Any way to figure out where your paper ranks?

Good point, zebra. Mill town's smell bad anyway.

I think that if you are willing to move, you can still get work. Too many people want to work in one place (where there's one newspaper!) and get frustrated when they can't get the job they want.

No one should ever do that -- except in Cleveland, of course.

 

I've talked about it before, but here's my take on the whole "too much moving around" thing on your resume.

You've moved around too much when the next place you're looking at doesn't want to hire you. It's a completely circular thing, but there you have it. You just have to be careful that the last place you're at doesn't take too kindly to your looking again and fires your ass.

My career job stays in years or months: 1 year, 1 year, 2 years, six months, 1 year, 10 months, 2 years (back to the place before the 10 months), 18 months, 8 years, 2 years, 10-plus years (current).

Every move made sense except for one (in hindsight) and every one was a progression except one family-oriented move.

If you're progressing and people want you, moves are good. Simple as that. There's no rule.

 

if you ever handed me a resume whose history indicated you were going to fuck off in 7 months, I'd tell you to fuck off.
all that says to me is I'm going to have to go through the hiring process again in less than a year and there are enough fish in the sea to avoid that hassle

 

Like I said, seven months is my average. My first job was a part-time sports clerk, and I left a month after taking the job -- moving on to a full-time sports writer. I stayed at that job for almost two years.

I think that's a risk you take with any young, aspiring writer.

 

Third journalism job, post-graduation. (8 months ago, and I'm only 22)

Second newspaper.

I only lasted five weeks at the first one... but I think it was the smallest daily in my state. Not that fun.

So, seven months would be a real long stay for me at this point in my career, although I am going on four months now at my current job... so maybe I'll be there soon.

 

I've been out of college a little over two years, and I'm on my third paper.

My latest move was a jump from a small- to mid-sized daily to one of the largest papers in the country. I was beyond happy at my old post, but it was obviously right for me to move.

Don't make a move just to make a move. Wait until you see the right opportunity present itself.

 

I would not assume you have to work at a weekly. There is no reason you can't start at a daily.

Some people start off covering small stuff at a big paper, then move to big stuff at a small paper and then back to the big paper for the big stuff. I did the first for five years and have done the second for 10. Not looking to move on to No. 3 now, since wife and kids limits my mobility.

I am happy, though, and you should never screw with happy for the sake of circulation figures.