When hiring -- why not at least try?

Really. Sheesh!!

 

No, just died of heart problems from what I understand. I was long gone by then. He actually gave out bonuses, though. The thing is you never knew when you would get one. All of a sudden you'd just get extra money in your paycheck - could be 3 months, could be 6 months. This was also given to the backshop. We are talking a very small daily here.

He also handed out all the paychecks himself and would have a cutesy saying when he gave it to you, like "Hey Flash," to the photographer.

 

When we had our last opening, schieza talked my boss into not advertising the position so we could chase down two candidates who worked at another weekly in the state. When the SE turned us down (money wasn't enough to make him change) and his co-work said no (he told us he was coming, but was going to give his notoriously cheap publisher a chance to pay near what we were going to pay; to his, and our, surprise, he did), we advertised.
Fortunately it worked out, because the new guy is busting his ass.

 

Searching for a candidate can be expensive and time consuming. I likely will have to conduct a search soon, and I"m glad it's probably going to come in the summer rather than in the last two months. I've been so busy that I can't imagine having to wade through 100-plus resumes, set up interviews and spend an afternoon with my attention on maybe the top three or four candidates. Plus, most papers are in a situation where they want someone with as little in the way of moving expenses - and even interview expenses - as possible, and that includes the man hours put into weeding through a pile of resumes that, ultimately, are still a gamble. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it's a thing.

If you have someone in mind who fits the bill - maybe a previous intern or someone who has been submitting resumes for future openings - why waste the time and energy if you think that candidate is a good fit for what's an entry level job?

I got my first job out of college that way. I had a friend from the student paper who was interning at a small daily an hour or so away. She called me up one day about 2 p.m., said one of their sports guy quit and I should send her a resume. I did it right then, and within 90 minutes heard back from the executive editor. Another 90 minutes and I was at the paper for an in-person interview and before I walked out the door had accepted the job. I like to think I worked out pretty good there. The guy who followed after I left was hired in a similar way and I think he's still there four or so years later.