Joe Grimm's News Jobs Café: Ask the recruiter

Double Pitching Freelance Idea?

Q: I've been working freelance for the last few months, and I have a question about etiquette.

I have a story that I think will break soon, whether I get to be the one to break it or not, and I've pitched it to an editor but I haven't received a response. In this situation, is it acceptable behavior to pitch the article to another editor in the same newspaper? How long should I wait before offering the article to another paper?

Thanks a lot for your help - if you choose to use this question online, I'd prefer if you didn't print my surname.

All best wishes,

Justine

A: They key in either case is to keep people informed. Tell the first editor, "I may not have submitted this to the right editor, so I am going to try this other editor at your publication," or, "I am getting anxious about losing this story, so I would like to withdraw the story from your publication and pitch it over there.&"

It is best not to have the story pitched to two editors at the same paper all at once withuttheir knowledge. It could come up at a news meeting, which would straighten things out, but it could be a little bumpy. There could be a train wreck if both of them like your story so well it is slated for two section fronts at once.

Under no circumstance do you want to surprise an editor who is reviewing your proposal by havnig it appear in the competition. That could end your freelance chances at that publication.

So, tell.

Transfering During Grad School?

Q: Just read your Q & A on the master's-while-working question. I hope you'll take the question a bit further.

I, too, am looking toward teaching college journalism once I've tired of the grind, and have begun to inquire about pursuing a master's for that purpose one class at a time. However, I've been told I'll probably have to find one grad program at one school and complete it there, over a period of years.

You certainly know how transient reporters can be. Is there a way to get a master's without having to commit to one city for the years it takes to complete that degree?

  Thanks,

B.D.

A: Universities are less willing to accept transfer credits in graduate programs than they are in the undergraduate programs. When they put their seal of approval on a graduate, they want to have done the schooling.

You have options:

• Look for the graduate programs that can be completed the fastest. Columbia and the University of Illinois can be done in a year. The new program at City University of New York takes three semesters, full-time. The University of California-Berkeley takes two years.
• Take more than one course at a time and take them year-round.
• Resolve to stay put until you graduate -- or to move only to towns that accept a lot of transfer credits -- and do it when you can still transfer them.

Reporter or Copy Editor?

Q: I hear all the time it's going to be an asset in the future to be well-rounded as a journalist. Does this apply to someone with experience in both copy editing and reporting? I have done both and enjoy both, but am always told it would come off negatively as indifference if I said that in an interview. I graduated from j-school in May and have been a reporter at a small daily for several months now. Previously, I was a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund intern and heavily involved as a reporter and editor at my college daily.

Out of the blue, I was recently contacted by a major metro paper asking me to apply for a copy editing position, and I'm torn. Colleagues tell me I shouldn't unless I'm absolutely certain I would rather copy edit. Regardless of what I decide, does it really have to be that black and white? I know the simple answer is I have to pick one, but in doing so does it sound bad to recruiters if I say I enjoy the other discipline as well? Maybe it's just me, but it has seemed like the variety on my resume in terms of copy editing and reporting has been more of a hindrance than an asset. Thanks for doing this column, and I'd appreciate any advice you have.

Dan

A: Flexibility is more of an asset once you are in a job than it is when you are looking for one.

Editors often interview trying to see where you fit into the newspaper's needs, current or future. A person who has more than one "fit" might come across as being indifferent, as you say.

Once hired, though, the person who can spring up and help in different parts of the newsroom -- or in developing ones -- is seen as helpful, adaptable and flexible.

The particular problem for the reporter/editor combo is that there are so many more reporting  resumes than editnig resumes on the editor's desk at any one time that it can be difficult for a staffer to move from the desk to the street than the other way around. Essentially, filling a reporting job with an editor make the job of hiring that much tougher.

The strategy, of course, is to be very, very good so that they'll move you rather than risk losing you.

Should I Reveal Previous Applications?

Q: I love your column and think it is a wonderful resource. 

When you apply for a job, do you have to point out that you've tried before?

Here is why I ask: I've applied to a large company a couple of times in the last few years. The application process is computerized and I have no idea if a human reads the resume. Sometimes I don't get a rejection message and I'm left wondering if I even applied.

Imagine my excitement after I had a brief electronic exchange with a live person at this company and he/she agreed to assist me. The elation ended when the recruiter sent me a message pointing out that I've applied before and wondering why I didn't mention those rejections. I feel terrible, but I wasn't hiding anything or trying to misrepresent myself. I just didn't think to point them out early on. Perhaps not my smartest move, but was I wrong?

If so, when and how do you mention such a thing?

And, while I have your attention, is applying multiple times in several years so bad? If you're qualified, I think it shows determination and a desire to work somewhere. Who would want a journalist who gives up easily?

Thanks,

Puzzled

A: You did nothing wrong. It is not your responsibility to tell a company that you have applied there before. They should be in charge of knowing who they deal with it -- and it seems that this company is.

There is nothing wrong with applying more than once or twice. In fact, that's how some people got their jobs. Smart companies should consider such tenacity and sustained interest to be clear signs of your seriousness.

Not only did you do nothing wrong, you also did not do anything dumb.

What were you to say, "I am applying again, even though this has never worked before"?

No, say, "My interest in your company remains as strong as ever. Let me show you how I have become a strong candidate -- and how that growth will continue."

Some of the best people I have hired took years to bring aboard.

It sounds like you have good reasons to be interested in this employer. If your guesses about them are right, I'm sure it is not the kind of place that feels that it should be one chance and out for you.