PT? (Not talking about Playing Time!)

[Panhandle PK]

Alright, well I sat down with my boss today to discuss my evaluation. Been six weeks, got six more weeks to go until my internship ends.

He really sees that I am improveing. Loves my work. I'm a quick learner...yada...yada....

Wants me to be on the staff come August. He finds out in a few weeks if they are going to fill the position.
They have 3 part-time positions, 4 full-time positions. There is an opening in part-time. He wants me there.

Between 26-30 hrs a week. I will be doing a little layout, and some writing as well. (prep sports will be starting)

He told me, "It's not something that you can live in your own with the salary. If you can hang on until (enters two full-time members names) they leave...which might be soon. Then a full-time position will be open."

What do I do? How much does part-time make?
Like I said before...I make almost $13/hr at a retail store. Decent money. So I'll have to work a few days over there - as well as this PT gig.

Any advice? This gets my foot in the door...or should I just start looking for work elsewhere.

 

[forever_town]

Considering the state of the business right now, I'd look elsewhere.

I'm not optimistic those positions will be open when the time comes.

 

[Panhandle PK]

Well I've listened to them personally...and one is about to get married and possibly moving. The other is always looking to move out of the newspaper business. I think he is just burned-out.

 

[joe_schmoe]

If you can manage to do it and the retail job do it, especially if indeed one of the full-timers may be leaving soon.
That being said, with 3 part-timers, how can you be sure he won't offer the next full time gig to one of them?
In either case, this shouldn't sto pyou from sending out the resume and clips. If he wants you, it's likely someone else may also.

No one here can answer how much part-time makes....each shop is different. But you should know the answer before you make the final decision.

 

[Panhandle PK]

That being said, with 3 part-timers, how can you be sure he won't offer the next full time gig to one of them?

Well 1 of the part-timers stepped DOWN from full-time, and says he doesn't want to go back. Apparently his wife got a nice little raise so he took a step down. The other isn't a writer...period. Just does layout. So his resume is pretty much limited.

It's an 80k daily, so it does get my foot in the door... The pay will be one of the first things I ask. If it isn't double-digits per hour, I'm not sure if I can accept it.

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

You'd be taking a chance those full-time gigs will be filled. But if you're happy w/ where you're at, the money ain't complete horse**** and you think you'll continue to grow, there's nothing wrong w/ that.

 

[Jay Sherman]

Find out how much PT pays; if it's something you can handle working, and your parents can pay for your health insurance for a while, your cell phone, etc., then go for it. Starting at an 80k daily is going to make you skip about 4 years of getting your foot in the door with a smaller daily.

 

[WriteThinking]

I'd say go for it.

At an 80k paper, the pay may not be so terrible, and even though you'd be part-time, that shouldn't stop you from doing some good work. It also would, as you say, get your foot in the door to this business. Being able to do it at an 80k paper is nothing to sneeze at, especially these days.

The other thing that is, you've received actual verbal, and tangible, confirmation that your boss likes you and your work. These days, that, too, is gold, and not something to be taken lightly. Especially if you're young, and you have his confidence, there is much to be said for that.

And that could be particularly true if there were ever buyouts/layoffs, etc. that came up later.

In addition, you're doing the retail thing already now, aren't you? If it's no different when you're a staff member than it is when you're an intern, would that be so bad? Especially if you gets/keeps you in another good job, something that's not so easy to do in the industry right now.

There's also something to be said for having a somewhat flexible schedule, and for the most part, getting the summers off, as many part-timers who work on high schools tend to do.

As for whether you could know for sure that the next full-time opening would go to you, well, you can never really predict/know or guarantee the future with certainty, anyway.

So, unless you've got something better that you're sure you can get lined up, or have had another job already offered to you, I'd think seriously about this one, even if it isn't full-time.

If it doesn't turn out as you'd like, or if it turns out that you don't like the job, leaving still would be an option, you know.

 

[Cadet]

Unless you really like your retail job and can get health benefits through them, skip the PT thing.

You need health insurance. Even if it's low-level "catastrophic" insurance, you need health insurance. Get a job with health insurance. Don't make your parents pay for it, don't pay astronomical prices for an individual plan, get your own job with your own insurance.

Aside from that, let me spell this out for you:

1. Lots of people are burned out and ***** about the job. Yet we're all still here. Some for decades. Don't count on that dude leaving.
2. In this economy, some people are realizing they need to maximize their income. Don't count on the PT guy not wanting to come back to FT.
3. Newspapers aren't filling open positions. Let me say this again: Newspapers aren't filling open positions. They may be open, but you may not be allowed to have one.
4. You are cheaper and worth more to a newspaper as a part-time employee. You don't cost them in benefits, vacation time, overtime, etc. It is in their best interest to keep you PT as long as they can.
5. If you have a college degree and experience, get a real FT job. You may have to move. You may have to go to a smaller paper. But unless you have extenuating circumstances, don't settle for a PT job at this stage of the game.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

And there are a lot of papers who wouldn't mind hiring someone 'part time', and end up making them work 35-36 hours a week, but not call them 'full time'. This is how some papers skimp on paying benefits to the PTs.

 

[lone star scribe]

Best advice I've seen here is take the part-time gig, keep the retail job, and see what happens. But above all, keep sending out your resumes and cover letters. Promises have a habit of being broken when economic conditions change at a paper, in the form of hiring freezes, layoffs, etc.

 

[Ace]

I would take the PT job but go in with your eyes wide open. Some managers see a good, hard-working part timer as a lot more valuable than an expensive full-timer. And sometimes those full-time spots may come open but then aren't able to be filled.

So I would do it to gain experience and clips and keep looking all the while. I would not turn down a good full-time job to stay there and wait and hope.

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

And there are a lot of papers who wouldn't mind hiring someone 'part time', and end up making them work 35-36 hours a weem, but not call them 'full time'. This is how some papers skimp on paying benefits to the PTs.

Or they bend you over the table for full-time hours 48 weeks of the year, lay you off for a month, and call you a temp employee to avoid benefits and higher pay.

 

[zebracoy]

Try to see if you can work it out while keeping both jobs. Tell the guy that you need to do so in order to be able to make a decent amount of change.

At the very least, yeah, you get your foot in the door.

 

[shotglass]

Panhandle, the only advice I can offer is something I've said before in here.

If you're working there as a part-timer and a full-time position opens up, the SE has two options.

1. He can hire somebody from outside and pick up 40 man-hours a week.

2. He can hire you, who's already giving him 26-30 hours, and pick up about 10 man-hours a week.

He may not be able to afford to make the best choice for you, especially in the current climate. And regardless of what he said.