Job hunters: Beware of scumbag companies who will exploit you
Don't work for free and don't give free consulting services to companies that have no intention whatsoever of hiring you.
Some of you who’ve read my Substack know that I have been doing deliveries to help make ends meet. But, in another life, I was a corporate professional and part of what we refer to today as “the laptop class.” Due to my age and the onset of DEI, I have been locked out of opportunities related to my former profession.
However, I still have been applying for jobs, and I had some thoughts to share with you about the current job market for corporate professionals. Before I share my thoughts, I want to draw your attention to an excellent article by The Bone Writer that was published earlier today:
For starters… LinkedIn is a shithole. It’s this badge that one is supposed to wear to be “professional” but as near as I can tell, those that use it, and post to it, are generally professional kiss ass artists. Some dude likened his wedding day to B2B practices. How fucking insane is that? And don’t get me started on the fake job listings there. Okay… I’m started, so here you go…
Over 40% of companies have admitted to posting fake job positions to appear as if the company is growing. Then you have the fake job postings that are being done to hold off paying back Covid era loans from the government. As long as the company is hiring, those loan repayments are on hold. It’s going to be 2025 and there are many companies doing this immoral and unethical crap.
This means that people are constantly applying to jobs that don’t exist. Pure vapor positions. Wasting a job hunters time by tailoring their resume, wretched cover letter that some ask for, and research into a company that we might as well label as being corrupt. What a shitshow.
Corpo’s are still out there lying and saying they can’t find qualified people in the US and this is pure BS. They want to hire people outside the US so they don’t have to provide benefits and they can pay them less. Right now, there are a ton of qualified people in the US looking for jobs but these evil fucking Corpo’s put America last.
Be sure to click through and read the entire article; it is well worth your time. The Bone Writer is also 100% correct in his assessment of today’s job market.
The scam about fake jobs didn’t surprise me in the least; it fits in well with corporate America’s increasingly exploitive and corrupt labor practices. The purple-haired HR hags that infest corporate “human resources” departments are all woke communists with degrees in “Feminist Theory” or “LBGTQWHATEVERITISTHISWEEK” bullshit. They are as incompetent as they are stupid, and they push woke communism non-stop inside the companies that hired them.
LinkedIn, as The Bone Writer noted, is full of disgusting, self-promoting phonies that are desperate to suck up to anybody who will hire them. Think I’m kidding? Just open a LinkedIn account and look at the “newsfeed,” and you can see it all come pouring down like a waterfall of lies, shit, and slime cascading through your device’s screen.
There are two things I want to make you aware of if you are looking for a job:
Scumbag companies that try to get free work from job applicants.
Fake job interviews that are free consulting sessions for the company.
Some companies attempt to get job applicants to do “assessments,” “writing samples,” or “homework assignments.” These companies are deceiving job applicants into working for them for free. You are spending your time doing tasks for them with no compensation whatsoever. This is not only morally and ethically wrong; it ought to be completely illegal, and any company that does it should be open to a lawsuit for massive damages.
The other bullshit thing being done by these scammer companies is fake interviews that are really free consulting sessions. This has happened to me a number of times, and it is infuriating. They want to pick your brain and gain some of your expertise, with no intention of hiring you whatsoever. This also should be illegal, as they are taking up your time and gaining professional insights without compensating you.
So how should you deal with this? I have some suggestions that might help.
State clearly on your resume (put it at the bottom if you aren’t sure where to put it) that you charge an hourly fee for any “assessments,” “writing samples,” or “homework assignments.” I suggest charging at least $100 per hour to make it clear to potential scammers that you aren’t having any of their bullshit.
State clearly on your resume that you will not answer any questions in an interview that stray into free consulting, spec work, etc.
Also, be specific in how many interviews you are willing to do so they don’t waste your time dragging you into three, four, or five interviews. Two interviews should do it for most jobs; after that, they are wasting your time, and you likely won’t be hired anyway.
Use ChatGPT or some other AI to help you massage the language so it doesn’t read as hostile or unprofessional. Use “corporate speak,” so what I mentioned in the first two items above fits naturally into your resume.
I know that some of you will read this and think, “Morgthorak, I need a job! I must do what they tell me to do and keep my mouth shut!” Well, go right ahead and watch as YOU DON’T GET THE JOB ANYWAY. Keep on going along with their bullshit, and keep on letting them use you while you get nothing from it. After this happens enough times, you might get angry enough to regain your self-respect and realize that YOU must set the ground rules for the employment process or you will get rolled by sleazy companies filled with HR hags and hiring manager drones who don’t give a shit about you.
If you need to survive financially, then look for other work that is outside the corporate hiring process. As I mentioned above, in my case it is doing deliveries. Such work might not be what you wish to do, but so what? It’s honest work, and it helps me to pay the bills (along with the money I earn writing my Substack). Doing hourly wage work will help you survive, and it will give you the freedom to stop allowing corporate scum and filth from exploiting you during the hiring process. You are surviving outside their system, and thus you are not their slave and are not obligated to take their shit non-stop through the hiring process.
Also, if your income is low enough, make sure you apply for Medicaid and EBT. If you’ve been working, then you have paid into the system for both of those benefits. If you are in need, then it is your time to take out some of what you have paid into the system. Contact your state's Health and Human Services department and find out how to go about applying. EBT and Medicaid can help you survive while you are looking for your next job.
So the lesson here, my friends, is to stop letting the corporations shit on you. Yes, we all know it is a terrible job market at the corporate level. Many thousands have been laid off, and competition for corporate jobs is very tough right now. So what? You can do hundreds of job applications and still not get hired for a good-paying corporate job; you can kiss their ass and suck up to them as much as you want, and that’s not necessarily going to get you hired either.
So look for other kinds of work that you might not have done before, and don’t let yourself be exploited by the corporate scum while you are searching for a job. If they want you to work for free, then you know that they are a sleazy company, and your chances of ever getting hired are likely zero. If they try to use you for free consulting, then they are scammers, and you should terminate the interview and walk away.
If you have been screwed over by a company, make sure you take the time to post a review on Glassdoor and other job sites. Let other job applicants know what happened to you so that they are alerted to these sleazy companies. You don’t have to post as yourself; use an anon ID to protect your identity. But make sure that sleazy, exploitive companies are named and shamed.
Sooner or later, the job market will turn around, and the companies that shit on job applicants will pay a price for their bad behavior. Until then, keep surviving and keep looking forward to better days.
Now, I will close this article with a word of warning to the HR hags and hiring manager drones: Be VERY careful how you treat job applicants. Two people inside two different large corporations mistreated and abused me during two different hiring processes. Both were paid back in full, with consequences for their careers, and both regretted ever tangling with me.
Do NOT abuse job applicants and think you are immune to career payback because you are inside a large corporation. Remember the golden rule and treat others the way you wish to be treated. The abuse and mistreatment you dish out to others will come back on you in the worst way sometimes.
I am a kind-hearted person, and I am a loyal and faithful friend and a great worker to have on your team. But I am also the most bitter and unrelenting of enemies, and I am a writer. Never screw with a writer, HR hags and hiring manager drones; you will live to regret it if you do. 🧐
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I found myself nodding violently as my career path seemed to parallel yours more or less.
The other landmine to watch for as a job hunter are job scams that try to steal your money when you are most vulnerable. They feed off desperation. I almost fell for one last year but avoided it when I read up on similar scams that involve a blank check being mailed to you for WFH equipment. It's a cruel, opportunistic world and being jobless is a low point for a lot of us.
This is good stuff. There are lots of hungry young people who have ambition but need this exact kind of mentorship and guidance.