Management problem continued

[Adam Strange]

Some of you read my SOS post (http://www.quarterlifecrisis.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22862) about my assistant who I called (and will continue to call) Amy. Long story short: She’s new. She hasn’t been working out. I talked to my supervisors (the head honcho who we’ll call Editor A and my direct boss who’ll be Editor B) and the four of us had a meeting. Amy got chewed out. I got off with a light “you’re too nice of a guy.” I feel terrible for everyone in involved.

Now, Amy is writing a news story.

Before I go on, here’s some background: Because he had my job and is generally a decent person, I often talk to my predecessor, who we’ll call Bruce. He says that no one is hired for my job without promotion already in mind. He moved up, the person before him is now a staff writer, the one before him is Editor B. This job is okay but I want to be a staff writer. When I came in, a staff writer left. The position has been empty ever since. Editor A is desperate for news and feature stories. I have not tried to fill the void; at first I wanted to see that I was doing the job I already had well. I felt I had to work equally as hard when Amy’s predecessor (as essential to me as a limb) left and keep working that hard with Amy falling behind (both to keep the section as good and improve her work.

Okay, now I can go on.

Amy met Editor A over lunch for a story-writing lesson, a consideration A had never took for someone else who branched out, according to Bruce. Bruce also says someone pitched the exact same story Amy is doing last year and Editor A rejected it. I guess we’re somewhat desperate this year.

When I started my plan for next week on Friday, Amy told me Editor A said she didn’t have to do as much for our section because of the news story. Editor A, currently out of town at a conference, did not tell me this. I’m miffed that Editor A 1) never told me about this and 2) is taking away some of Amy’s regular responsibly at a critical time for her and I 3) made next week harder for me and 4) seems to be giving her special treatment. At the same time, I understand the shortage of news and feature stories and I'm not doing anything about it.

When Amy talks about her news story, I have to shove my headphones into my ear and grit my teeth. I’m torn between wanting everything to work out for everyone and feeling slighted and threatened. I wonder if Editor A is grooming Amy to take the staff writer position, figuring she didn’t work as an assistant editor, maybe she’ll work out here and besides Adam can handle the section.

They are desperate for a staff writer and they’d prefer it be a woman (there are plenty of women at the paper but all staff writers are male). I support affirmative action, especially in the media where too many people from a single background can seriously slant coverage. But why promote anyone who is lagging behind at her current position? Bruce said stranger things have happened and Editor A can be hypnotized by youth (Amy is 24, the rest of the staff is in their late 20s with one 40-something).

On the other hand, I know Editor B thinks Amy is a major fuck-up and Bruce tends to overemphasize the competitive drama. I know A and B are happy with me but I feel chained to my section and I’m not sure just doing it week-to-week will be enough to get me bumped up. Maybe I’m just working too hard and feeling paranoid. When I told Bruce all this, he said I need to stop worrying so much and have more fun.

If Amy is promoted to staff writer, I’m going to loose my mind. I already feel torn between wanting the best for everyone and feeling jealous and slighted. I can’t handle that everyday.

Any thoughts?

[wordsmith]

You said there were major problems with her writing. If that's true, she's a highly unlikely candidate for a staff writer slot. If she gets a crack at doing some stories and an editor has to end up going over the whole thing and redoing it every time, that's gonna get old.

It's funny, the heirarchy here is totally different. I was hired as a staff writer, with the plan being that I would be promoted from there. Staff writer is bottom tier, here (well, of the full-time positions, anyway, contributing writers/correspondents are lower, but they're part-time and freelance).

[Adam Strange]

You said there were major problems with her writing. If that's true, she's a highly unlikely candidate for a staff writer slot. If she gets a crack at doing some stories and an editor has to end up going over the whole thing and redoing it every time, that's gonna get old.

I think I’m a little paranoid. Her writing for me has been sub par but maybe she’ll do better on an assignment like this. It’s creating a lot of internal anxiety. I try to wish her the best on it but it’s more complicated on my end. And, unfortunately, Editor A won’t have to plow through the story and make it readable; Editor B will.

Plus, this is the first time since I’ve been here that I’ve given serious, pragmatic thought to when I’ll be a staff writer. It’s got me weirded out existentially.

It's funny, the heirarchy here is totally different. I was hired as a staff writer, with the plan being that I would be promoted from there. Staff writer is bottom tier, here (well, of the full-time positions, anyway, contributing writers/correspondents are lower, but they're part-time and freelance).

In urban weeklies, the full-time writing staff is so small that there tend to be plenty of lower jobs in the paper. I’m a section editor. I consider staff writer a promotion because the job is harder to get, probably pays more and I want it more.

[wordsmith]

I still would be doubtful that doing a crappy job would get rewarded with a promotion. In some fields, yes. In newspapers, doubtful unless you're a publisher or owner's kid.

[yankeeyosh]

I still would be doubtful that doing a crappy job would get rewarded with a promotion. In some fields, yes. In newspapers, doubtful unless you're a publisher or owner's kid.

Occurences of people getting promotions who don't deserve them take place a lot more often than you think. Especially among people who have zero or little overall experience (probably more often than those who do "crappy" work...but even this occurs quite a bit).

[Adam Strange]

Her getting the promotion worries me for two reasons 1) I didn’t get it and maybe if I acted differently I would have and 2) all these feelings of jealousy that would make me feel lousy inside would grow. I guess it’s up to me to control that.

Overall, I just wish things weren’t so weird at work.

[yankeeyosh]

Her getting the promotion worries me for two reasons 1) I didn’t get it and maybe if I acted differently I would have and 2) all these feelings of jealousy that would make me feel lousy inside would grow. I guess it’s up to me to control that.

Overall, I just wish things weren’t so weird at work.

Well, I hate to say this, but it's the nature of the beast these days. 25 year olds with the ink barely dry on their diplomas managing 35 year olds who went through the school of hard knocks...complete buffoons managing really intelligent people who know more about the field than their bosses do. I don't like it; it shouldn't be this way. But that's how it goes in this century.

[wordsmith]

Occurences of people getting promotions who don't deserve them take place a lot more often than you think. Especially among people who have zero or little overall experience (probably more often than those who do "crappy" work...but even this occurs quite a bit).

Not in our industry, where blatantly shitty writing is an embarrassment to the paper and you get immediately taken down if something goes to print. Not every industry has a piss-poor job on display immediately to the public by nature.

[winneythepooh7]

Not in our industry, where blatantly shitty writing is an embarrassment to the paper and you get immediately taken down if something goes to print. Not every industry has a piss-poor job on display immediately to the public by nature.

It's the same in my field. 25-and younger people with little to no working experience are not going to have positions like directors and the like. They just don't have the experience for these types of roles. And if you do get the job and can't handle it, you are not gonna be in it for long........

[cache]

People filter out. You can't look at the short term, because there will be undeserving people getting good jobs. But over the long term, the more capable people will move into higher level positions. Just because you may not get this job now, does not mean anything, it may just take a little longer.