Should I quit/demand a raise? Help...

That's a very realistic approach because from what I hear, everyone's hiring right now.

 

You have a firm offer, it's as viable as it ever was.

You just have to step lively.

 

I thought it was odd that he kept referring to "this person" and "they" instead of he or she.

 

I don't know. It's a jungle out there right now. It's been at least two years since someone at my shop left for a job in the business, not an opportunity outside of it.

 

Pater,

You say you've been there for about a year now. Does the paper have some kind of annual review? Most do. Maybe your review is on tap.

However, in your shoes, I'd at least get the resume dusted off and sent out and go to your boss and say that it's been about a year, you wanted to some feedback on how you are doing. Ask if there is an annual review process. If not, say you'd like to talk about your performance and then ask for the raise.

I don't know how you know about what the newbie makes, so I'd keep that in my back pocket.

 

That's pretty solid, Ace. Pretty solid.

 

Don't walk into anyone's office with an ultimatum unless you've got a back-up plan already moving. There's a good chance you're not going to come out of there on the plus side.

I've moved around quite a bit in my short career -- always for a better personal opportunity, not just a better or bigger paper, although it's great when those two come together. I update my resume once every couple of months, regardless of how happy I am. You never know when you'll get sick of your shop or a better opportunity will show its face, and there are places that are hiring (see the jobs board) but the market isn't great.

Don't demand a raise; negotiate one. Like Ace said, check on that review and ask if there's something you haven't been doing as of late that your superiors would like to see. Make your case for the raise. Sell yourself for the extra 3 percent. The worst he/she can say is no. And if you're still unhappy with your situation, it's time to start looking around more seriously.

Good luck.

 

By the way, had one time where a reporter pulled the ol' "I've got another offer, whattryou gonna do for me?" routine and the bigwigs said to wish him the best of luck.

I believe he wanted to stay, but he left and ended up doing pretty well for himself, I gotta say.

Of course I know others who got raises and promotions out of just the rumor of a possible job interview.

 

Unfortunately, there is only one way to increase pay in our industry. To be wanted.
And to be wanted, you need to always be working on the next opportunity. It's a sad state, but it is reality. I don't walk out to the newsroom and start handing our merit raises because a staff member is going a good job. No matter how good a job is being done. But, if the staff member can make it a competitive issue, receive a legitimate offer, and I can make a case for the staff member's value, pay inceases are available.
I think going into an office, and asking for a "3%" increase is a waste of angst.

 

Of course, then there's the potential backfire. "Well, if you're pursuing other opportunities, it makes me wonder if you really want to be here. Money isn't everything, you know."

What an industry!

 

I agree. But, then comes the part about "being wanted."

 

Paternoville ... I was once in a similar situation to yours. A staffer departed and it took us a long time (nearly a year, believe it or not) to make a new hire. I picked up the slack and got praised in writing from the ME and the publisher. We finally hired a new guy, who was just an average writer at best, and he ended up with a bunch of really good stuff to cover and I was stuck on the same crap I'd been doing. I thought I should have been given the shot to advance, but instead the new guy got all the good assignments. And I assume he got better pay too, but I don't know that. I asked the SE about it and he told me that's the way it was going to be. End of story.

The point is, by the time they make a hire and bring the new person on board, management has already made decisions about who's going to do what and how much salary each person is worth. At a small or mid-sized paper, you're not going to change that. It's like asking a river not to run. You have a right to be frustrated and angry, and as you're updating your resume and searching for a new job, you'll come to the disheartening realization that there are many places in this business that don't value people.

Now, that being said, I've since ended up at a place I like, where I've been promoted twice. Every place is different. Don't get hung up on how you're treated at one rinky-dink little paper early in your career.