What gets the job, period.

[Yawn]

Some think it's just who you know. Others particular aspects of clips. What package interviewing before you gets the job right there - extended offer before they freakin' leave the office?

 

[toomanycookies]

I'm not sure I understand the last sentence. I imagine people will say a combination of both. If you don't know people, it's harder to get noticed. If you don't have good clips, it won't matter who you know. If you're just cold calling, it has to be the clips. Hope that helps.

 

[Kaylee]

You're trying to quantify human emotions.

Some folks get hired because of their clips. Some get hired because of where they went to school. Some get hired because of their experience. Some get hired just because, hell, the guy in charge views the applicant as "his kind of people."

Sometimes its a combination of all of the above, plus a slew of factors we could spend the rest of the day naming.

There's no one way of going about it.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Being a reliable employee. Being a motivated employee. Being a hard working employee.

 

[Yawn]

I'm not sure I understand the last sentence. I imagine people will say a combination of both. If you don't know people, it's harder to get noticed. If you don't have good clips, it won't matter who you know. If you're just cold calling, it has to be the clips. Hope that helps.

I was just looking for that "sold point" experience most common among those who hire.

 

[Tom Petty]

the solid point is aything other than owning a name such as yawn.

 

[Clubber_Slang]

Some think it's just who you know. Others particular aspects of clips. What package interviewing before you gets the job right there - extended offer before they freakin' leave the office?

I was just looking for that "sold point" experience most common among those who hire.
[/quote]

Let's start with being able to form a coherent question on a message board.

 

[Idaho]

A clean urine test might not get you the job, but it certainly can't hurt.

 

[21]

What got the job? Who's on first?

Sorry, it was just sitting there.

There's no one thing that gets the job, but remember that most people are average. No runs, no hits, no errors. Nice resume, good clips, but nothing special or distinctive. Anything you can show or do to distinguish yourself raises your odds immeasurably. Freelance a feature that shows your versatility...talk to everyone you know to find out about the place you're applying to. When you walk in there saying, 'I saw your football preview, I liked the way you (whatever)...' it says something about you.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

extended offer before they freakin' leave the office?

That's rare, usually they want to think about it for a day or two. It's happened to me three times, however. The first time, the paper was having a major expansion and they had a lot of hires to make, 10 or 12 as I recall. The other two times they had sought feedback about me from people we both knew, and I think they probably had their minds made up before we actually had a conversation of any substance. In those cases, the offer was contingent on me passing the pee test, though.

 

[Ace]

Period's don't get the job. You gotta go with exclamation marks!!!!!

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Period's don't get the job. You gotta go with exclamation marks!!!!!

Depends on which date of the month it conducted the interview.

 

[Yawn]

the solid point is aything other than owning a name such as yawn.

On that sentence alone, you wouldn't get most jobs. I hope you spell-check your resumes better than you spell-check your posts.

 

[Ace]

Not sure I can answer how to get the job before you leave the office but a ranking of what helps you get a job in sports.

1. Who you know (A person on staff or someone the editor respects putting in a good word can put you at the top of the pile. It often can overcome resume/clips that don't stand out. One reason? A handful of dynamite clips written by someone you don't know could be the product of great editing or a writer who can turn it on at times but is a pain in the butt otherwise).
2. Good clips (Solid writing can/should often get you an interview).
3. How you present yourself. (Smart go-getters get the nod).
4. Intangibles, race/gender/experience/pay/moving expense, etc.

 

[Yawn]

Yeah, that moving expense is an automatic eliminator these days. No Arizonans will get consideration in say, PA. Actually, no Illini would get consideration in PA, Kansans in Oklahoma, etc., with TPTB who think that there's a good journalist right around every corner.

 

[Ace]

Yeah, that moving expense is an automatic eliminator these days. No Arizonans will get consideration in say, PA. Actually, no Illini would get consideration in PA, Kansans in Oklahoma, etc., with TPTB who think that there's a good journalist right around every corner.

Not sure if you are serioous or not, but it depends on the job. Sure, a major daily is not going to worry about moving in a columnist or beat writer. But they damn sure ain't going to pay to move in an agate editor.

Other papers may hire you from wherever but you move at your own expense.

 

[playthrough]

Gotta agree with Ace. Not only is "who you know" No. 1, but it's 1a, 1b, 1c. And it's not just a case of being the sports editor's buddy. Maybe the candidate ran into him many years ago when they were both competing on a beat and he kept in touch. Maybe it's a guy from the competing paper who the editor just kinda knows but respects the hell out of. Or maybe the word of mouth just went through four different people.

When I finally got on at a big paper, it was because I kept in touch with the editor over a few years and finally settled into another paper near his backyard. No, he wouldn't have hired me if my clips sucked and I interviewed like a clown, but being a known name was absolutely the No. 1 thing. Over the years, I found out that the bosses made lots of these hires, of people who had kept in touch and had worked their way up the ladder in other places. It was never just some great envelope that came across their desk after a posting went up.

 

[Tom Petty]

the solid point is aything other than owning a name such as yawn.

On that sentence alone, you wouldn't get most jobs. I hope you spell-check your resumes better than you spell-check your posts.

so that's the best kick to the balls you have yawn? ... ****ing rookie.

 

[FileNotFound]

Some think it's just who you know. Others particular aspects of clips. What package interviewing before you gets the job right there - extended offer before they freakin' leave the office?

Offering to work for free helps.

 

[Yawn]

Actually, another like it. Try starting your sentences with capital letters.

Talk about rookie. And you found this board? I suppose so, with wishful thinking.