After a lay-off, my daughter spent two months job hunting.
Which means I was job-hunting with her by proof-reading cover letters, offering
advice and encouragement, and passing along interesting leads. Nothing is more
soul-sucking than looking for a job while you watch your checking account
dwindle to nothing.
There’s an interesting phenomenon in the world of recruiting,
where applicants for entry-level, dead-end jobs are expected to not only be
overqualified and willing to work for peanuts, but they must also convincingly profess
their undying love of the company and the position.
Recruiter: Why do you
want to do customer service at XYZ company?
Honest answer:
Because I need health care and to not live in a cardboard box.
Expected answer: XYZ
company is the most amazing company ever, with offices in 5 exciting cities
and the best quality products on the market today! Working for XYZ company is
what I’ve dreamed of and worked towards since I was 16!
Okay, I do recruiting for my company, and I’ve interviewed a
lot of folks. When I ask “why are you interested in working for us?” I get a
variety of answers, and you know what? None of them has caused me to say “Nope,
not this guy.”
Which doesn’t mean that there isn’t some of that weird “we’re
the best” mythology going on at every company. Clearly they can’t all be the
best. In fact, most of them suck. But if they can convince their employees that
they’re members of an elite team of super-stars, then they can get a lot more
unpaid labor out of them before they burn out and leave. They call it “esprit de corps.” We had that in the Army. It
is helpful in ensuring that soldiers shoot the enemy instead of each other, and
keep fighting even in hopeless situations. Ask MacArthur about that.
But in the corporate world, that three musketeers bullshit
is extremely toxic, both to the employees and eventually to the company itself.
If everyone must be amped up cheerleaders for the firm, then dissent is suppressed,
contrary opinions are silenced, whistle-blowers are fired, and non-conformists
are sidelined until they leave in disgust. I’ve worked at enough different
companies in different industries to say with complete confidence that most of
them, even quite profitable ones, have crap products, crap processes, and crap
service. If they can convince enough customers that isn’t true, they can make some money, and everyone goes home happy. Except for the misfits of course.
Those annoying people who want to make things better, who want to tinker and
try new things, who are brave enough to tell you that something is crap.
There’s no perfect employee and there’s no perfect job.
There’s just a temporary arrangement of mutual benefit between a company that wants to be profitable and a
human being who needs to not live in a cardboard box. Get over it.
