AaronGleeman.com

"It's now a month later and I haven't heard back from the Sports Editor at all. I tried to contact him a couple of times and never got a response. So, at this point, I think it's obvious that he either died or I didn't get the job. I am obviously more than a little disappointed that I didn't get the gig, this being the FOURTH TIME that I have applied for it in the last 2+ years and all, and it is also a little strange that the guy never even got back to me, even just to say "thanks for applying, but we chose someone else."

To be honest, I'm not sure what the deal is. There were four positions open, including an internship - all of which I made it very clear I would love to fill. I gave some writing samples and the guy I interviewed with made sure to tell me that he frequented this website and enjoyed reading it (which I took to be a great sign). And I don't think the interview went poorly. I could, of course, be way off-base and maybe I came across as a lunatic, but I actually think it went fairly well. So, basically, I am stumped.

People keep telling me to keep applying, that "I need to be persistent" and "show that I really want the job." But that's the same thing I heard the other 3 times I applied. At some point, I think a time comes when one has to stop trying to get on their college newspaper. I'm not sure that getting turned down 4 times in a little over 2 years is that point, but it's definitely pretty damn close, and there is only so much rejection one person can take from the exact same source.

I find it hard to believe that the other applicants for what was a very low-paying position covering volleyball and gymnastics and track-and-field for a college newspaper were so much more qualified than I am, so either I am a horrible interview or there is something else going on. Or maybe a whole bunch of incredibly smart and gifted journalists with tons of experience decided to apply for the sports internship at the Minnesota Daily at the same time I did, who knows."

Well, guess what? I got an email from the Minnesota Daily yesterday afternoon. Some kind of coincidence, huh? Yeah, right.

Here's what it said:

Dear Applicant:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time recently to apply for a position in the Sports Department at The Minnesota Daily. We certainly enjoyed reviewing your application and appreciated your patience throughout our search process.

While we were very impressed with your qualifications, we were faced with a difficult decision. We finally selected another candidate who we believe more closely matches what we are looking for in the position.

Thank you again for your interest in employment opportunities at The Minnesota Daily and good luck in all your future endeavors!

Sincerely,

Rob Mortenson

Assistant Human Resources Manager

That's right, after all of this, they sent me a form-letter.

Of course, they didn't have the decency to inform me of their decision for an entire month and I suspect if I hadn't written about the issue yesterday I would never have heard back from them at all.

So, obviously someone over at the Daily reads this website, or at least read it yesterday. Yet, even after that person read what I wrote yesterday, they still didn't have the decency to call me or even send me a personalized email. It is really is quite incredible in my opinion.

1) That they would interview me and then not even get back to me...ever.

2) That someone over there reads this website on what is obviously a regular basis, and yet they still didn't hire me for what is essentially an entry-level position in the Sports Department.

3) Even when they read on this website that I am upset and confused as to how this whole situation has unfolded, they didn't give me a call or send me a quick email. They sent me a form-letter, the sort of thing they should have sent me about a month ago.

I'm obviously burning some bridges by writing this, but really, who cares? I think it is quite clear that getting a job writing for the Minnesota Daily is not going to happen for me at any point, ever, regardless of what I do. Plus, they in no way treated me with any sort of respect, so why should I treat them with any?

I read the Minnesota Daily everyday and I think it is a really good newspaper. That is why, ever since I came to school here in the fall of 2001, I have wanted to write for them. It is also why I tried on four separate occasions to join the staff, going on two interviews with two different Sports Editors and being told on one other occasion that I was "one of the final five candidates."

And now, here I sit, having been blown off four times by my college newspaper. No one likes being blown off any time, but this particular time really pisses me off. If you aren't going to hire me, tell me so, don't leave me twisting in the wind for a month. And if you are going to just completely disrespect me by not even having the courtesy to inform me of your decision not to hire me, don't send me some bullshit form letter a month later, after I made a big stink about it on a website that someone who works there obviously reads.

I don't get it, I really don't. I don't think I have ever been this confused about something in my entire life. It is almost comical really. Here I am, a student at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Journalism. I have my own website where I write a new article about sports every single day of the week, for what is now a fairly substantial audience, and I also write for other websites, with even larger audiences. I even wrote for my high school newspaper and was the Sports Editor there as well. And yet I can't even get hired at my college newspaper, not even for an internship position - FOUR TIMES! It's unbelievable.

Enough with the bad news...

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...SUPER JOHAN!

Okay, so Johan Santana only pitched 6 1/3 innings against the White Sox last night, but still...

 IP     H     R     BB     SO     HR

6.1     6     1      1      6      0

Certainly not extraordinary, but considering Minnesota starters gave up 8 runs in 9 innings during the first two games of the Chicago series (both losses), it's pretty damn good.

After Johan left in the middle of the 7th inning, Latroy Hawkins came in and did a fantastic job bridging the gap to Eddie Guardado, who, for once, got a save without even making things "interesting."

After two depressing losses to the White Sox, the Twins finally got some good pitching last night and took Game Three of the series. The AL Central standings now look like this...

             W      L     GB

Chicago     78     67      -

Minnesota   77     68      1

Today's game (1 PM, WGN) is obviously huge. If Brad Radke can pitch like Johan Santana did last night, the Twins could leave Chicago with a series split and a tie for first-place. If he pitches more like Kyle Lohse and Carlos Pulido did in the first two games of the series, the Twins will leave down two games. Now, two games is certainly not insurmountable, especially with the remaining schedules, but if they can get out of Chicago tied for first, I think they are officially in the driver's seat.

Link of the Day:

The Minnesota Daily - "An Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities"

Today's picks:

Pittsburgh (D'Amico) -110 over Cincinnati (Serafini)