The prince charming/ugling duckling chronicles, Part Deux.

I came in from my run Thursday morning all ready to blog about how much better my legs have been feeling since I've been seeing a massage therapist.

And then I logged on to my computer and saw that my Wednesday post, the one about Community Impact Newspaper deciding I was not good enough to hire, was getting a lot of hits from computers in the Austin area. Immediately, I knew that a person or persons from Community Impact Newspaper was reading my blog. (One of the search terms that said person(s) used to find my blog was, "Community Impact Newspaper" rejection letter.

By 10 a.m., I had more than half a dozen hits about the post from, according to Google Analytics site tracker, computers located in Pflugerville, which just so happens to be the home base of Community Impact Newspaper.

Ok, I thought. That's fair. I had a lot of strong opinions. Surely, there would be some opposition. Finally, at 10:18 a.m., an anonymous poster left this note in the comments section:

The idea that you would be turned down for a job because you're over-qualified seems ridiculous but then again, so is everything else involved with getting a new job. I wonder though — and I say this meaning to be honest, not to insult — if maybe you didn't come across as arrogant. No one wants employees who think they're too good for a job because they'll jump ship the first chance they get.

As writers, we need to be reminded to drop the pretensions: News writing is a trade, a skill one can be taught. We're not artists and you're not Ernest Hemingway. When reporters are losing jobs left and right, a certain degree of humility is in order — a realization that we're not as valuable as we once were and we should be thankful for any chance to do the thing we love.

I would also point out that blogging negatively about a job (saying you're more interested in another publication) while you're still in consideration, might not be the best idea when your thoughts can be retrieved with a simple Google search of your name.

Anyways, I say all of this not meaning to insult you but to wish you the best of luck. It's sad to see how many excellent writers are being forced to change careers because of the state of newspapers. I hope the job you're really after works out for you.

I thought about what this poster said for a few minutes then replied. Basically, I said that perhaps my post was arrogant, but I was not arrogant during the interview, that I would have worked my tail off, and that my latest blog post didn't come until after I'd already been told I was not getting a job.

Blink. Sigh. Deep sigh.

I wondered if that post came from the HR lady, whom i thought was pleasant (and stunningly attractive) or from management (which would have been really low considering that I signed my name to the personal letter i sent them - and they have yet to reply.)

Turns out, the post came from one of the paper's reporters. At least that's what the anonymous poster wrote in another comment on my blog at 4:35 p.m. Thursday. (And since he/she is not management, I can understand and accept the fact that person would want to remain anonymous. I mean, newspaper management always wants their reporters to have opinions and not put up with b.s. and be critical thinkers, but let one of them criticize one of their own editors/managers and its, "off with their heads.")

Anyways, anon's new post in my comments section read, in part, "@Kevin Thanks for your response. I did not mean to say it was ridiculous to assume you did not get the job because you were overqualified. To the contrary, I would be willing to bet that is exactly what happened. I meant that it is ridiculous that employers decide someone is somehow too good for the job they are offering."

To that and any other Community Impact Newspaper reporter, let me say this: please accept my apology. Having read and re-read my blog post, I probably came off like a little shit in saying that I can do the job that it takes two or three of you to do. You guys/gals, I'm sure, are just hard working employees trying to do your job. I don't know anything about you, your talents, or what your lot in life is. I should have found a better way to voice my displeasure with your management team.

(By the way, anon, how did you know to google my name or whatever it is you googled to find my blog right after they turned me down for a job? That's quite some timing.)

Still, I'd like to make two points about the entire "ordeal."

To anonymous' point about an employee who may jump ship the first chance they get: Look, your management team was offering low 30s for a salary, which is not even living wages. Still, I would have taken that and worked two jobs to make ends meet because it would have been a job (reporting) that I enjoyed. I guarantee you this: There is not one person at that company making low 30s who is running around shouting, "Whoopeeee, I'm making 30k a year. I'm set for life, brutha," unless he/she is a relative of the publisher/editor. Seriously, I and anyone else looking for a job in today's climate would be stupid not to try to have more than one option open to them.

To your point about my arrogance: Please explain, for there was nothing but positive, effervescent communication between myself and your HR person from the very first contact until she sent me the rejection letter. Seriously, 30 minutes after I sent my resume and clips to the newspaper, the HR lady was trying to set up an interview.

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How it went down....

On Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 11:23 a.m., I sent Community Impact Newspaper a resume and letter of interest after spotting their want-ad on Craigslist.

Less than 30 minutes later, at 11:47 a.m., the HR lady replies:

Hi Kevin,

It was great to hear from you. You definitely have the qualifications we are looking for in a candidate. I would like to bring you in for an interview but in an attempt to make the interview process worth while for both parties, I would like for you to know up front that our starting salary for a reporter is in the lower 30's. Please let me know if this is something you would still be interested in and or your salary requirements.

With Kind Regards,

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Obviously,at this point, they were really excited about me. But they were worried about whether or not I'd work for that kind of money. So, 32 minutes later, here was my response:

Thanks for the note about the starting salary at your publication. I'd still like to talk to someone about the open position. While the lower 30s is not ideal, neither is being unemployed. Let me know what the possibilities are for an interview, and which office has the open position.

Thanks again..

Kevin

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38 minutes later, the HR lady calls from her cell phone and we have our first non-email communication. We talk for about a minute. She asks if I can come in the next day at 10 a.m. for an interview. I say I have a prior engagement and can we make it later in the afternoon. She asks if 2 p.m. is ok. I say great. A few minutes after the phone call, the HR person sends me confirmation of our scheduled interview and cc'd it to the paper's executive editor. The confirmation says the HR lady and the executive editor will be at the interview.

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Now, by this time, I think I'll get a job offer. I mean, in the space of two hours, I've gone from an anonymous job seeker at Community Impact Newspaper to having an interview scheduled with someone in HR and the executive editor.

But between that 1:33 p.m. Tuesday email from the HR lady until just before I stepped foot in the offices of Community Impact Newspaper 24 hours later, something went wrong.

I mean check out the verbiage when they first contacted me: It was great to hear from you. You definitely have the qualifications we are looking for in a candidate.

And now check out how they told me I was not getting the job: While your background and experience are strong, we have identified other candidates whose experience more closely matches our needs at this time.

Huh. First I had the qualifications, then I didn't. What changed? Well, it wasn't me and my big mouth. I didn't blog, twitter, or facebook about the interview until afterwards, when they had clearly already decided that they would not hire me.

I mean, they went from, "Let's get this guy in here for an interview, pronto," to, "Uh, well, you (HR Lady) deal with him. Here is a set of questions you can ask him to practice your HR'ing. We've got better things to do."

Again, my point is this, and excuse the exaggeration, but... The owner or manager of the night club does not send HR to interview Frank Sinatra as a lounge singer without talking to old blue eyes himself. Unless, of course, the owner/manager doesnt want to face Sinatra his/herself and tell him he isn't qualified.

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Anyways, enough about Community Impact Newspaper. Like I told them, they are a gutsy organization and they'll be fine without me.

Anatomy of a rejection letter: Why the Ugly Duckling turned down Prince Charming

This letter is not from the job I think (and am hopeful) that I am going to get, so I wasn't all that sad when the rejection notice hit my inbox Wednesday afternoon. Before I re-print the letter, let me tell you the hilarity of the situation: This is a monthly newspaper. This is a monthly newspaper that published its first edition in '05. Not 1905. I'm talking 2005. And, this is a monthly newspaper that published its first edition in 2005 and was trying to add two or three reporters.

So, what we have here is a 4-year-old monthly publication that decided a man with 18 years of experience working at daily newspapers was not good enough. That's like M.I.T. saying 'No' to Einstein.

Dear Kevin,

Thank you for your interest in a career with Community Impact
Newspaper. While your background and experience are strong, we have
identified other candidates whose experience more closely matches our
needs at this time.

Your resume will be kept on file and you will be contacted in the
event our employment needs should change.

Again, we thank you for your interest in Community Impact Newspaper
and wish you all the best in your job search.

Sincerely,

A few points...

1) Seriously. You mean there are unemployed writers living in Austin who have more writing/editing experience than I do? That can't be the case. But if you read between the lines of the rejection letter, you may get your answer. Take this sentence:  "...we have
identified other candidates whose experience more closely matches our needs at this time."


That is code for, "You are too experienced and much better than anyone we have on staff right now - managers included - and if we hired you, you'd quickly realize this and want their jobs, or make it hard for them to manage you. So, we need to hire somebody who is only worth the 30k/year salary we are offering."

Obviously, they think I am overqualified. I get it. And of course, their hiring managers have every right to employ people who will want to work there and won't make waves. I had no plans on making waves and would have worked my tail off for that publication, which is not as Mom-and-Pop as you think. Community Impact Newspaper has 55 employees and six different editions.

The editors there, however, will never know my intentions because they sent a human resources employee to interview me. She read questions from a piece of paper and never asked follow-up questions. And perhaps the editors knew all along they were not going to hire me, so why waste their time by asking me questions.

The tough thing is, What do you do with that? You know? My money is low and I'm trying to work. I'm not robbing banks. I'm not sitting on my ass trying to see how long I can make my unemployment benefits last. I'm trying to work, and Community Impact Newspaper - a place where I could probably do the job of two or three people with my hands tied behind my back - does me like Kanye West did Taylor Swift.

But this newspaper isn't the first and won't be the last would-be employer who, "dumbs it down," during the hiring stage. Unemployment levels are at their highest in years, and when it gets this tight, the MoFo who knows everyone is more likely to get a job than the MoFo who knows everything.

And right now, I know nobody.

By the way, I sent a nicely worded thank you letter to the newspaper. Here it is:

Thanks for the interview last week. I was certainly surprised that my resume, which featured 18 years of journalism experience working at some of the biggest daily newspapers in the country, was not enough for me to land employment at your publication.

I can only presume that your management team believed that I wouldn't want to do the work at Community Impact Newspaper, or wouldn't work for the money you guys were offering. My only regret is that I didn't get to interview with any of your editors, for perhaps I could have convinced them otherwise.

Nevertheless, I wish you and Community Impact Newspaper good luck. I think yours is a gutsy publication. I commend your publisher and executive editor for expanding this newspaper, especially in these economic times which have been particularly harsh on the business. As an old ink-stained newspaper man myself, I'll be rooting for you guys.

Sincerely,

Kevin Lyons

I was interviewed by a triathlete: She's gotta like me now.

Today's interview went great, I think. First off, the woman asking the questions is a triathlete who was competing for an Ironman in Utah when she injured herself last April. When she told me that, I was like, 'Great, we have a connection. How can a triathlete not hire a marathoner?'

We talked for about an hour and she did most of the talking, basically making sure that I knew what I'd be getting myself into. This company spends a lot of money training its new employees and doesn't want to have to retrain a bunch of people all of the time.

After the interview, she paired me up with an employee who showed me what they do. Fascinating stuff. We talked for 40 minutes.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't offer me the job right on the spot, but I know they have other people to talk to. They also need to call my references and do a background check - normal things.

So, at this point, I'd be surprised if I didnt get the job (especially since they are hiring 8 to 10 people), but I won't celebrate until I get the offer letter.
=====

Meanwhile, the Austin American Statesman continues to offer me work. I'm covering a high school football game Thursday night (Hutto-Akins, 7 p.m. at Burger Stadium) and Friday night (Converse Judson-Pflugerville, 7:30 p.m. in P'ville.)

========

I see black people: Not only did I meet and talk to another black runner after my run Wednesday, turns out Dionn has a blog - www.txtrimom.blogspot.com - and is a member of Team Rogue. Funny thing is, I've seen Dionn on the Town Lake trails before and she always looked strong, like she could run for days. After my run Wednesday, a bunch of us dipped into Barton Springs and she was standing on the third step (too cold to get all the way in) and she was talking to some of the same people I was talking to. So, I just walked, swam right up to her and introduced myself.

Dionn is also a triathlete and from reading her blog, you can tell she is a very accomplished one.

Getting closer and closer to a job

This was a good day....

I had a 2 p.m. interview at one company (won't name them yet, but will after they say yea or nay). I get to said company at 1:45. I sit in the car and brush myself off. My phone rings. It is the hiring manager from another company I interviewed with last Friday, where I'd be working for employers who investigates real estate fraud. They want to bring me in for a second interview. Tomorrow! By the time I get off the phone, it is 2:01 and I'm late for today's interview. But it's ok, because the lady who interviewed me today was late as well.

Anyway, today's (Wednesday) interview was conducted by someone in human resources. It was a writing job. I've never been interviewed for a writing job from someone in human resources. I mean, writing is a specialized task and usually when I interview at other newspapers/publications, the people asking the questions have written/edited before. Or they are currently writing/editing. Did I lose you? Ok, say you are a brain surgeon. You wanna work at ABC Memorial Hospital. The only thing the HR lady does is take down your information, get you to fill out the W2 forms, etc. I mean, she doesn't ask you how you hold up under pressure, or how you remove brain tumors, does she? Of course not, because she is not a surgeon.

So, that's kind of how I felt today, like a surgeon being asked a question by someone who has never been in an operating room. So, I asked the lady if I'd be interviewing with an editor or something. She said she was screening a lot of people and they'd be calling people back in the next few days. Huh? We could have had this discussion over the phone. It's funny, the more I write about what happened, the more I think they probably won't hire me and they already knew it before I got there.

Oh, well... I'm not too depressed because the job I really really really like is the one in which I'd be investigating real estate fraud. The hiring manager who talked to me over the phone emailed me some HR forms to fill out before my interview Thursday morning. She said she wanted me to come in and make sure this is what I wanted to do, and (of course, make sure that I was someone they wanted to hire). She also asked me if I'd be ready to work the first Monday in October because they were going to send their new employees to Tempe, Arizona for some training.

Wooo-hoooo. Not only does it look like my job status is about to change, but it looks like I would/could start off the new job with a siesta in Arizona.

I should know something definitive by tomorrow or Friday.

Meanwhile, the editors at the Austin American-Statesman called me again and want me to cover two high school football games this week, Thursday and Friday.

It's good to be busy again.

Job front: Good news/bad news

First, the good news: I had a 40-minute phone interview Friday with an HR person who works for a company that investigates real estate fraud. I'm applying for a position where I'd basically be an investigative reporter. I'd check documents and interview the people involved in a mortgage transaction to determine whether or not things were on the up and up.

I think it'd be a great job and I think I had a very very very good interview. I won't know anything until the end of next week, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Now, the bad news: The job is basically my last hope to get hired by anyone in the near future (ok, like a month or so). That's because the two other promising leads I had for work sent me rejection/regret letters.

First, this one:

Thank you for your application and interest in opportunities at
the University of Texas at Austin.

We have reviewed your application based on the job related
criteria for the posting, 090723018676,
Informational Writer II.
We regret to inform you that you were not the candidate selected
to fill the position.

And then today, this one:

Thank you for your interest in the Dallas Morning News’ Austin Bureau. I won’t bury my lede: I’m sorry to say that we are choosing someone else for the position. We received resumes from well over 100 talented journalists and culling the list to fit our needs has been a difficult task, to say the least. Your work, as you should know, is really good but our needs this time around are taking us in a different direction. Thanks again and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

The fact that I didn't even get an interview for the UT position was surprising. I would have been working for the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which is the governing body for high school sports in Texas. My job would have been to go to high school sporting events, write press releases and gather information to help sports writers at those events.
I'm sure the UIL saw on my resume that I covered high school sports in Texas for several years and that I worked with the same UIL organization that I was trying to become part of. I guess the UIL thought that a guy with my experience having covered the Cowboys/Mavericks/NFL/NBA would not be good enough for high school sports in Texas.

The second rejection letter, from the Dallas Morning News, was not surprising. I mean, that is a very good newspaper, and though I think I'm a very good writer, I'm sure they hired someone who is already working for another paper, or, perhaps, the Dallas Morning News itself.

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed about the good news that happened today.

Same song, different verse

Dear Kevin,

Thank you again for your interest in BookPros. We received many applications and considered many qualified candidates, and have filled the position. We will retain your information in our files, however, and may consider you again in the future, if another position opens up.

Good luck with your job search.

How many unemployed writers in Austin have more than 15 years of experience? Can't be that many, can it?

Sorry to continue bludgeoning you with bad news on my job search front, but this was in my in-box this morning:

Thank you for your recent interest in our posting on Craigslist for a Public Affairs reporter for (blank online publication). We received a number of very good applicants and have contacted those we will interview.

However, our needs can and do change rapidly, and we will be keeping the information you sent us on file in case we have future openings.

Again, thank you for your interest.

Ok, so, I have 18 years experience as a reporter/editor. 18 years. I've interviewed city councilmen, college presidents, cops, community leaders, crazy ass soccer moms, crooked preachers, and Cowboys football players. ... And you mean to tell me that this online publication didn't even want to bring me in for an interview? You've got to be kidding me!

I'm not sure how many people became a finalist for that job, but let's say the number is five. Ok. You telling me that there are 5 people living in Austin, who are unemployed, who have more experience as a writer than I do? Come on, man. I'm not saying I'm Edward R. Murrow, but I'm sure that publication is not interviewing him for the job either.

*****

From the department of, I Hope This Doesn't Become a Trend: Nancy brought Noah over today. Noah thought the three of us were going to go to the mall. But when Nancy got in her car to leave so it would just be the fellows hanging out, Noah started crying.

"Mommmmmmaaaaaaa!" he cried, over and over.

Eeeeesh.

If there were any doubts that Noah would be a momma's boy, that erased them all.

I put Noah back in his mother's car, gave him a big kiss and a hug, and we promised we'd take Noah together tomorrow to Town Lake. We're going to do our best to get along for Noah's sake. But I hope this doesn't become a trend. I mean, this is the first time Noah cried when he saw his mother leave. I mean, cried big tears. I guess, however, this happens to all dads, so I'll just have to get used to it.

I see black people: I've blogged often about how I rarely see someone who looks like me while on the trail. And even rarer has been the time that I've ever seen a black person working at a running retail store. I don't mean a place like Academy or Foot Locker. I mean a hardcore, specialty running store, like Luke's Locker or Run-On in the Fort Worth/Dallas area or Run Tex or Rogue in Austin.

Actually, change rare to never.

Until today. .... Run-Tex on Riverside and 1st Street. About 6:30. I'm in the area and need some GU and some recovery workout powder. I pull in. And there she was. A black woman. I wanted to ask her all kinds of questions, like, 'Do you run,' and 'How did you find a place like this?' But then I thought, 'Silly me - she is just like a white/hispanic woman. She probably runs. And she probably needed the job.' ... Still, though, it was a site I have never ever ever seen in the 5 plus years I've been plunking down money at specialty running stores.

Maybe I'll interview her the next time I'm in the shop.

Regarding your City of Austin Application...

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your time and interest in Equal Employment/Fair Housing Investigator Senior, 065823. The hiring process for this position is complete and a finalist has been selected. We appreciate your interest in the City of Austin and encourage you to continue to review our website for additional vacancies.

Regards,

City of Austin
Human Resources Department
Employment Services Division

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Come on, people. I could have done that job with my eyes closed.

According to the City of Austin Web site, that job's primary responsibilities include...

1.Interpret Federal, State, and local laws/ordinances concerning discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodation.

2.Receive phone inquiries or walk-in complaints of discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodation.

3.Refer and/or assign new complaints/charges to investigators in accordance with established procedures.

4.Interview complainants to determine nature of complaint.

5.Investigate complaints by obtaining statements from witnesses or other involved parties and conducting research
necessary to evaluate the merits of the complaint.

6.Analyze data gathered during the investigation to determine the merits of the complaint.

Interview people? Interview people? Come on, City of Austin, I've only interviewed thousands of people for the last 18 plus years. Yeah, I would have had to learn some new terminology, and some new procedures. But as a reporter, interviewing and investigating was like breathing and eating.