Sports Editors: Email applications vs. Hard Copy?

Not sure if this is the exact forum for this question, but it certainly fits under the jobs heading.

I'm applying somewhat regionally for jobs for the first time in a decade and needless to say e-mail and cyber space is a far cry from what it was a decade ago. My question is for those who are doing the hiring.

Do you prefer e-mail applications with attached PDF files or straight-up hard copies mailed to your desk the old fashioned way? Thoughts, opinions?

Thanks.

 

It usually says on the job posting.

But I find it frustrating that, in 2007, some editors still can't figure out how to open an attachment and instead make you kill a tree and spend money on postage. Ten years ago that was understandable. Today, that's ridiculous.

 

I read it that he/she is applying cold for jobs, not for specific openings. I'd send it e-mail with a note that says, "I can send you a hard copy of my clips if you prefer."

 

Even if the e-mail address is listed in the ad, I generally send an e-mail asking if, indeed, they'll take a PDF with everything in there.

It's a good ice-breaker and gets the ball rolling.

 

That's a good idea. Then, when they get your stuff, they already have name recognition.

A good prelude to the resume and the follow-up call, without making it obvious.

 

Yes, yes it does. Instructions are there for a reason.

Wicked's idea of sending up an e-mail flare isn't a bad idea either. I would imagine that most folks would say yes (I would). It's always nice to get an advance warning when someone's about to drop 5 MB of the intertubes into your Outlook account.

 

I have been job-hunting hard in and out of the newspaper business.

When it's a job I *really* want, I tend to send hard-copy even if an e-mail address is available, because that way I can send the resume and cover letter on good paper and no one's gonna screw up printing it. (Unless, of course, they say e-mail only).

And if it says no calls . . . oh, forget it.

 

Damn straight. That's the problem with some PDF attachments --- sure, they may be convenient for you, but pity the poor fool at the other end whose computer suddenly slows to a crawl without warning because there's a giant PDF slug trying to crawl through his/her Internet connection. Unless you're willing to become a *nix Jedi on short notice, it's time to go down to the break room and see what kind of poker hand the instant coffee machine will vend to you.

 

At our place, our e-mail system only saves things for a few weeks. (A dubious quirk of the system).

So if you're sending me something I might want to keep on file for longer than that, I prefer a hard copy.

I prefer a hard copy in general, because I can store it easier.

And Pompano, sometime it's not that I don't understand how to open. It's often that I don't have the right program.

 

And sometimes even when you do have the right program, the attached file has mysteriously morphed into a corrupt attached file. Small problem with only one solution, and a terminal one.

 

That's why everything I e-mail out nowadays is PDFed. Even if you don't have Acrobat Reader on your computer (and I don't know anyone who lacks AR), it's a really easy download. No messing around with Quark or Word for the editors. I try to make everyone's lives easier -- a good way to start a relationship, too.

 

Hard copy.

Reasons:

1. It's too easy and too tempting to send too many clips electronically. I want your five or six best. No more.

2. If you send me something in a format (or software version) that I can't handle, forget it. My time is more valuable than yours.

3. Links to clips on another newspaper's archive can take forever to download. It's time I don't have.

4. I have limited e-mail storage space. Don't make me spend an hour killing out 100 messages because you have dropped a big load on me.

These may not be issues for all editors, but I suspect they are for more than just me, and the applicant can't know in advance.

You do the work, you take the time. Send me a nice package, letter, resume and 4-5 clips, all connected to each other. And don't misspell words or make grammar errors or enclose a letter addressed to someone else. The time that you spend putting together an intelligent package will be reflected in the time I take considering it.