This Month on Design Twitter — 2020 February Edition
Rockstar Club Only!
We have all been there — at least most of us, looking for jobs. Then having to endure the endless horror of job descriptions written by — most of the time — people who are out of touch with industry or just want to overcompensate for things they lack. Mitch Goldstein listed some job description red flags to watch out for.
Why? Why? Why? Really, why so much insecurity in the industry?
Well, look no further to clueless tech companies and their talent management. Yes! I am calling y’all out…so fight me! We all know these buzzwords are euphemisms, so let’s break it down a bit.
Ninja — Well, be ready to just work and have no voice, thus becoming invisible to that manager taking all the credit for your hard work.
Unicorn — This is a clear sign that the recruiter was on acid while writing the job description.
Fast-paced Environment — Get ready to just crank out work with little or no thought.
Magic — They want you to do something “innovative” while binding you in chains like Houdini.
Work Hard, Play Hard — Say goodbye to having a life outside of work. Didn’t you say that you love what you do?
Rock Star — The illusion that the company’s name on your Twitter bio would get you everything your heart desires. Oh! Remember to shave your head and change your name!
Family — Expect the entire leadership to go on vacation while you wrangle deadlines.
Wear Multiple Hats — One step away from getting your face painted, then given three balls to juggle!
Disrupt — When your product roadmap is full of screenshots from dribbble.com.
Earning Potential — Watching your CEO buy a new Ferrari but would not give you a raise in the next 5 years.
Possibility of Becoming Full-Time — Haha! The carrot on the string never looked so seductive!
Guru — Get ready for made up titles, how about — Software Monkey Designer?
Must Know (ridiculously long list of stuff) — hmmm, do you know how to operate a steam engine?
Hiring shouldn’t be that hard if companies followed the timeless principle of keeping things simple — KISS. So, no need to overcompensate, your company’s logo size doesn’t really matter after all.
Also, if you know of anyone hiring, kindly send them my way. This writing gig isn’t paying at all — blaming it on exposure, and I still want to get that Tesla. But, before you start asking me those one-liner interview questions — like it’s our first date or something, let me tell you about my rockstar hats collection!
Do you really, really, really want this Job?
As job seekers we assume we have something to prove, we would jump through any hoop just to get that J.O.B! Well, get ready for this adventurous hiring process criticized by Mark Boulton.
To save you the time reading the main article from the tweet (you millennials), here is an high level journey of an applicant as described by monzo.
- You fill out an application
- We interview you on the phone
- We assign you a challenge
- We review it and give you feedback
- We do a workshop
- You have a general interview
- We make you an offer
Speaking of the design challenge, here is an excerpt from the process
The ultimate result we’re after is a set of functional, polished screens with a clear write-up of how your solution works and the choices you’ve made.
Tech culture and the hiring process, especially the Google-type interviews, has infected the design world. We now see all sorts of design challenges to the point that some companies abuse it and exploit applicants. The exploited applicants are already making a list and checking it twice. We might end up with an applicant-zombie apocalypse, so design companies be warned! Hide your kids, hide your loved ones — cause they comin’ for you on Twitterville!
This is why I work for myself — #MeBoss. Though I get paid with exposure, at least it’s still a currency! I am gonna collect that cool exposure cash and go buy me some more exposure time on Twitter. Hopefully, I don’t run into those zombies. I am told they smell exposure!
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