Prostitution.
The act of selling one's body for profit.
Now, fortunately or unfortunately depending on which side of the fence you are standing, a legal and perfectly legitimate job choice.
Did you know that prostitutes can get ACC to cover RSI (repetitive stress injury) in their jaw?? For real.
Just saying.
This has never been a profession that I have shortlisted as something I would be interested in. But I seem to have this uncanny, and slightly worrying, knack of being able to associate everyday normal things with the not so 'normal'.
Like job interviews and prostitution.
Call me crazy but selling myself has never appealed to me, and so I have been recently shocked to discover that this is exactly what was required of me!
First I have to write up a resume explaining how amazing I am. This is accompanied by a letter telling the employer that I am waaaaaaay better for them than any of my competition. This is then (hopefully) followed by an interview where my entire person has to be summed up and put on display for 15 minutes while someone decides whether or not they want to pay me for my time.
I feel like a prostitute.
Perhaps not in body (though some jobs do specifically ask for people who 'look' a 'certain way' to fit the company 'branding'. Don't believe me? Try and get a job at Supre when you are a woman of my size and they sell things that wouldn't fit around one of my thighs!) but I am still trying to present my self in order to get paid.
There is something very wrong with this!!
As a Christian I believe in the fundamental worth of all human beings. I do not believe in pitting one against the other in order to see who comes out the winner. Nor do I like taking such a one dimensional view of people like the workforce does.
For example, say Fred and George are applying for the same job as a social worker. Fred has graduated with a degree in the appropriate field because he needed to get a degree with some kind of job security at the end of it. He actually doesn't like people very much but he is good a putting on the face to get through the day and his CV is immaculate.
George on the other hand didn't get a degree because he was staying at home to look after his younger siblings while his single mother worked two jobs. He has spent years working with at risk teenagers, spending time with the elderly, and looking after children at an after school programme. He has also worked extensively with his church youth group and pastoral care teams. He loves people and would put his heart and soul into the job even if it would require a little more training on behalf of the company.
Who would you hire?
Who would the company hire?
You may think this is a situation that would never happen. Unfortunately you would be wrong.
If it isn't a degree you won't get a show in.
Because the interview process is all about selling your credentials, employers look for specific things and don't look at a person holistically. People who may deserve a fighting chance are passed over without a second look. Those that can fake it may very well make it on the backs of those who would work hard and with passion.
There has to be a better way. There must be.
What would you suggest?
