I think it's a requirement, personally. It also seems all legal employers are required to be addicted to something before getting that type of authority.
Why do I say this? Oh, let me count the ways:
1. The job hunt seems to be the only time when basic courtesy is not only allowed to be ignored but downright discouraged. I've seen this sentiment expressed a hundred times on this one HR blog I read on occasion.
As a business owner having done interviews, I made damn sure to follow up with people seeking opportunities with us. I didn't pull dick moves & lie to people like the SOBs I've had to deal with (some of which you can read about in this blog).
After my latest experience in that whole "waiting for a job" (that's not even paying a basic salary, by the way) garbage, I've given up on looking for any sort of day job.
For one thing, there's no opportunity for someone with my usual background and anyone claiming that they seek someone different or unique is a liar. When I put my hat in the ring, it never pans out.
Second, I'm just not motivated to do it. If someone wants me to do something, they'll have to find me & make an offer. Barring that, I don't care anymore. I want to work in my own business badly enough to die before taking on some job I'd hate that would kill my spirit.
Oh, and that same social media you use to monitor employees? It works both ways, assholes!!! People will talk about your shitty behavior & future applicants will not want to work for you. Think for a second: would YOU want to work at a company that has a history of lying to applicants, paying nothing while expecting one person to work for 5 or breaking the law? Would YOU want to work someplace where sexual harassment was encouraged instead of punished? Many people don't want to work at these places.
Frankly, lying pisses me off & I don't care about maintaining bridges with liars. Maybe these jerks might should consider that someday THEY may need jobs & guess who their interviewer is...someone like me that they've lied to. You think I'm going to give such a person a job? You must be on crack.
2. Career advice articles continue to tout that job applicants should "suck it up" and not complain when a potential employer interviews them & then refuses to follow up. Consider that they actually suggest you continue an interview after being asked illegal questions.
Let me tell you, law firms are notorious for doing this shady crap if you believe sites like Ms. JD and other legal blogs where people talk about sexism toward women (not to mention other asinine remarks that people told me about getting in interviews). I know precisely what I'd do if I were asked an illegal question. I'd immediately say "I don't think we have anything else to discuss. Good day," and walk out the door/hang up the phone. Try & stop me and I'll freely explain your blatant disregard for the law + what it says to me about your business (i.e. that you're perfectly okay with sexual harassment, defrauding clients, making people work off the clock & God knows what else).
If I wanted to be demeaned, I would go work as a stripper or as a prostitute. Craig's List keeps allowing those ads for escort agencies so certainly I can find places to be demeaned without having to work for some hypocrite wearing a business suit.
Let's not forget that how an employer treats you when you're an applicant & not even working there is the best you're going to get. If they're treating you like crap at the stage when they're supposed to be impressing you (or "wooing" if you want to go BigLaw fancy), how will they treat you when you're a rank & file employee? This is a question I asked myself in dealing with schools & I think it's very relevant to potential employers.
And if you're treating a potential client that way, it's inexcusable to keep giving business to you since you're the worst business person ever.
3. This article that outright says promotions are based on favoritism.
So, if this is how promotions happen, then why the hell would I bother with working for anyone other than myself, my best friend or anyone who truly respects me???
In sum, it seems no company not owned by you, your friends or anyone with a semblance of competence wants anyone with a brain. They only want "yes" people & slaves/robots. Case in point and I'm shocked "absolute fealty to the company above everything & everyone else" isn't listed as a trait that's irresistible to employers.
Newsflash: you can't expect absolute, unconditional loyalty from someone who isn't a partner or a high ranking person in your business. Underpay them and/or make the workplace atmosphere suck & you're an absolute joke if you think anyone's going to have a speck of loyalty to you. I don't care about industry custom, this is a just a fact of life.
One final thought: if you're too much of a pussy to tell people the hard truth (you're fired, we're not going to give you a 2nd/3rd round interview, we gave someone else the job [probably the owner's kid or some other nepotistic relationship]), then you should not be in management. Being a pussy is a good way to get shot up when someone finally snaps & starts a killing spree. Bad karma begets bad karma. I personally don't want pussies in my ranks; perhaps they remind me of the 7th grade clique bitches I grew up around who'd be nice to your face & cut you down behind your back. I say tell me the damn truth & let ME handle it.
Showing posts with label robots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label robots. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I Hope You're Sticking Around...
Just trying to adjust to having a full time day job again. Of course, the real test comes in when I get paid. I'm not about to have a repeat performance of the scam artistry of last November. I won't be working unpaid for 3 months this time.
Realized that I have some links I really should go & comment on:
* Legalities aside, I & every sane person in this country have been wanting this to happen for years. It's time to start following the example of other countries & treating citizenship with the importance that it deserves instead of letting illegals cash in on everything.
* A few comments on this:
First off, honesty is a total misnomer in a job interview. It IS, seriously. You walk in there wearing clothes you don't normally wear, rehearsing your answers ahead of time & telling an employer precisely what they want to hear. Personal style & creativity is generally frowned upon as is not being a robot. A smart interviewer knows that there is a degree of dishonesty in any job interview. I would even go so far as to say that a job interview is the ultimate act of dishonesty, especially when competition for a job is fierce & lots of people are desperate.
Second, I'm glad that some of my methods are things that one should do such as dealing w/overqualification right away. Thankfully, my current position didn't come w/that problem. I'm still learning but at least it's in the title of attorney.
Also glad to see that this person despises the practice of not doing a follow-up after giving someone an interview. I hate that & it's a true pet peeve of mine.
Third, employers should also not rely on candidates filling a position. They may have other interviews & get better offers or people who are more proactive than Potential Employer #1.
A few more comments: checking references off list could lead to potential lawsuits. What if someone said "do not contact X person?" There could be defamation issues so we might want to tread carefully there.
We're also not addressing the catch-22 of "no experience w/out a job; no job w/out experience." You can't volunteer everywhere & for every single field. It's actually a terrible idea to volunteer at a library in order to work as a librarian; my husband found out that it will harm you if you pursue that area.
Also not smart to do it as a lawyer unless you're in law school; if you've graduated, you should already have gotten internships or done something in the legal industry to learn how to practice law. Otherwise, you end up stuck as a permanent volunteer/unpaid worker & never get the respect from anyone to move forward. You end up devaluing your own skills & no one takes you seriously if you're doing it years after getting admitted. I've seen many lawyers not take up & comers seriously but simply exploit them for free labor.
For the record, legal aid & other similar groups have requirements for volunteers; I know Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts requires 7 years of legal experience before you can work w/them. Now my situation has not been on a volunteer basis but is a result of how the entertainment industry works.
Oh, and personality not fitting the corporate culture: what if someone's personality is repugnant to everyone? What if you're in an occupation where you're supposed to be less than happy flowers & sunshine to people, where in fact such behavior would cause those you had to get things from to brush you aside? Somewhere, I'm sure there are people whose personalities & general inner being are offensive to everyone in the room; what then?
Finally, be honest but don't talk about a bad boss? Hmmm.... can we say "be a liar?" I don't think that when your former position was a scam enterprise that you help yourself by defending the scam, especially when you have ethical duties to the general public under a professional license. I also think you have a right to talk about the lack of advancement opportunities if people who don't even interact w/you on a frequent basis are the ones making the decisions while ignoring anyone who does spend time w/you (including your immediate boss) & says you deserve to move upward.
Honestly, I think I did much better in interviews when I wasn't worried about making someone like me & simply approached it like a business transaction.
Two big problems w/this one:
First, if I were still dating I prefer not wasting my time w/an animal hater or a two bit scumbag who's just like an ex. I had no qualms talking about pets or exes & used such conversation to determine whether I needed to bother getting to know this person any further. One doesn't need to be the crazy cat lady or mega-obsessed on something but I certainly think it's pertinent to share stories on these topics to implicitly tell someone just what will happen if THEY try doing to me what X in the story did.
Second, you can use that stuff for bonding. My husband & I bonded over bad ex stories. It became a question of whose exes are worse. We declared it a tie.
Oh, and readers? If you try to seek me out aside from this blog, know that I am a very suspicious & paranoid person. Life & general reality has made me this way.
If you have a complaint about that, then take it up w/all the people who have wronged me in some way. Ask nicely & I'll give you a list.
Realized that I have some links I really should go & comment on:
* Legalities aside, I & every sane person in this country have been wanting this to happen for years. It's time to start following the example of other countries & treating citizenship with the importance that it deserves instead of letting illegals cash in on everything.
* A few comments on this:
First off, honesty is a total misnomer in a job interview. It IS, seriously. You walk in there wearing clothes you don't normally wear, rehearsing your answers ahead of time & telling an employer precisely what they want to hear. Personal style & creativity is generally frowned upon as is not being a robot. A smart interviewer knows that there is a degree of dishonesty in any job interview. I would even go so far as to say that a job interview is the ultimate act of dishonesty, especially when competition for a job is fierce & lots of people are desperate.
Second, I'm glad that some of my methods are things that one should do such as dealing w/overqualification right away. Thankfully, my current position didn't come w/that problem. I'm still learning but at least it's in the title of attorney.
Also glad to see that this person despises the practice of not doing a follow-up after giving someone an interview. I hate that & it's a true pet peeve of mine.
Third, employers should also not rely on candidates filling a position. They may have other interviews & get better offers or people who are more proactive than Potential Employer #1.
A few more comments: checking references off list could lead to potential lawsuits. What if someone said "do not contact X person?" There could be defamation issues so we might want to tread carefully there.
We're also not addressing the catch-22 of "no experience w/out a job; no job w/out experience." You can't volunteer everywhere & for every single field. It's actually a terrible idea to volunteer at a library in order to work as a librarian; my husband found out that it will harm you if you pursue that area.
Also not smart to do it as a lawyer unless you're in law school; if you've graduated, you should already have gotten internships or done something in the legal industry to learn how to practice law. Otherwise, you end up stuck as a permanent volunteer/unpaid worker & never get the respect from anyone to move forward. You end up devaluing your own skills & no one takes you seriously if you're doing it years after getting admitted. I've seen many lawyers not take up & comers seriously but simply exploit them for free labor.
For the record, legal aid & other similar groups have requirements for volunteers; I know Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts requires 7 years of legal experience before you can work w/them. Now my situation has not been on a volunteer basis but is a result of how the entertainment industry works.
Oh, and personality not fitting the corporate culture: what if someone's personality is repugnant to everyone? What if you're in an occupation where you're supposed to be less than happy flowers & sunshine to people, where in fact such behavior would cause those you had to get things from to brush you aside? Somewhere, I'm sure there are people whose personalities & general inner being are offensive to everyone in the room; what then?
Finally, be honest but don't talk about a bad boss? Hmmm.... can we say "be a liar?" I don't think that when your former position was a scam enterprise that you help yourself by defending the scam, especially when you have ethical duties to the general public under a professional license. I also think you have a right to talk about the lack of advancement opportunities if people who don't even interact w/you on a frequent basis are the ones making the decisions while ignoring anyone who does spend time w/you (including your immediate boss) & says you deserve to move upward.
Honestly, I think I did much better in interviews when I wasn't worried about making someone like me & simply approached it like a business transaction.
Two big problems w/this one:
First, if I were still dating I prefer not wasting my time w/an animal hater or a two bit scumbag who's just like an ex. I had no qualms talking about pets or exes & used such conversation to determine whether I needed to bother getting to know this person any further. One doesn't need to be the crazy cat lady or mega-obsessed on something but I certainly think it's pertinent to share stories on these topics to implicitly tell someone just what will happen if THEY try doing to me what X in the story did.
Second, you can use that stuff for bonding. My husband & I bonded over bad ex stories. It became a question of whose exes are worse. We declared it a tie.
Oh, and readers? If you try to seek me out aside from this blog, know that I am a very suspicious & paranoid person. Life & general reality has made me this way.
If you have a complaint about that, then take it up w/all the people who have wronged me in some way. Ask nicely & I'll give you a list.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Life Updates & The Eternal Question of the Unemployed
My baby nephew was born this weekend. He came out earlier than anyone expected & he's going to be over a month old before I'll be able to visit him but no one in my family's mad that I'm going to a Pearl Jam concert w/my husband or that I'm going to a film premiere for my company before I'll be down there.
To my absolute joy, the baby's got dark hair so he won't end up having those social problems that you natural redheads know all too well. I figured it would be much worse for a kid whose sibling ISN'T a redhead. It would have been worse for my own younger sister if I'd also not had red hair.
Siblings fight & get jealous anyway (and we're as different as night & day) but I'd have practically been Marcia Brady with my sister as Jan Brady. If you haven't seen The Brady Bunch Movie to see that sibling rivalry, you have to. It's also a very funny movie.
The way I view it as an auntie is it's my job to be the cool one who exposes them to new things & who they can confide in. Kind of like Uncle Jesse in Full House; I figure my job & life will be more interesting. I also feel it's my duty to make sure they never settle or think they can't do something because of where they came from or factors beyond their control. I also hope they say "If my Auntie can do it, then so can I." Heck, if anyone looks at things I've done & get inspired to try something no matter the odds I'll have done what I'm supposed to.
This sort of ties into my employment situation: I no longer have a day job & I'm in a catch-22 of being entrenched in the entertainment industry + learning a lot about it but no one being able to pay me a salary. I read a lot of career advice articles & blogs on various places like MSN or Yahoo and it seems to me that in order to get a job anywhere, you have to do everything short of getting the company's logo tattooed to your backside. You can't pursue your own endeavors, have a side job or even have an opinion in some places.
A big problem with business is when you don't listen to the devil's advocate or have someone like that around to tell you when something might be a bad idea. Any group or celeb is in BIG trouble when there is no ability to express dissenting views without punishment. I just wonder why I'm not able to find something paying me a modest rate (enough to pay my private loan payment + transportation though a little extra won't hurt) & doesn't require me to make a lifelong commitment to the employer + be subjected to disrespect. I don't have motivation to work that hard for someone who's just going to toss me out like garbage or call me an idiot either directly or indirectly.
My definition of disrespect should be obvious from other entries I've written but in case it's not, I basically don't care to be treated like a 6 year old. Many legal employers do treat people like this & it's a waste of my time (at least in many private practice law firms or on document review projects; I can't speak for other places).
I think it's also because of being an entrepreneur; once you work for yourself & have to do things on your own, it's very hard to go back to the dictatorship that is the corporate workplace unless you're higher up on the food chain.
Combining all this with the stories you read about people getting tossed out on the street with very little notice after working someplace for a long time, you can bet I screen anyone I'd consider working with very carefully. Some companies seem to think they have the power but boy, are they wrong. People watch them & I definitely remember the good vs. bad experiences I had with companies.
I hope more people use their time being unemployed to rethink how they want to be treated in the workplace & demand higher standards when they're giving 100% to a job. The marketplace would require changes & your average person might have a more pleasant job environment. Note that this only goes for people who are doing their jobs & turning in proper performance; I don't abide laziness but I also don't abide requirements to paint a partner's home, pick up a boss's dry cleaning or be on call when your job title doesn't include those things.
What next, an idol of the boss everyone has to bow down to every morning? Maybe kissing the boss's ring before you start the workday?
To my absolute joy, the baby's got dark hair so he won't end up having those social problems that you natural redheads know all too well. I figured it would be much worse for a kid whose sibling ISN'T a redhead. It would have been worse for my own younger sister if I'd also not had red hair.
Siblings fight & get jealous anyway (and we're as different as night & day) but I'd have practically been Marcia Brady with my sister as Jan Brady. If you haven't seen The Brady Bunch Movie to see that sibling rivalry, you have to. It's also a very funny movie.
The way I view it as an auntie is it's my job to be the cool one who exposes them to new things & who they can confide in. Kind of like Uncle Jesse in Full House; I figure my job & life will be more interesting. I also feel it's my duty to make sure they never settle or think they can't do something because of where they came from or factors beyond their control. I also hope they say "If my Auntie can do it, then so can I." Heck, if anyone looks at things I've done & get inspired to try something no matter the odds I'll have done what I'm supposed to.
This sort of ties into my employment situation: I no longer have a day job & I'm in a catch-22 of being entrenched in the entertainment industry + learning a lot about it but no one being able to pay me a salary. I read a lot of career advice articles & blogs on various places like MSN or Yahoo and it seems to me that in order to get a job anywhere, you have to do everything short of getting the company's logo tattooed to your backside. You can't pursue your own endeavors, have a side job or even have an opinion in some places.
A big problem with business is when you don't listen to the devil's advocate or have someone like that around to tell you when something might be a bad idea. Any group or celeb is in BIG trouble when there is no ability to express dissenting views without punishment. I just wonder why I'm not able to find something paying me a modest rate (enough to pay my private loan payment + transportation though a little extra won't hurt) & doesn't require me to make a lifelong commitment to the employer + be subjected to disrespect. I don't have motivation to work that hard for someone who's just going to toss me out like garbage or call me an idiot either directly or indirectly.
My definition of disrespect should be obvious from other entries I've written but in case it's not, I basically don't care to be treated like a 6 year old. Many legal employers do treat people like this & it's a waste of my time (at least in many private practice law firms or on document review projects; I can't speak for other places).
I think it's also because of being an entrepreneur; once you work for yourself & have to do things on your own, it's very hard to go back to the dictatorship that is the corporate workplace unless you're higher up on the food chain.
Combining all this with the stories you read about people getting tossed out on the street with very little notice after working someplace for a long time, you can bet I screen anyone I'd consider working with very carefully. Some companies seem to think they have the power but boy, are they wrong. People watch them & I definitely remember the good vs. bad experiences I had with companies.
I hope more people use their time being unemployed to rethink how they want to be treated in the workplace & demand higher standards when they're giving 100% to a job. The marketplace would require changes & your average person might have a more pleasant job environment. Note that this only goes for people who are doing their jobs & turning in proper performance; I don't abide laziness but I also don't abide requirements to paint a partner's home, pick up a boss's dry cleaning or be on call when your job title doesn't include those things.
What next, an idol of the boss everyone has to bow down to every morning? Maybe kissing the boss's ring before you start the workday?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
So Many Rants, So Little Time
That's how I feel at times b/c I always bookmark interesting articles that I have an opinion on but then times passes, other stuff goes down & I don't have time to address my points.
So maybe I can just post links & mention my general comments before talking about life stuff:
I covered this before on my post detailing my general thoughts on working for anyone other than yourself. Sorry, but any job that doesn't already have a culture of internships can't magically create it in a bad economy. All they can do is increase young people's hatred of those industries.
I hate these ads as well. Love how the pro-lifers want to act like every child is born to a good household & to fit parents, especially the ones who freak out at the idea of gay people adopting kids. We're not stupid & I saw the obvious pro-life bend the first time I saw one of these ads. Don't debate me on this one unless you're ready for a Julia Sugarbaker style tirade.
This is the Milgram experiment. For those who weren't psych majors in college, read up on it. Great stuff.
For this & this, I'll just repeat the basic sentiment I expressed in an earlier post. From my perspective, no employer wants you to be yourself & just wants you to be some robot. I have no clue why some of these people haven't just phased out human employees & replaced them w/robots like in that "Twilight Zone" episode. Believe me, I know people are not being honest or sincere in job interviews & really hate "dog & pony shows" anywhere; they're a waste of time.
Wow, something uplifting. Good luck to this guy & if more people followed his example, perhaps looking to local causes this world would be a far better place.
This pissed me off today & ensured I wouldn't vote for this guy in any future elections. I don't consider gay marriage any kind of threat to my own marriage or my straightness. Nor do I feel any compulsion to push my own religious views onto other people who don't follow suit. If I haven't sufficiently ranted on this topic, I will do so in the future.
Now, onto real life. I finally got the time to start really pursuing things w/this former employer who is still living in a delusion. Apparently, other people are also living in that state; too bad for them when reality hits & they can no longer work in this industry b/c their word means nothing.
Oh yes, and when a lawyer tells you to pay up & states their terms, it doesn't help you to start making things up and telling them what to do. When YOU owe something, you don't call the shots. It especially doesn't help when you KNOW the person is going to do what they want anyway & your word means nothing to him/her.
Apparently this guy has now become MIA & may be trying to skip town since other traces of him have disappeared from the Internet, he's blocked people's e-mail & apparently doesn't pick up the phone. Nor does his so-called "lawyer," who is licensed but a bigger newbie than me. Guess you'd need to be a newbie or horribly stupid to represent someone who's not going to pay you & probably costs you $ to deal with; I won't touch anything from now on w/out a minimum retainer so I can recover unpaid amounts.
Lawyers also have tricks up their sleeves & some of us are downright evil when it comes down to it. I consider myself evil only when I'm provoked in some way. Considering all I've gone through in life, it's a wonder I haven't gone out & done something sinister to these deadbeats who owe me money. Hint: having my career & things go well for me is my saving grace.
My basic philosophy is that when you leave intelligent people w/out any method to rise from their circumstances, you create future serial killers & master criminals. Society needs to use smart people for good things & let them get to that regardless of what family they were born to. Had I not had a way to move up, I'd either be dead or in jail right now since I wouldn't have any reason to care about aspiring to anything. How many people are being abused by employers & wasted in lower-level jobs? How many are taking it out on the company in some way?
Unlike most people, I don't have snobbery about job titles or treat someone like crap b/c of their title. I might be a hard-ass but I'm not a moron & think I know potential in the non-creative realm I deal w/when I see it. Guess it comes from my family members having lower level jobs, my husband doing custodial work & my working w/paralegals at a law firm job back in the day.
If I ever forget my humanity, I've told people to remind me & use force if they have to so I won't be a stereotypical executive.
So maybe I can just post links & mention my general comments before talking about life stuff:
I covered this before on my post detailing my general thoughts on working for anyone other than yourself. Sorry, but any job that doesn't already have a culture of internships can't magically create it in a bad economy. All they can do is increase young people's hatred of those industries.
I hate these ads as well. Love how the pro-lifers want to act like every child is born to a good household & to fit parents, especially the ones who freak out at the idea of gay people adopting kids. We're not stupid & I saw the obvious pro-life bend the first time I saw one of these ads. Don't debate me on this one unless you're ready for a Julia Sugarbaker style tirade.
This is the Milgram experiment. For those who weren't psych majors in college, read up on it. Great stuff.
For this & this, I'll just repeat the basic sentiment I expressed in an earlier post. From my perspective, no employer wants you to be yourself & just wants you to be some robot. I have no clue why some of these people haven't just phased out human employees & replaced them w/robots like in that "Twilight Zone" episode. Believe me, I know people are not being honest or sincere in job interviews & really hate "dog & pony shows" anywhere; they're a waste of time.
Wow, something uplifting. Good luck to this guy & if more people followed his example, perhaps looking to local causes this world would be a far better place.
This pissed me off today & ensured I wouldn't vote for this guy in any future elections. I don't consider gay marriage any kind of threat to my own marriage or my straightness. Nor do I feel any compulsion to push my own religious views onto other people who don't follow suit. If I haven't sufficiently ranted on this topic, I will do so in the future.
Now, onto real life. I finally got the time to start really pursuing things w/this former employer who is still living in a delusion. Apparently, other people are also living in that state; too bad for them when reality hits & they can no longer work in this industry b/c their word means nothing.
Oh yes, and when a lawyer tells you to pay up & states their terms, it doesn't help you to start making things up and telling them what to do. When YOU owe something, you don't call the shots. It especially doesn't help when you KNOW the person is going to do what they want anyway & your word means nothing to him/her.
Apparently this guy has now become MIA & may be trying to skip town since other traces of him have disappeared from the Internet, he's blocked people's e-mail & apparently doesn't pick up the phone. Nor does his so-called "lawyer," who is licensed but a bigger newbie than me. Guess you'd need to be a newbie or horribly stupid to represent someone who's not going to pay you & probably costs you $ to deal with; I won't touch anything from now on w/out a minimum retainer so I can recover unpaid amounts.
Lawyers also have tricks up their sleeves & some of us are downright evil when it comes down to it. I consider myself evil only when I'm provoked in some way. Considering all I've gone through in life, it's a wonder I haven't gone out & done something sinister to these deadbeats who owe me money. Hint: having my career & things go well for me is my saving grace.
My basic philosophy is that when you leave intelligent people w/out any method to rise from their circumstances, you create future serial killers & master criminals. Society needs to use smart people for good things & let them get to that regardless of what family they were born to. Had I not had a way to move up, I'd either be dead or in jail right now since I wouldn't have any reason to care about aspiring to anything. How many people are being abused by employers & wasted in lower-level jobs? How many are taking it out on the company in some way?
Unlike most people, I don't have snobbery about job titles or treat someone like crap b/c of their title. I might be a hard-ass but I'm not a moron & think I know potential in the non-creative realm I deal w/when I see it. Guess it comes from my family members having lower level jobs, my husband doing custodial work & my working w/paralegals at a law firm job back in the day.
If I ever forget my humanity, I've told people to remind me & use force if they have to so I won't be a stereotypical executive.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Utter BS of Law Firms
I just saw this ABA article.
This sentiment completely sums up why I don't like job hunting & really hate typical law firms, most of which are bastions of conformity. I loved the one I worked at in Atlanta since many of my co-workers were anything BUT conformist robots; the legal clinic was also good since the big focus was helping our clients, not conforming to management's viewpoints. That's how things SHOULD be. Even my company works w/actors who don't have the same political views; one in particular gets some ribbing but he'd NEVER get rejected for a role b/c of who he voted for or his stance on some issue.
But often law firms do put more importance on people's viewpoints on issues instead of helping clients & diminish people's abilities in the process. You ALWAYS hear about this sort of thing in private law firms & big corporate employers.
It makes me feel that I have to lie about who I am. Why should working at your law firm require me to attend church, play/follow sports, laugh at your racist jokes, pretend I want to be barefoot & pregnant someday or otherwise be someone I'm not? Why should THAT diminish my actual abilities & skills?
I think job interviews are total bunk; according to psych studies, their predictability for how you'll perform on the job are 1%. 1%; did you get that???? People are ALWAYS on their best behavior, nervous & dressing plain, even if they wouldn't otherwise. They'll never tell you the truth & you won't find out about the skeletons until they're working at the job. I always feel fake at them, though being on the other side has been a great eye opener & I'd highly recommend doing it if you get the chance. They're never like ANY first date I went on, that's for sure.
For the places that don't quiz you on views outside the workplace or doing your job properly, hats off to you. If you make me feel comfortable being myself, then you are definitely doing something right.
Did some of these firms ever think that maybe they're opening themselves up to lawsuits on gender & racial discrimination? Maybe even 1st Amendment lawsuits when telling people who to vote for or what to believe? Now, if you have a rapport w/someone, great. I was a sorority member myself & common interests aren't a bad thing.
BUT....when an employer says "you weren't in this group/disagree with my views on race/health care/politics/whatever/don't practice an activity I practice so you're inferior/not worth hiring.", we've got a serious problem. This article sounds to me like firms want mini-mes. Honestly I don't get this obsession w/working for 7th grade gossips, which is exactly what a typical law firm partner sounds like. Who needs it?
This sentiment completely sums up why I don't like job hunting & really hate typical law firms, most of which are bastions of conformity. I loved the one I worked at in Atlanta since many of my co-workers were anything BUT conformist robots; the legal clinic was also good since the big focus was helping our clients, not conforming to management's viewpoints. That's how things SHOULD be. Even my company works w/actors who don't have the same political views; one in particular gets some ribbing but he'd NEVER get rejected for a role b/c of who he voted for or his stance on some issue.
But often law firms do put more importance on people's viewpoints on issues instead of helping clients & diminish people's abilities in the process. You ALWAYS hear about this sort of thing in private law firms & big corporate employers.
It makes me feel that I have to lie about who I am. Why should working at your law firm require me to attend church, play/follow sports, laugh at your racist jokes, pretend I want to be barefoot & pregnant someday or otherwise be someone I'm not? Why should THAT diminish my actual abilities & skills?
I think job interviews are total bunk; according to psych studies, their predictability for how you'll perform on the job are 1%. 1%; did you get that???? People are ALWAYS on their best behavior, nervous & dressing plain, even if they wouldn't otherwise. They'll never tell you the truth & you won't find out about the skeletons until they're working at the job. I always feel fake at them, though being on the other side has been a great eye opener & I'd highly recommend doing it if you get the chance. They're never like ANY first date I went on, that's for sure.
For the places that don't quiz you on views outside the workplace or doing your job properly, hats off to you. If you make me feel comfortable being myself, then you are definitely doing something right.
Did some of these firms ever think that maybe they're opening themselves up to lawsuits on gender & racial discrimination? Maybe even 1st Amendment lawsuits when telling people who to vote for or what to believe? Now, if you have a rapport w/someone, great. I was a sorority member myself & common interests aren't a bad thing.
BUT....when an employer says "you weren't in this group/disagree with my views on race/health care/politics/whatever/don't practice an activity I practice so you're inferior/not worth hiring.", we've got a serious problem. This article sounds to me like firms want mini-mes. Honestly I don't get this obsession w/working for 7th grade gossips, which is exactly what a typical law firm partner sounds like. Who needs it?
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