It's not about odds or chance. It's about who can show the person doing the hiring you are the best choice for the job whether you are from the inside or outside.
I was hired as a chief photog outside of the existing pool of 20 staff photogs. This was back in the mid 80's before my current life of freelancing in Central America. Lots happened between that station and my move to Nicaragua but...the point is to answer your question.
Want to know how I made the sell? Several members of the current photog staff were going for the chief job. All of them could shoot very well. But the job selection process was causing divisions within the photogs. Each of the inside photog candidates had their supporters.
The inside candidates were all making heavy pushes with the ND about how well they could shoot. The problem was the job selection process was splitting the staff as well as causing difficulties for others in the newsroom. It made the news directors job harder as well. He was concerned if he picked one inside person over the other he'd have a divided, unhappy photog staff. Everyone was caught up in who was going to get the chief photog job.
Don't get me wrong. This staff of photogs was/is great. A good mix of older and younger people all with one thing in common. Talent.
What many people forget is a chief photog job is not just about how well you shoot. How you manage people is also just as important...if not more important.
I told the man doing the hiring he was better off giving me the job. My tape was good. I proved I had the abilities with a camera. However I told the ND bringing me in from the outside would force the staff to stay together as a group dealing with me, an outsider. If he hired one of the "inside" guys, he would continue to have divisions. There was no way around it for him. One of those groups of supporters was going to be very unhappy their person didn't get the job. I told him it was better to have them all a little unhappy. Forgive the analogy but part of being a manager is like herding cattle.It's much harder to deal with a divided group. First and formost, the priority is to get everyone on the same page thinking as "one". There are several ways to do that depending on what direction you, as the manager, are coming from. The inside or the outside.
It worked. I showed I not only had the ability to shoot but I understood how to manage people. Managing people is the priority in the end. They had lots of quality photogs. They needed a manager. Not simply another photog.
It still was not the smoothest of transitions but the photog staff as a whole was forced to deal with me and their feelings towards one another were calmed as those same feelings became focused on me. They couldn't help but become closer to one another and that worked to the advantage of all. The station, staff and me.
There are good arguments for both. Hiring from within or bringing someone new in from the outside. In fact the current chief of my old station was an inside guy. A great photog as well as a good human being. Great people skills. There is no single correct answer to which is best. In my case I wanted the job and "best" for me was to get the job.
So, bottom line, whether you are from the inside or the outside, do whatever you can to prove you understand managing people as well as having talents as a photog/editor.
Shoot well so you have the respect of the photogs you supervise as well as knowing how to manage a group of people.
It's not just one or the other.
FWIW...I held that job for five years, through three different news directors. I'm one of the lucky ones in this business who can claim they have never been fired...but that doesn't mean much since I know too many good people who have been fired and continue to have successful careers because they are good at what they do.
I hope I was able to give you some insights and hope, no matter what path you choose or decisions you find yourself facing in the future.
[ July 21, 2005, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: Lensmith ]
