Unadvertised jobs

This is the beauty of this business - it has to happen under the guise of it being natural. Like you just happen to cozy up to the guy, and it goes from there. It's all a big dance - no different than the politics going on at your own office at any given time, but on a larger scale.

It's a horseshit ass business, that's for sure. But I doubt it's much different than any other business - if a true meritocracy exists in some field, I'd like to hear.

 

While it may not appear to be a meritocracy when unadvertised jobs are filled, it speaks well to both the hirer and hired that a connection is strong that it's useful months (years) later when openings arise. Job security is so soft now that people aren't going to hire friends/former colleagues if they don't help his/her department.

 

My last two moves were about who I knew, at least in getting the jobs before they went out to the world in a posting. I can tell you that no one will hire you just because you know them -- you have to be capable, maybe more so because they know you. If you have a target workplace in mind, do what you can to get to know people there. Also make sure your work everyday is up to snuff. If they are interested in you and know you, it only takes them 5-10 minutes to do a 'net search of all your work, not just clips you send them.

 

My guess would be that in reality, most of the time jobs aren't found by advertising for candidates. I think that is true in newspapers and most businesses.

Sometimes when an advertisement is posted, the person doing the hiring already knows whom they are going to hire.

Wicked, I wouldn't say bombard somebody with clips, but I would say to make contact. One thing I once heard was that you send a letter to a sports editor where you might want to work, and ask for some time to talk. Then, six to nine months later, you send more clips to reestablish contact. Having the social skills and professional manner is necessary to get a better job... it comes easier to some people than to others but it is something to work on. If you try to send one package out a week and get a regular schedule, that is better than just scattering 10 or 15 packages.

There's an old saying that it is easier to sell something to a friend than to sell something to a stranger. By keeping contact, you make somebody, if not a friend, somebody who is more familiar than a stranger.

 

wicked, go to barnes and noble and go to the section on business books. read some books about networking.

i, too, suck at networking but in my new field, i'm forcing myself to do it. it's painful and awkward 99 percent of the time and it has yet to pay off but it's imperative for success in almost any business.

some of that networking stuff won't work in the newspaper business because it's designed for the corporate world. but you can adapt it and cherry pick stuff from the hundreds of books out there.

a good place to start is to call an SE and say you'll be in the area and does he have time to meet for coffee or lunch because you aspire to work there some day (but use common sense - if you're at a 10K daily and you do this with the SE of the new york times, that's not practical).

also chat up everyone you see in press boxes but don't be obnoxious about it. talk to them while they're not working - pre-game, half time, etc. get to know them and have them get to know you. at some point bring up that you're looking for a new job - or will be soon.

 

Also, realize that at most major papers, while SEs usually make the final call, many candidates aren't picked by the SE. They're picked by newsroom recruiters, who spend their entire time seeking people for their pipeline and figuring out their first, second and third choices for any position in the newsroom. They're the people you want to network with. Two months after I graduated, just before my summer internship ended, I got a call from our recruiter, the morning of the day a sports reporter position opened. The first time I met my SE was the second day of my interview.

 

I would like to throw out that location is another big factor. I can network all I want in my area of the country, but I'm not going to find a job that will put me in a better position regarding duties and/or money. Sometimes, you're just stuck in Podunk until you force yourself out.

 

how do you know you're not stuck where you're at forever? ever "force yourself out?"

 

there's a sports dept. between philly and dc that in the past couple of months hired a high-level editor and a copy editor without advertising either opening. oh yeah, it happens.

 

Not totally true. I too was stuck in a podunk paper near you and because of who I knew I got out and got a better job.