Some are hired as part timers to see if they can cut the mustard. Candidates do not try out for our desks. You must be kidding. I was given a half day to get familiar with the system, then told to go to it. The advent of re-engineering here has resulted in more training.
Extra pages are okay.
My main concern her is this paper's tendency to view copy editors as one-trick ponies. In situations when I was able to scam up such assignments as locator maps or photo-page layout, I got excellent feedback. But due to the compartmentalized structure here, these opportunities have been only occasional.