The battle against internal candidates

Ever gotten a job where you were up against people already working at the station? Notice the chilly air when you arrived?

Well, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the decision to hire you...by management.

Here's the deal on openings and candidates within the newsroom. Any time an anchor job is posted you always have a bunch of reporters who want to toss their hats in the ring. That's true in every station. And every News Director, when faced with a parade of reporters who want the anchor gig, pretty much has to tell every single one, "You'll be considered." Even if the reporter doesn't have a prayer.

The reason is simple; the ND doesn't want hard feelings in the newsroom during the weeks of the search and has to appear to be fair to everyone who is already working there. In most cases he already knows who the legit internal candidates are and who is getting the courtesy consideration.

Meanwhile, if you're an outsider and get the job, you're often treated as a pariah when you arrive at your new job. Not your fault, but it doesn't make for a pleasant transition.

So if you run into this situation, remember, it's not you. People can't dislike you before they even meet you, so the reason points to the decision.

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