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With 24 years experience in newspaper journalism, dozens of writing and editing awards under my belt and a trail of success behind me, I can't seem to generate any interest in my current job search. I work for a 30,000 daily that's nationally recognized as being one of the best in the country.

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I'd like to move up and am applying for jobs that are well within my experience level but getting no response. As in zip. Nada. Silence. I'm in my late 40s and am wondering if my age and years of experience are actually a detriment. Are human resources departments (which unbelievably seem to be making ALL hiring decisions now instead of editors) taking a look at my stats and thinking I'm too old and will want too much money?

Should I bypass HR and go directly to the upper-level editors in future inquiries?
Feeling Unloved

You should always apply directly to the hiring editors. With your experience -- and you DO work at a very good newspaper, I'd think it would be appropriate for you to write to managing editors.

Human resources departments are there to help editors, but it is generally the editors' call about whom to hire. You may be getting screened because there is no immediately appropriate opening or because of the reasons you suspect.

Joe Grimm

I bet, though, that HR is passing your letters along. By writing directly to the editors, you can be assured of getting through, and the editors will feel more inclined to respond to you than to someone who is one more degree of separation and who does not even know where the application wound up.

In some operations, HR can be a big help to harried editors who can't seem to keep track of people. In those cases, an HR person can really come to your rescue.

The difficulty is that when editors are swamped, HR tends to be that way, too, and it is hard to tell, looking from the outside, where you can really find allies.

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Coming Friday: A job at a gay weekly would put her closer to her partner, but she is worried about leaving her mainstream daily.

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