing to stick with it like the likes of Joe Rogan and Joe Budden, it can be a lucrative career. Even here at home, Veteran radio presenters have transitioned to podcasting and will likely never need to be employed by a radio station again. We live in the world of LIVE, Gen Z, and LLC, and I do me, where nobody wants to go to work and everybody wants to be their own boss. It’s interesting, but it works. Millions of Kenyans are working online and making money; they just don’t tell KRA and why should they when KRA can’t tell us how our money is being spent.

Kids growing up today want to be streamers when they grow up. That’s the reality of the world we live in. Don’t be surprised if your neighbor is a vlogger or a TikToker. If you are Kenyan and above the age of 18 and reading this, your priority is having an identity card, registering to vote, and doing what needs to be done in 2027. But for real, the gist of this is don’t wait for someone to come build you and make you a star. If you are a star, you are a star, and you don’t need anybody to make you one. Start building and let those who will catch on whenever they will. You just have to remember the secret to success is not giving up, so if you give up, you will never know what living your dream looks like.

Don’t wait to be taken out of the hood; take yourself out of the hood. Don’t be saddened that radio stations won’t hire you. If it wasn’t meant to be your destiny, then it won’t, but if radio is your dream, then don’t give up. But be prepared because it might take several years and a lot of rejection before you get to your dream. Learn to read the room and know when to exit. If something is completely not working, then there might be a need to look internally and ask yourself why something isn’t working. Maybe radio isn’t for you, and that’s okay. You might find that you are better at something else. Maybe you are a better podcaster, and you become number one at that. Maybe it’s deejaying or production. Who knows? Make sure you at least try and get rejected before you reject yourself and say you aren’t good enough. If you apply and they don’t hire you, try to hire yourself and If you find that you are a bad employee, fire yourself and find a new path.

Maybe we never get to hear Corine on the radio again, but imagine a weekly Corine podcast.

HBR f*cked up when they let G go, but with Good Company, G never needs to do radio.

Mwafreeka does both IKO NINI and Baze Radio.

You can do radio as your day job like Kwambox and Kerry, while also MCing and Podcasting.

Azzezah does Radio and TV + more.

At the end of the day, figure out what your brand is and grow it.

The world is your oyster. Your world should not end because a radio station won’t hire you; figure out a different path. Rejection is sometimes redirection.