I have a love/hate relationship with the hiring process. Whenever I have an open position for a writer, I have to do two things:
1) Sort through 100 applications from enormously talented and likable and emotionally invested writers who make me laugh and
2) Choose one
This process is always a humbling reminder that there is no shortage of phenomenal writing talent out there. I read every application — every cover letter, every writing sample and every blog. This is not entirely true: If there are two or more misuses of “it’s” in the cover letter, I read no further. But that happens so very, very rarely. Most of the time, I think to myself, “This is a really talented person with a solid grasp on the fundamentals of grammar and structure and an ability to insert personal charm into anything she’s writing.” I honestly had those thought about 85% of the applications I read this time around.
And the cover letters are fantastic — I’d say I’ve usually made up my mind about a person after reading their cover letter. I love hearing from applicants that they’ve been avid fans of EB for years and they’ve been inspired by the writers on the site and they’d love to join our team. I love people like this and I love counting them as readers. The problem is that you can’t hire all of them. The problem is that you have to choose one. It’s almost heart-breaking.
What it comes down to is this: Are you a great writer with a voice that will fit well on Evil Beet? So that’s what I have to determine, and usually, by the end of the hiring process, it boils down to a pretty clear one or two choices. And then I have to tell all those other talented people that they’re not getting the job. And that sucks to do, because they are all awesome. But I consider the writers on EB and Zelda Lily to be a part of my family, so I put a lot of time and effort into choosing the perfect person to adopt.
But anyway, no, I haven’t hired anyone yet, I’m still slogging through submissions from very very smart people.
