Sports Writer, Hilton Head, S.C.

Sure I do. My point was that we don't compete much with Savannah's main newsroom.

 

A quick update on our search — we have received about 80 applications in less than a week, and I'm satisfied the quality of the candidate pool is sufficient to guarantee our next hire is among them. Therefore, I will not accept new applications after 5 p.m. today.

Thank you to all who have applied so far. The field is as strong as for any position I've posted in seven years at The Island Packet. I have a difficult decision ahead, but I intend to make it soon.

Sincerely,

Jeff Kidd
Packet sports editor

 

As someone who had this gig way back, I can vouch for everthing said here. Jeff's a good editor and and an excellent person. Mike Bragg, the ASE, is as cool as they come and the paper's offices were (and I'm sure still are) cleaner than my house. And, as BirdScribe said, it's freaking Hilton Head.

With little or no layout duties included, I have to think this may be one of the top writing gigs in the country for a paper this size ...

 

Dude, an outhouse is cleaner than your house. Want to give a better recommendation?
But yeah, good paper. I'm pretty they could use their stack of APSE's for toilet paper and be fine for a while.

 

Ah, only AFTER you get married do you refer to MY cleaning habits ...

 

Hi JPM,

As the advertisement said, I intended to move quickly, though I must admit I surprised myself by filling the vacancy inside a week. The first — and only — offer was made Friday, and it was accepted immediately by Zach Van Hart of the Beaufort Gazette, a sister McClatchy publication.

Through back channels, I knew of Zach's interest in the job before it was advertised, but he competed for it like everyone else. (BTW, I conducted interviews with and administered our copy-editing test to six additional candidates, and they were good. I also contacted a seventh, but we decided he wouldn't be able to start here soon enough were he to be offered the job.) Were I dead-set on a candidate before the process started, the process would have started with a job offer to that candidate. (I think what you're driving at is that it doesn't appear as if we were serious about vetting other candidates, and I understand how a quick turnaround like this could create such an impression. My apologies if I sound defensive; that's not my intent. Your question is legitimate.) I think I have a uniquely frank and honest relationship with my executive editor and publisher. They don't ask me to jump through unnecessary hoops — like soliciting candidates we all know will never be hired — and believe me, I don't have time for pointless interviews, e-mail exchanges and copy editing tests.

This was simply a matter of making it a top priority to review applications and talk to candidates and, far more importantly, getting a field of quality candidates in very short order. I also didn't want to string along candidates who might be interviewing with or mulling offers from other newspapers. That's no way to treat an applicant under any circumstances, least of all in a climate in which jobs and job offers are scarce.

One last thing: I would be remiss if I didn't ask everyone to join me in congratulating Zach. He's good people and a talented, young journalist who brings a wide skill set to the job. I'm sure someone will be snatching him away from me in a few years if he decides to move along to a larger publication.

Jeff Kidd
Packet sports editor

 

It does seem kind of odd that you said in the initial post that you'd be accepting applications through June 30 and made a hire on that day.

But I guess if you found your guy, you have to do what you have to do.

 

Jeff hired an outstanding writer in Zach. Zach's been at their sister publication, the Beaufort Gazette, for the last couple of years, and he's done an outstanding job. While I'm sure there plenty of good candidates in the pool, being able to hire a more than capable writer less than half an hour away and already in your newspaper chain makes a lot of sense. While some might be unhappy with the speed Jeff utilized (he's stealth-like, I hear), I think he explained it thoroughly for all to understand. Congratulations to Zach on the hire, and we, here in the boonies of the Palmetto State, wish him luck.

 

Hiring someone quickly is not an unusual practice. Jeff already had 80 resumes, so any late arrives would really just have to blow him away to get considered.
Most of the people interested in a job are likely to respond within the first 24 hours of it's posting, giving the people hiring a good pool to choose from and start interviewing.
If a posting today said "resumes accepted until August 5" I'm not waiting to the 5th.
Heck, it's cliched and an old saying, but very true..."the early bird gets the worm."

 

I have no idea of the talent-pool for this gig, but it goes to show it's more of who you know.
Not to say this kid isn't qualified, but he obviously had a leg up on the competition by being in the same chain and all.
We often hear about jobs being posted as a formality, and this seems like one of those situations.

 

You're absolutely right. However, it's not as if the ad was up for a month, as in your example. The job ad was posted for eight days before the position was filled and only six before Jeff stopped accepting resumes. Sending a package out four or five days before the deadline (and few days after the ad is posted) and not having it reviewed can be frustrating. It is possible for people not to see the ad the first day it is posted.

That said, Jeff found the right guy for his staff and made his move. As someone who has gone understaffed for weeks at a time trying to fill a position, I can't say I blame him.

 

That's the trend here. See my above post. If you went in with any expectations that it would last a while ...