when is it time for the axe to fall?

[txsportsscribe]

how many chances and how much time do you give a new grad in their first full-time job to get their act together?

 

[Clever username]

What exactly have been his/her transgressions?

 

[txsportsscribe]

i feel like i haven't done my job as a boss if i end up having to make a change and i generally like the person but the same errors keep popping up: spelling/ a.p. errors that should've been solved in college, deadlines get smashed (two hours late today on a story that should have been done the day before but now won't make it in paper until saturday), attention to factual details seems like a low priority and this person is more often than not the last one in the office and first to want to leave. i've tried the nice, nurturing approach and i've tried the sorry ******* of an editor act but things don't seem to be improving. the person has been on the job for just under six months and right now i'm looking at make it or break by the end of the year.

 

[Moderator1]

Why did you hire this person? What stood out?

 

[Songbird]

My .02: the paper I'm at was a start-up weekly. The first SE was lazy and the 26-year-old who started the paper began to see a trend. He wanted sports to be one of the strengths. After 9 months he canned the guy and brought me in. I've been here 3-plus years; won awards, yadda yadda. Point is, cut the chord if you have to. The transgressions you've listed aren't very healthy ones. There are unemployed people in this business who (A) need the work (B) are very good and (C) won't give you shpilikas.

 

[txsportsscribe]

Why did you hire this person? What stood out?

had good college clips and a pretty good job interview. i was filling more than one empty slot and made what appears to be a couple of potentially solid hires of people with some experience about the same time so i decided one of the slots could go to giving a recent grad a chance. i've had a little pressure from above to "solve the problem" but have resisted because i catch glimpses of potential.

 

[Moderator1]

Well, bust his/her ass until you see that potential. Bring him/her in and give him/her (**** that - HIM) a list and say, "This is what you do, this is what you don't do" and you can stay here. Do anything from List B and your ass is gone. I'm here to help you make sure List A happens. Just ask. Do List B and your lazy ass is toast. Do you understand?"

 

[Clever username]

Well, bust his/her ass until you see that potential. Bring him/her in and give him/her (**** that - HIM) a list and say, "This is what you do, this is what you don't do" and you can stay here. Do anything from List B and your ass is gone. I'm here to help you make sure List A happens. Just ask. Do List B and your lazy ass is toast. Do you understand?"

Hmm, the direct approach. How refreshingly different.

 

[Moderator1]

Other things you need to ask yourself:

*Can this person just not do the job? Which means you ****ed up but, hey, it happens. If this person can't, suck on that and good by. Be prepared to catch some hell for the hire.

*Can this person do the job and is simply a lazy piece of **** (not a terribly uncommon problem)? Then whip out the whuppin' stick and get busy. You'll find out quickly just how much this person gives a ****. Be very clear about what you expect and what you will not tolerate and make sure you ready to say "see ya" the very instant one of this List B things shows up.

 

[txsportsscribe]

thanks for the advice moderator1. i've gone over similar things in my mind but having someone else say it helps.

 

[Moderator1]

Write it all down and be ready with examples.

"Like, yo, dude. ****. When have I, uh, did that?"

"Here, here, here and here and here, too, and one more and it's THERE *****."

 

[outofplace]

If this person doesn't realize they aren't getting the job done, that's a problem. I spent a few months as a part-timer, mostly a clerk, before getting my first real job in the business. The SE who hired me thought I was more ready for the job than I turned out to be.

My writing was too sloppy and I had other problems. I don't come across as being particularly driven, even though I am, which has led to me making the occasional bad first impression.

But I knew how bad my work was at that point and I knew I wanted to do the work to fix it. Just before my three-month review, it was like the light went on. It was too late for the review, but the SE saw me turning it around before he even sat me down to tell me it had to be done.

They basically gave me another three-month trial and by the end of that, I was settled in and doing good work.

To be over six months in and not taking direction when you try to help, I'd be very concerned if this person has the self-awareness or drive to turn it around.

 

[Crimson Tide]

From the perspective of a first-time beat writer: He should know about spellcheck, AP style, fact-checking and writing for deadline.

I've only logged a few months as a full-time beat writer, but I haven't ****ed up that bad yet. My only pitfall is that I was given too much freedom in my coverage and writing and it only got me in trouble when a player's parent bitched at the ME.

But I had to deal with these types in college. They think that it's a breeze of a job that doesn't require any hard work or innovation or, well, hard work. I know these people didn't last too long in the business after we graduated. Just saying.

 

[Tom Petty]

But I had to deal with these types in college.

tide - not being wise by any means, but, stop using your college experience to set any bar in what you do in your (real) professional life.

the day you as much, not only will you find you've gained new-found respect from your peers, but you'll also learn you've become a true professional.

how many vets in your workplace start a sentence while referring to the task at hand with a, "when i was working at my college paper ..."? none. the reason? college newspapers aren't real newspapers and as long as you believe they/it are/was, you'll continue to make rookie mistakes.

again, not being wise, just sharing what i think is an important point you should know.

 

[Bud_Bundy]

thanks for the advice moderator1. i've gone over similar things in my mind but having someone else say it helps.

Do you have a mechanism at your paper to put someone on probation? That puts it out in the open. Give them a list of goals they have to achieve over 3 months ... spelling, punctuality, deadline. At our shop, this is done in consultation with the editor and HR director.

Above all, document, document, document, document. Make sure you have concrete examples of the problems and, if you do put him/her on probation, document even more.

 

[Appgrad05]

AP Style - is he being told what mistakes he is making? I know that I tend to make the same mistakes over and over, until someone says "Hey, you keep doing that. Stop it."

Hours - Is he putting in 40? Because if not, then you can tell him he needs to be. But it's a precarious thing to tell someone to work extra hours because "everyone else is."

Deadline - He has to make those and you need to beat him until he does. We went sent our newbie, about two weeks in at that point, to a local college presser. 40 minutes before deadline I tell him I need the story in 10. He says he needs 20. He took 25 and he got reamed for it. Now he knows what a deadline is.

 

[Flash]

thanks for the advice moderator1. i've gone over similar things in my mind but having someone else say it helps.

Do you have a mechanism at your paper to put someone on probation? That puts it out in the open. Give them a list of goals they have to achieve over 3 months ... spelling, punctuality, deadline. At our shop, this is done in consultation with the editor and HR director.

Above all, document, document, document, document. Make sure you have concrete examples of the problems and, if you do put him/her on probation, document even more.

I've never worked anywhere that didn't start with a three-month probation ... is this not common practice in the States?

 

[Tom Petty]

thanks for the advice moderator1. i've gone over similar things in my mind but having someone else say it helps.

Do you have a mechanism at your paper to put someone on probation? That puts it out in the open. Give them a list of goals they have to achieve over 3 months ... spelling, punctuality, deadline. At our shop, this is done in consultation with the editor and HR director.

Above all, document, document, document, document. Make sure you have concrete examples of the problems and, if you do put him/her on probation, document even more.

I've never worked anywhere that didn't start with a three-month probation ... is this not common practice in the States?

flash - in most of the states in the states, the three-month probation period is no different than any other time during your employment other than your boss is telling you up front s/he will be watching you closely and probably documenting your screw ups along the way. there's no more of a magic "we can fire you for any reason we want" during those three months than there is in your fifth year of employment.

if employers want to avoid lawsuits, they always must have (documented) reasonS to fire someone other than insubordination or just flat out not showing up to work/assignments. most places i've been at had three strikes and you're out policies.

hope this (kinda) answers your question.

 

[Crimson Tide]

But I had to deal with these types in college.

tide - not being wise by any means, but, stop using your college experience to set any bar in what you do in your (real) professional life.

the day you as much, not only will you find you've gained new-found respect from your peers, but you'll also learn you've become a true professional.

how many vets in your workplace start a sentence while referring to the task at hand with a, "when i was working at my college paper ..."? none. the reason? college newspapers aren't real newspapers and as long as you believe they/it are/was, you'll continue to make rookie mistakes.

again, not being wise, just sharing what i think is an important point you should know.

Actually, it happens, well, a lot. Only four people in our newsroom is over 30, and two of them are obit clerks. All of the experienced writers bailed not long after the new bosses (who could give a **** if we have any direction as long as we work for cheap) took over a while ago. Think it's a sign?

 

[Tom Petty]

But I had to deal with these types in college.

tide - not being wise by any means, but, stop using your college experience to set any bar in what you do in your (real) professional life.

the day you as much, not only will you find you've gained new-found respect from your peers, but you'll also learn you've become a true professional.

how many vets in your workplace start a sentence while referring to the task at hand with a, "when i was working at my college paper ..."? none. the reason? college newspapers aren't real newspapers and as long as you believe they/it are/was, you'll continue to make rookie mistakes.

again, not being wise, just sharing what i think is an important point you should know.

Actually, it happens, well, a lot. Only four people in our newsroom is over 30, and two of them are obit clerks. All of the experienced writers bailed not long after the new bosses (who could give a **** if we have any direction as long as we work for cheap) took over a while ago. Think it's a sign?

well it sounds as though you guys already are doing a bang-up job and i'm positive your newsroom's collective college experience makes your paper a quality read each and every day. never fails to amaze me just how ****ing intelligent recent college grads can be.

carry on.