Q. I've got an enviable conundrum in these days of layoffs: a choice between two jobs.
I'm a business reporter at a medium-sized daily paper, and I love it. I'm doing the best work of my career, but my employer is struggling, has gone through many rounds of layoffs and cuts, and we've been warned to expect still more cuts.
I'm also a contender for a position at a big-city business weekly, which has a reputation for paying fairly well, being a good place to work and -- best of all -- having significant financial resources. However, the weekly is also way behind the curve on the Web, an area where I've spent significant time developing my skills, and the reporters who have left the weekly in recent history have left journalism altogether.
I've always dreamed of working for a major metro daily and, after years of paying dues, I now believe I'd be a competitive candidate if anyone were hiring. In this new-media era, I'd also love to work for a Web-only journalism enterprise that does hard-hitting investigative work.
I'm torn as I balance my options. I see personal and professional advantages no matter which decision I make, and I'm not sure what choice will best serve my long-term goals. At my current job, I have opportunities to continue producing hard-hitting investigative work on a beat I know well, but only until I'm laid off -- and that could happen anytime.
I haven't had a pay raise in three years, and with company funds extremely tight I've had to start paying for my own public record photocopies and database subscriptions. At the business weekly, I'd actually have financial resources to fund my reporting, a better salary and more security. I'd also be in a metro area. But my new media skills might stagnate, and I worry about the next career steps that would be available to me and how I'd be viewed as a weekly, rather than daily, reporter.
Do you think taking a job at a business weekly would derail my long-term dreams?
PuzzledA. This is a difficult choice. One would hope that career growth would lead to greater security, but that may not be the case here.
When you describe these publications as being equal in terms of opportunity, the tie-breaker seems to be
that you feel one does not offer much financial stability. In this job market, I would seek stability.
It sounds like you have had a stable career history and that you are ready to move. Staying could be the most dangerous option you have.
Before you accept anything, though, try to use your negotiation window to press for more digital innovation at the business weekly. Explain why this is important, and ask to be one of weekly's innovators in digital delivery. If you can get some room to do that, your decision is obvious.
Coming Monday: This independent journalist wants to make it in broadcast and asks: Should he learn more Internet skills, such as working with video and writing scripts?
