Career question

IJAG's right. It's BumFuck Egypt, and it means "middle-of-nowhere shithole."

So what I mean, sirvaliant, is people should be forewarned that their big-ish paper "dream jobs" might not be as great as they think. Those newsrooms can be just as maddening to work in as any 5,000-circ paper in the country. The reason I say that is because a lot of people aspire to work at the same types of "dream jobs," and a lot of us get there only to discover that circulation ain't everything. Better to work in a situation where you're around good people, including a good boss, you're doing good things and you're happy. What that situation is ... is up to you.

 

Excellent advice. No doubt.

 

sirv,

This is not a dilemma, which would mean you have to choose between two or more bad options. Staying in your current position would be neutral and applying for a better job would be a good option.

So it's really more of a quandry. And not a difficult one at that. What's the worst that could happen? That you make a connection with another editor? That you're seen as ambitious?

 

The origins of "BumFuck Egypt" are from Southern Illinois where towns such as Cairo (pronounced Kayro) and Thebes (no fucking clue if it's pronounced differently) sit in the Mississippi and Ohio floodplains, just like the Nile.

The area, known as "Little Egypt" was soon perverted by outsiders into "BumFuck Egypt."

Now you know ...

 

Sirv,

Are you a native Canadian? From your posts, I'm wondering if English is your first language. I don't mean any disrespect, but if you are from another country, than I can understand some of the cultural issues that can arise if you want to talk about a different job.

But as you can see from everyone on this board, I see an overwhelming tide of replies that say that you should go for it. There is nothing wrong with applying for a better in-house job. If the bosses think you're qualified, it makes sense to hire in-house and fill a lower-level position with an outsider.

 

many years ago, before I had the experience to back it up, an NHL gig opened up. I knew I was a long shot. longer shot, more likely. but I applied. (never even got a rejection letter I was so far off of having a shot here.)

why not apply? every cover letter and resume I wrote after that one got better. I found new turns of a phrase or new verbiage every time, and each time I wondered why in the world I didn't see it before. it's a learning process.

and has been mentioned, don't put in your letter that you believe you are a long shot. you should include the fact that while it may appear you don't have the prerequisite experience, this is why you'd be a perfect fit. this is a job you can do and do well, despite the seeming lack of fillintheblankhere. this lets them know that you've got the right mindset coming in.

(one thing I learned over the years ... tell them why you are a perfect fit for the job -- they don't care that the job would be a perfect fit for you.)