Sports Reporter/Designer, Elizabethtown (Ky.) six-day daily

Sounds like YF is trolling for some help in the espresso biz.

 

Just trying to get someone to open his eyes. Do you disagree with what I wrote?

 

I think you should leave him alone. He's a good dude. If he wants to do something else, he will.

 

Thanks, Ace.

 

KY might be a very good guy. Maybe the best guy in all of Kentucky. But, that's neither here nor there.

My take on his situation was (edit) NOT meant to upset him, embarrass him, or demoralize him. It was meant to be the kind of "tough love" advice his friends may be too afraid to give, and he's too reluctant to hear.

Nobody wants to crush a dream. I get that. And, I get that KY really wants to be a sport writer.

But, I'm sorry, he's being naïve if he thinks his boss is a "great guy" who is looking out for KY's interest. He's not. He's using KY, and he's lying to his face. That's cruel. His boss is not a good guy.

And, I get that KY thinks this job is worth it, if it will lead to bigger things. maybe it is.

But, what if it doesn't. What if this is where he tops out in the business? (and, the indications we have, are that this may very well be true.) Is the job worth it then?

Is it worth it to put in two, or three, or five more years in a dead end job?

And, then where do you go?

The earlier you get out the better. The earlier you start making your Plan B, the better.

 

Oh Jeez!

Was NOT meant to upset him. Sorry. I'm an idiot.

 

Maybe that works in the coffee industry, but since you have no experience in the journalism industry, you have no idea what works or doesn't work.

 

You seem to be fond of KY, as you've jumped in twice know to defend his honor, and get a dig in at my expense at the same time.

A. your digs at me don't bother me.

2. Why would the experience KY has described be different in one industry as opposed to another?

A boss that doesn't support you is a boss that doesn't support you -- coffee industry, airline industry, or newspaper industry.

A boss that tells you he couldn't get you an interview for the job is lying to you.

Regardless of the industry, if you go and interview for a job, they're going to want to know about your experience at your current shop. If you haven't been able to move up in your current job, potential employer are going to factor that in. It's going to be a concern. It just is. He should be aware of this.

To try and act like what I'm saying doesn't apply, because newspapers are somehow "different" is absurd, and it's not going to do KY any good.

 

Here's the deal, YF.

In this job, if you are a sports writer at your current paper, you may NEVER move up. If you don't want to be an editor, what would you move up to?

If you are a part-time writer or a clerk and you want to be a sports writer and no job opens for 15 years, there is simply no place to go.

That's not a reflection on your ability at that shop.

If your boss tells you he can't get you an interview, it doesn't mean he's lying. Granted, it may mean that his boss who is really calling the shots has formed his own opinion on the matter.

 

Have you followed the thread?

KY is part-time. A full time job has come up twice while he's been there and he didn't even get an interview.

If he didn't even get an interview the first two times there was an opening, he's never going to get the job. They don't have confidence in his ability to succeed in it.

 

I was responding to your last post as business maxim.

But in KY's example (I don't know that it's true for him) a hard truth is that often freelancers and part-timers are harder to replace than full-timers.

You can bring someone in for a full-time job but you may be hard-pressed to find someone in the area who can do a good job part-time or as a freelancer.

So if you move them up, who is going to replace them?

Not saying it's right or fair.