Day 38: It’s over – Tom offered a job as Crikey junior reporter

It’s over.

I’ve been offered a job and I’ve accepted it.

Crikey editor Sophie Black and deputy editor Jason Whittaker called this morning to offer me a full-time job as a junior reporter, just days after being told that I was not being hired as website editor.

To say that this is a monumental relief would be huge understatement, I’m over the moon and cannot wait to get started.

Sophie and Jason sounded genuinely pleased to be able to put me out of my misery, saying that I would now be able to rest easy. As Sophie put it, I could go away and “have a good cry”.

The offer came as a little bit of a surprise. When Sophie called last Friday, she told me that they were looking at trying to get me in as a reporter but due to the budget situation they “couldn’t promise anything”.

In the meantime, Sophie was able to offer me a short-term job during this year’s election, however it would only be for the duration of the campaign.

Well this morning they went one better. I’m officially employed.

It only took three years of tertiary studies at La Trobe University and 38 days of social media campaigning.

My thanks go to everyone who has followed the campaign. I have received an enormous amount of feedback from you all, most of it very positive. Emails and comments have flooded in, offering everything from advice to job opportunities.

There have also been quite a few students emailing me, asking for advice on how to get noticed. I’m not going to give sermon on the subject, but I will say this: give it a shot, be persistent and don’t be afraid of being annoying. People will eventually take notice.

Well that’s enough of a lecture. Tom wants a job is gone, your social media feeds can rest easy for a while.

However, you never know, in the future there may be a new campaign to fill the void…

Thanks everyone for your interest, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the campaign.

Tom wants a job snapshot:

Page views: 9,044

Blog comments: 37

Twitter followers: 210

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Press: The Australian, journalism.co.uk, 774 ABC Melbourne, Power FM, Crikey and upstart magazine.

Rejection #2: Crikey

Jason Whittaker <jasonawhittaker@gmail.com> (Sun, Jun 6, 2010 at 8:49 PM)
To: Tom Cowie <tmcowie@gmail.com>

Tom,

In this reality TV-like contest to win the coveted job as Crikey’s website editor you are, sadly, the weakest link. The biggest loser. You’re fired, Tom, even before you’re hired. The Journey ends for you here. It’s time to go … Tom.

We thank you for your clearly inadequate application but unfortunately we won’t be able to offer you the position, given your complete lack of competency.  We wish you all the best of luck in the job search, knowing just how much you’ll need it.

Kindest regards,

Jason

P.S. Tom made me write this so he’d have something to display on this desperately shameless website.

In truth we called him with the sad news we had to go with someone else, offered genuine regret and remorse that we couldn’t offer him a position at this time, and pleaded with him not to accept other jobs so we could suck the life out of him on future projects.

His talent is clear, his tenacity inspiring, he is deeply and annoyingly impressive professionally and personally, and if you have the opportunity to hire him you’d be astonishingly stupid not to.

The Crikey job trial is over…again we wait

And breathe out.

Huzzah! The Crikey job trial is officially over and I don’t even think I stuffed it up (actually I definitely stuffed it up, my brain is a little too fried right now and I can only process negative thoughts).

So that is one more hoop that I have jumped through, which, for those counting at home, makes it three obstacles so far in this crazy Crikey journey.

So where to now?

Well, I’m not sure exactly.

Jason Whittaker told me that I would know by next Monday AT THE LATEST.

But surely that cannot be the end. There has to be something else waiting for me on that Monday morning. Methinks Mr Whittaker has one more trick up his sleeve.

On the plus side, I did get receive some rather fetching socks:

Are there any more tests to come? Psychological tests? Fitness tests? Casting couch tests?!? Find out in a few days time…