Blackmoor Vituperative

I have read numerous articles offering advice to job seekers. These would-be experts offer suggestions on what to say, and what not to say. All too often, the overall tone is one of subservience, as if the applicant is a kneeling peasant, begging for a crust of bread from the potential employer.

This is despicable. This attitude is part of what is wrong with business in the USA today. It is why job applicants submit to the humiliation of pre-employment drug testing and why they sign one-sided “non compete” agreements, and why so many companies get away with treating their employees like dirt.

Employment is an equal exchange: expertise for money. The employee is not the servant of the employer, nor is the employer the master of the employee — they are peers. An interview is not just an opportunity for the hiring manager to evaluate the applicant: it is also an opportunity for the applicant to evaluate the company doing the hiring.

Never forget that you were invited to the interview because you have something that the employer lacks, and they want to pay you for it. Your goal at an interview is never to simply “get the job”. Your goal is to see if this position at this company is a good match to you, your goals, and your skills.

Give your employer the same respect you expect from them; you are a professional, and a skilled worker is worthy of her hire. But do not for a moment think of yourself as somehow inferior to those who pay you for your expertise. It is an exchange between equals.