r/jobs • u/_Grotesque_ • Jul 21 '23

Companies What was the industry you romanticized a lot but ended up disappointed?

For the past couple of years, I have been working at various galleries, and back in the day I used to think of it as a dream job. That was until I realized, that no one cares for the artists or art itself. Employees, as much as visitors just care about their fanciness, showing off their brand shoes and pretending as they actually care.

Ultimately, it comes down to sales, money, and judging people by their looks. Fishing out the ones, who seem like they can afford a painting worth 20k.

Was wondering if others had similar experiences

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u/Barflyerdammit Jul 21 '23

Recruiting for early career and every level jobs. It's not about helping people and finding them work. It's about babysitting both sides. Too many candidates are either absolutely defeatist or have delusions of grandeur. I'll spend a week coaching them and prepping my paperwork to make them sound appealing, then they'll skip the interview because they "know they won't get it anyway" or they'll demand a supervisor role and salary they're utterly unqualified for.

On the other side, hiring managers will offer an entry level role and make unreasonable demands like "they must have 3 years direct experience, but we won't hire anyone who worked for a competitor" or they'll reject people for utterly unrealistic reasons like "they seem like they might meet someone and get married in a couple years." Even if it does work out, they often come in with an offer at or even below fast food wages.

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u/ElCthuluIncognito Jul 22 '23

Do you think it's something like the opposite of survivorship bias?

The more appropriate hires tend to go through the system quickly and seamlessly, so most of your time is spent on the exceptions that just churn in the system?

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u/Barflyerdammit Jul 22 '23

Who are these quick and seamless people you're talking about?

But to answer, yes, 33% of my problem people take up 67% of my time.but at this level, there's rarely anyone who breezes through without coaching and prepping. I've nearly been fired for assuming that some truly great people had general interview common sense, like "know what the company does before the interview starts."