Dating and Job Interviews
Well, it happened again. Someone sent me a job ad working as a graphic designer for a company that I really like, and I had a full-blown attack of something. A panic attack? A freak-out? I don't know what to call it. I would really like to get to the bottom of this weird phenomenon that happens to me when I read job ads.
I have a co-worker who keeps asking me why on earth, with all my talents, I'm doing unskilled labor for barely more than minimum wage. This is why.
The irony is that the job ad is for a website about intimate relationships. You know "That Guy" on dating sites? The one who messages every woman asking for sex right off the bat? That's what most job ads are like. This invites a comparison I have often made, between professions and intimate relationships, which I would like to go into in more detail.
A job ad feels exactly like being asked to have sex for money. I am not trying to be insulting and hyperbolic. I am quite serious about this, and have been for years, not just the heat of the moment. Professional job ads ask me to start a very serious capital-R Relationship with total strangers, instantaneously accelerating from a dead stop to full speed. This job ad even uses the word "passion". I am expected to feel passion in exchange for money. They want you to join their "family" (their word). I'm supposed to care deeply about crafting the identity of complete strangers!
It's like that scene in "Joe Vs. The Volcano" in which the limo driver pulls the car over, and says, "You say to me you want to go shopping. You want to buy clothes, but you don't know what kind. You leave that hanging in the air, like I'm going to fill in the blanks. Now that to me is like asking me who you are, and I don't know who you are. I don't want to know. It's taken me all my life to find out who I am and I am tired, now, you hear what I'm saying?"
This is why I don't date. Everybody hates dating, and for good reason. Dates are universally creepy and desperate, because it's an interview with a stranger, for the position of Most Important Person In Your Life. I find that insane. Instead of dating, I make friends, and after I've gotten to know someone, I see if she would like to gradually increase the involvement. That's why my love life is so successful. I don't think that translates to the workplace. In the job world, I'm not sure how I would develop a passionate vision for how someone else's website should look, then go and ask for a job.
Comments
sorcycat on Feb. 11, 2012 8:38 PM
A job is not your life. You can quit your job any time, just like you can quit a relationship. Are you unwilling to try something that you might like, because you fear that if you don't like it you won't be able to get out? Or maybe you like to have a better idea about a prospective partner in order to reduce the odds of a rejection. (Maybe a lot of people 'date' strangers because it's easier to 'get out' than when you have common friends. I'm with you in the friends-first department.)
And your prospective employers desire passion because that means you'll actually care about what you are doing, and do a better job than someone who does not. I'm involved in recruitment at my company, and I'm definitely on the lookout for people who think of themselves as creative, collaborative, and motivated by something other than simply having a job.
Obviously we have completely different world views. That doesn't bug me, but I wanted to give my two cents.
matt-arnold on Feb. 11, 2012 9:31 PM
I'm unwilling to try it out, because I think I know what will happen. Somebody who signs checks would look at my design and say "I've worked at this company for years. This isn't who we are." I'll ask who they are. They'll say "you're the designer, you figure it out." I have to play a guessing game with the random, arbitrary, subjective aesthetic criteria of the person signing the checks. Then they'll ask how having a designer on the payroll is bringing in more measurable money than they're paying me. I will have no idea how to measure my contribution. So I'll feel no pride in it. Then I'll get fired.
You should want pride in one's work. In other words, professionalism, dedication. It shouldn't matter if they want to do it or not-- they should do it while they wait for the next task which they are more personally interested in. In a large team with many views, there's too much compromise and diversity to accommodate passion. Passion just brings the work to a halt because of a refusal to compromise one's vision.
I would encourage you to read this. As that article concludes: "Ability, pride, discipline, integrity, dedication, organization, communication, and social skills are much more useful to an employer than passion is."
nicegeek on Feb. 13, 2012 2:48 PM
is spot-on in her assessment: A job is not a marriage, but a partnership of mutual benefit. In most cases, it's at-will, and either party can end it at any time (though two weeks' notice is considered polite). And as she says, ill-defined requirements are endemic to many professions, and graphic design is certainly no exception. One of the skills that a professional designer (or software engineer) needs to acquire is how to deal with those difficulties by communicating effectively with the client, knowing what questions to ask to get started on the right track, doing quick mockups or prototypes so that you can get meaningful feedback early on, and knowing how to make an implementation flexible enough to handle the inevitable 11th-hour changes. Your employer/client is always going to have requirements and constraints on time/money that force you to make compromises. If that's unacceptable to you, then you're not a graphic designer; you're an independent artist using websites as your canvas. Which is fine, but unlikely to ever pay the bills.
With respect to job hunting, IMO, it's a perpetual occupation in the modern world; only the intensity varies. Even while employed full-time, it's still a good idea to keep your antennae extended for opportunities. I keep a search agent running on some of the major job sites (Monster, etc) at all times, and keep a list of companies of interest. I attend meetings where there are others in my profession, and keep my ear to the ground about what companies are looking for people with my skillset, and about what new skills are coming into vogue. I keep my resume continuously updated as I learn new things. If you're always looking, you've got a better chance at noticing that dream job when it gets posted, instead of missing it. Even if you have no desire to change jobs, knowing the state of the job market allows you to know when you can justify asking for a raise.
sorcycat on Feb. 11, 2012 10:13 PM
You are assuming that every company is like that. You are right that interviewing is like dating, and you should ask questions to try to figure out if your method of designing is compatible with the information that they want to provide. You can always turn down a job you don't feel is right. If you never try the answer is already no.
Passion is not the same as a refusal to compromise. (I would think visionary would be more uncompromising.) You listed a lot of great qualities, but I wonder if you think passion means something different than what they intend. I think pride is very similar, but passion also implies a desire to improve skills. Do you spend non-work time improving your skills? Yes, you certainly do - when apply your skill publishing for several cons, make dominion cards about your friends, and invent games. Maybe someday you'll be passionate about their particular website, but I think in that case they just want you to take pride in your work. They might mean they want you to be passionate about design in general, not a specific project.
As for them not telling you what they want, this happens in many professions, including computer science. There is a great Dilbert comic on the subject. (http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2006-01-29/) Stuff still gets done though. Maybe you haven't found a compatible company or may not asking the right questions.
delosd on Feb. 12, 2012 9:30 PM
Have you considered signing up with an agency that specialized in Temp to Hire position? Less commitment, more ability to back out, and a great way to see if you're "compatible" with the company before "tieing the knot". When I was managing an IT services account some years back, we hired several people through temp to hire because we were looking for certain attititudes and didn't want to be locked into someone that didn't have them.
matt-arnold on Feb. 13, 2012 11:30 AM
Excellent thought. I used to do that, and liked it. The temp jobs dried up when the job market in general dried up, but it's coming back now.
Of course, I currently do possess a full-time job, which pays the bills. But if I ever don't, I'll make a fresh attempt to get into those agencies.
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