I turned down a $140K role because it reeked of this BS
In January, a recruiter contacted me about a role that paid up to $140,000 a year.
Of course, I perked up at that number — who, besides Jeff Bezos, wouldn’t? — but I kept my cool and politely asked her to send me the job description.
My eyes scanned over the corporate-coded buzzwords: “Senior marketing role… Self-starting team leader… Capable of wearing lots of hats… Collaborative, fast-paced environment… Great benefits and unlimited PTO… Deadline-focused schedule… Culture-driven office with a hybrid policy…”
I sighed, clicked back over to LinkedIn, and typed out a message: “Thanks so much for reaching out about this opportunity, but I don’t think I’m the right candidate.”
Could I do that job? Yeah. Did I want to? Hell no
At this point in my career as an e-commerce writer, editor, and journalist, I’ve worked at enough startups and major publications to know exactly what those phrases meant.
- Senior role? Your team’s shortcomings are automatically your fault.
- Wearing lots of hats? You’ll handle whatever we throw at you, whether it’s in your job description or not.
- Great benefits and unlimited paid time off? Your stress levels will be through the roof, so get an EKG test on us (but you’d better find coverage if you plan to do it on company time).
- Deadline-focused schedule in a fast-paced environment? You work until you’re done. Also, you’ll never be done. Also, we’ll probably Slack you at 9:30 p.m.
- Culture-driven office with a hybrid policy? We don’t trust you to get your work done anywhere else — but don’t worry; our office has a ping-pong table and granola bars to drive home the fact that we think you’re a child.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a lazy person.
Between my two part-time jobs, my multiple freelance clients, my personal essays, and my upcoming memoir, I get up every morning at 6 (yes, even on weekends) and often find myself working 12-hour days.