Calling when ad says "no calls please"

great, glad you liked the descriptive word you earned even though i can't take credit for it.

 

hey look, it's not that difficult to understand. i come to this board of my own free will and if you want to rip me a new one 100 times that's great. it's your prerogative. but when i look for someone to hire, i look for someone who can follow directions, such as 'deadline for your story is 10:30' or 'sniff out a piece on subject X.' the same people who call when you post 'no phone calls' are the same people who turn their shit in at 10:45 and come back with a piece on subject Y.

i don't know if you're on salary, but once you hit 40, everything is free for the company and takes away from the family. i think 55 -- see 15 free hours a week -- is enough. if you want to spend extra time exchanging cookie recipes and addresses so you can send chirstmas cards to somebody you know you're not going to hire, more power to you.

when hiring, i knock it down to the top five applicants and then give them every opportunity to separate themselves from the pack through a few phone conversations and reference checks. i then bring in two or three of those people to interview in person and they have my undivided attention for the better part of a day.

i have time to talk serious, what i don't have time for is idle chit chat when i'm attempting to do my job.

the 'golden opportunity for someone to separate themselves from the other candidates' comes in the packets candidates send and from not sucking at at their job, not by wasting not only my time, but the receptionist's time as well.

 

Do you have a lot of turn over?

I would love to know where you're at. please don't disclose it though...because I think other fucktards (great word) that post here would really give you some shit.

You remind me of two guys I worked for early on. Although I respected one, the other was a leach. Both ran a Hitler-esque organization to the detriment of the section. They had loads of highly creative people, but if you didn't do it their way, they just exploded. The better days were when the EE exploded on the Deputy...boy those were the days. The Deputy Ed was in dire need of a blowjob. Countless times, year in and year out they received all kinds of APSE awards. I always thought that was more political than anything and due to the fact that the people on the REM were extremely talented.

I'm not sure the exact psychological term, but they wanted their people to think and believe that they needed the editors more than the editors needed them. And that's crap.

But anyhow, keeping things in perspective here. Your posting seems to me a bit more of a time management issue than anything. Getting 12 phone calls a day from perspective candidates is nothing in the big picture. In fact, if answering the phone is such a big issue, perhaps you should hire someone quickly to help alleviate your stress. As a (former) reporter, the only good rules are the ones you break. I'll let you get in the last word.

 

tom petty

let me just add:

you're every employee's worst nightmare. have a pleasnt day/life.

 

He might be every slacker employee's worst nightmare, but what he's listing are what most of us consider the normal requirements for doing the job.

 

no, the requirements aren't the issue. the appearance that t.p. is a prick is the issue. with almost 30 years in the biz, i'm just glad our paths haven't crossed. 8) 8) 8)

 

shockey, I'm afraid you're really off the board on this one.

What he is stipulating is more than fair. A simple statement. Want to accept it, be considered. Don't want to accept it, didn't want the job that badly.

Maybe there are some of us who are thought of as too rigid. And maybe that comes from years of dealing with employees who can not follow directions.

 

too rigid? got that right. it's not that hard -- or time-consuming -- to be a mensch. but that's okay. we all decide for ourselves the kind of person we'd like to be. that's all i'm saying. 8) 8) 8)

 

This is one of the dumber threads on this board -- a job says "No calls" - don't call. You're not showing initiative, you're just showing that you're a dumbass who can't follow a simple direction. And just because a boss puts "no calls" doesn't mean he's/she's a total prick. There can be legit reasons for not wanting calls....like you had a bad experience with some dumbass calling about a job.

 

Tough shit. Part of being an editor is dealing with job applicants. If you can't do the job, don't hold the title.

 

I would agree with Tyler that reasons for putting No Calls may not have bad intentions. It's just a stupid thing to do.

I do not agree with you about this being a "dumber thread." As a matter of fact, it drills down into the very heart of what is wrong with this business. Ed's and Reporters can hide behind first amendment rights when it comes to bending and twisting rules to satisfy their needs in getting the story. But not having the foresight to see the stupidity in a No Calls rationalization means you really don't understand the creativity and aggressiveness in finding the best candidate for the position.

 

sorry. i didn't mean prick.

i meant chickenshit, no people-skills prick.

better? 8) 8) 8)