Signs a Corporate Job Is NOT For You

I'm not quite sure when I realized a typical corporate job wasn't for me but I think it must have been sometime after I got my partnership in my own film company & started working with people who respected me + wanted to listen to me.

A few other signs were there before that, though. I was reading this article very recently & it reminded me of stories I've heard about attorney job interviews.

If you go to lawyer blogs or spend time with law students, you'll hear all sorts of stories. I've read things that say married women shouldn't wear their wedding rings in job interviews and heard about downright insulting questions like "You were on XYZ Journal. Why weren't you on Law Review?"

One fundamental problem I'm seeing in these career advice articles is telling people that they should yield to companies to a fault. I'm surprised I've not read an article that told people to lie prostrate on the ground in front of the executive suite & say "Yes, Your Excellency! May I have another?" after being kicked in private areas. That might be a bit of a stretch, but not by much.

When I read an article saying to defend & lie about felonious companies you worked for in the past, that author lost all credibility with me. Do that as a lawyer & you'll be accused of participating in the fraud, even if you worked in the mail room.

I believe performing your civic duty & being a decent human being trumps "never say anything negative about a past employer." If you're seeking work in my entertainment business & your past employer was a scam artist, you'd better tell me. You have a duty to protect others from the same experience & not telling an interviewer might lead the company to work with the scammers later on.

This article essentially tells people to yield to illegal questions & be "polite" in the face of them. Sorry, some things are so fundamentally offensive to ask about & are often delivered in a very snotty tone. You won't get politeness from me in that context; you'll be lucky if I don't smack you. Implying that I'm going off to breed is just insulting to me & asking me about my marital status makes me think you're considering me for a sexual harassment victim instead of an employee. Not every woman has baby rabies, all right?

Oh, and people who hire law firm associates are not ignorant in the least. THEY are assholes & you have to handle those types differently.

I once shut down someone at my career services office who tried pulling the old "you aren't at this rank" attitude with me. I pointed out that I was the first person in my entire family, including extended, to even go to law school & that in light of the fact that I didn't come from money or have the ability to afford all the study guides like everyone else, the fact I wasn't flunking out or made anything lower than a C- was pretty damn good in my view. After I said that, this person backed off & agreed w/me!

Asking something about a journal to me would have invited a combative answer in light of my background, no matter how politely you asked. Personally, there were no journals in law school for my interests so I didn't really care.

I'd have no desire to work someplace where I was asked an illegal or combative question so I'd not care about any impression I gave since they already poisoned the water for me. That whole good impression thing goes both ways.

I really think that my refusal to put up with that kind of shit is a major sign that I'd better own my own business & call my own shots. I've noticed that I'm far more direct & pointed in asking for things than most people probably are. Call me arrogant or pushy if you want but I just have no tolerance for BS & feel that even though I'm nowhere near 40 + look even younger, life's too short for it. I've put up with enough in my own life & telling me to "suck it up" (as you'll find many established attorneys telling newbies) just doesn't cut it. I'd rather be poor & keep my soul than a rich little drone who sold out or became someone's punching bag.

Plus, telling me to take BS means you've just insured that I'll one day snap & kill older folk who pissed me off. Do you really want that hanging over your head?

So, 2 signs you shouldn't work in a typical corporate job: You work someplace where people appreciate you & you don't put up with illegal conduct.

This Craig's List ad also has some relation to this whole theme:

Why does everyone want you do everything free (Manhattan)
Date: 2011-01-17, 9:35PM EST
Reply to: gigs-bzpfd-2166075081@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Actors, Muscians, Photographers, Comedians.......If we all stop working production would not go on.


1. If the comedians stop doing bringer shows there would be no comedians to see at the comedyclubs. You should not have to pay or have your friends pay for you to perform. Let a whole month go by with no comedians clubs will start losing money. You don't need them you can perform at other venues, hotels, parties, colleges, local bars.

2. Actors....you don't know to have roles available to build up your reel, if you can truly act you can make a demo monologue with your video camera at home. Most of these filmakers out there after you complete the film you gonna have to stalk them to get a copy of it. If filmakers are going to make films then they need to understand the real world of filmaking that you have to raise money for production. At least pay the actors $50 a day and have some decent food on the set.

3. We all love the craft and love what we do but TFCD and Demo Reels don't pay the B.I.L.L.S

4. We have to stop whoring ourselves out for free and start holding out and boycotting these people that want to get everything for free.

5. Actors/models we have to start expecting to pay for things as well. You want a new headshot, demo reel, portfolios. Expect to pay for it.

* Location: Manhattan
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: no pay

PostingID: 2166075081

I agree w/the general sentiment. However, I think you can only be exploited for as long as you let someone do it to you. I, for instance, will not "PAY to play" in any context. I'm not even doing freebies so you won't convince me that pay to play is worth my time.

Second, get a written contract. If someone refuses to give you one, don't deal with that individual or entity. That's a sure sign that someone isn't a professional & if you hope to be one, you aren't getting anywhere by dealing with people who can't even give you a simple written document concerning your role, rights, etc.

Third, there are ways to do things that don't require posting a Craig's List ad. I know there's a company that will film a short movie starring you & you can use that for demo reel material. Just pay them & you're done. The entitlement attitude of some people truly reeks; professionals don't care about the troubles of strangers. Boo hoo, you don't have a lawyer. If you don't have money, then don't ask me to help you for free when I don't know you & we don't even have mutual friends. Have a friend help you; don't expect strangers to care or give you freebies.

Then again, maybe these people have NO friends because they acted entitled to get freebies & didn't reciprocate. Somebody should post a list somewhere so people don't waste their time dealing with these entitlement issues.