COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR ASSISTANT: Employer

ASSISTANT COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR: ROLE PLAYING SCRIPT FOR EMPLOYER,
Ms. Breckenridge, Hollins University, SPRING 2008

It is Spring 2008. You are the Managing Editor for Web Design at Fine Cooking Magazine, a 13 year old food publication. Fine Cooking’s offices are located in New York City to be close to the outstanding restaurants and international food industry there. Fine Cooking has an outstanding reputation, and is a leader in food publications.

In 2007, the company decided to make archived issues available to subscribers on the web, and because you have been with the magazine since its inception and also know technology well, the company chose you to head up this new endeavor. You have just introduced online membership for subscribers to enjoy total access to every single one of the thousands of trusted recipes on your Web site. The response to the on line membership has been so incredible that you are in the process of hiring an Assistant Communications Editor for Web Design who will start on June 1st.

Every year, Fine Cooking hires many graduating seniors to meet the needs of the ever-growing business. Because of the excellent reputation of the publication, these positions are highly sought after. The competition is fierce. The applicants are many.

You have already interviewed three dozen highly qualified applicants who will be graduating in the spring of 2008. You’ve been hiring for other editing positions for five years now and know the type person who would fit well in the culture and share the values of the magazine. Every once in awhile an applicant comes along who shows you something special. You know immediately that this person would be of great value to the organization for many, many years, and you soften on driving a hard financial bargain because of the person’s exceptional potential. You’re never quite sure what that “something special” is, but you know it when you see it, and you see it in Ms. Schindler.

You interviewed Ms. Schindler yesterday. You were impressed with her poise and her work ethic as revealed when she discussed her work experience with both the publication and food industries. Ms. Schindler has exactly the qualities you seek in this newly created position, and the experience which should make it easy for her to begin immediately with only “on the job training”. At the end of the interview yesterday you offered her the job as the Assistant Communications Editor for Fine Cooking in the New York office, and asked her to return today to set her salary and start date.

As the consummate professional and department head, you offer competitive salaries. Www.wageproject.org tells you that for the job title “Communications Editor 1” a title closest to your position, the salary range is $51,000- $66,500 with .

ASSISTANT COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR APPLICANT (2),

A median salary of $59,000 for the New York City office. The benefits for this position add another $25,000 to the compensation package.

Because Fine Cooking is such a desirable employer and so many fresh-minted graduates want to work for their many publications, they typically pay new hires at the low end of the salary range. Last year’s starting salary for this position was $51,000. You don’t see any reason to start with an offer any higher than that. In fact, three people have already accepted offers at that salary in comparable jobs in the New York office. The benefits package you are offering for this position is approximately $15,000.

Ms. Schindler’s job offer is the last piece of your work for the day. You have to leave in 15 minutes to get to a company wide meeting in which you are the featured speaker on the new Web initiative.

When you and Ms. Schindler sit down to talk, your opening lines to her are:

“We’re so pleased that you want to work for Fine Cooking. You’ll be a wonderful addition to our team.

We have just a couple details to settle, then you can sign our contract, and we’ll see you after graduation.

I am authorized to offer you a starting salary of $51,000. You will be entitled to the standard benefits package all new employees get, and we’d like you to start work in the New York City office on June 1, 2008.

If that’s okay with you, please read over this contract, sign it and you’ll be one of the Fine Cooking family!”

See how she reacts. Listen to her. Write down what points might persuade you to raise this offer. Write down what language she might use that would make you hold the line and not raise her starting salary and why. Write down what objections you would have if she wants more money. Discuss all this thoughtfully with her, because you want her to accept your job offer.

See what is the lowest starting salary that you can get her to accept and get her to accept a specific salary in the 15 minutes before you have to leave.

Remember, you made her a job offer because you were very impressed with her. Now it’s time to get her to work at Fine Cooking.

Good luck.