Unemployed workers make TV ads pitching themselves for work

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) — Jayna Dinsmore dressed in a sharp pink blouse and black slacks and made the pitch she hoped would end her five months of unemployment: Experienced marketing manager and analyst. Diverse background. Trade show experience.

Only she wasn’t talking to an interviewer. She was talking to a TV camera.

After sending r sum s, attending networking events and blogging about her search for employment, Dinsmore joined a small but growing number of unemployed people who have made television commercials about themselves to try to get directly into prospective employers’ living rooms.

“I figure any exposure I can get is a great thing,” said Dinsmore, a 33-year-old married mother with a newly minted master’s degree in marketing from Bentley University.

“The New England Job Show,” a new public cable access production, allows hungry job seekers to record 30-second commercials in a studio at a middle school in Chelmsford, near the New Hampshire state line. Volunteers — all also unemployed — then put the commercials into a half-hour episode that includes discussions on dressing professionally, personal finances and health-care options.

About a dozen job seekers have taped commercials. The job show airs on at least five area public access stations.

Creator and executive producer Ken Masson said the show’s uniqueness will catch eyes. The commercials are different from personalized online videos that have exploded on YouTube because employers don’t have to actually search for these.