Sports reporter, The Courier-Journal

"Up to $15,000" for Kentucky's largest paper??

 

And that's a max. Could be less.

 

This must be the fourth or fifth job posting in the past few months where the poster doesn't bother PUTTING THE NAME OF THE CITY in the post.

Rules are rules.

Sheesh.

 

$15,000 is $130 below the federal government's poverty line for a family of 2.

 

That salary must be a typo.

 

The ad just seems off. The salary, the unenthused description, maybe it's part time.

 

Not possible. That has to be part-time clerk or something like 30 hours.

 

Sorry, folks.

This posting is in error. We do have a reporting opening coming, but it will pay quite a bit more than $15,000.

This was a basic in-house description. Don't know where the salary figure came from.

A big part of it is covering recruiting for the paper and on the web. Experience handling a beat, covering colleges and/or high schools would be a plus.

Being Louisville, horse racing expertise doesn't hurt either.

We also do have a part-time clerk position open if you have your heart set on that $15,000.

 

Kudos to Creig for coming on here and clearing that up.

 

Who's Craig?

 

If you're applying, go ahead and spell the guy's name correctly. ...

 

As lousy as the posting is on JournalismJobs.com, we have received more than 80 applications for the sports writing position. If you have applied and haven't heard back, I apologize. I am off this week but am trying to at least look at the applications.

Many of the applicants are fresh out of college and are trying to get their first jobs, so I thought I would post some thoughts on what works and what doesn't for me in applications:

1. Make sure your cover letter is tailored to the job. If you copy and past one that says you are a really good fit for the job in Detroit or wherever, that's a bad sign. Likewise, if a couple sentences are in different typeface, that shows a lack of attention to detail.

2. Keep your cover letter to one page or less. If you write 45 inches applying for the job, it makes me worry I am going to get 60-inch high school game stories on deadline.

3. If you are emailing, I prefer the cover letter to be in the body of the email when I open it. That's how you make an impression. If you simply have a paragraph saying you are interested in the job and that a cover letter, resume and clips are attached, I get the sense you are doing what's easiest for you.

4. In the cover letter, sell yourself. Highlight your experience that is suited for the job. Much of this particular job is online with an emphasis on recruiting. If you have that experience, expertise or contacts, sell it.

5. Many recent college grads seem to like saying they are recent college grads in their cover letter right off the top. Instead of highlighting that, highlight the experience you have as a college editor or tout your award-winning story or give me the name of an editor you worked with on an internship who will sing your praises.

6. Don't tell me why you want the job. Lots of people want the job. Tell me why I need you for the job.

7. Don't tell me that you are interested in the job and will forward a resume and clips in a couple days. We value people who can turn assignments around quickly.

8. Your clips are your best selling point. Make sure they are easy to read and easy to access. Strive to have a variety of clips. Five high school game stories aren't as impressive as stories breaking news or handling bigger projects or showing an aptitude for writing and developing sources.

9. If you have references from people in the industry who will vouch for you, include them. That's particularly true if you are starting out.

10. Don't be needy. As poor as this job posting is, it says to send or email the information to me. If you send me an email saying you are interested in the job and want to know what to do, it makes me think you would need a lot of hand-holding as a reporter.

That said, we have heard from some really good applicants. Thanks.