I thought I got a small gig recently, especially when I said I’d do all their local charity stuff pro bono. We clicked, she liked me, I liked her. All was good in the world.
But then this smart, smart woman asked me a grand slam question:
I immediately replied, “No one. Nope, can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t work for. Nothing I wouldn’t do.”
She curtly explained she doesn’t do tobacco. Or alcohol or anything that harms animals or does animal testing.
Oops. Guess I dropped the ball on that one. Never even saw it coming. But I quickly recover and explain what a great question. Wow, really, I like it. Hmmmm….
I liked it so much I stopped being a prospective employee. I forgot I was interviewing and not having coffee with friends. I quickly reconsider and tell her, “Well, I’m not a big fan of the Republican Party these days and sure wouldn’t want to write for them.”
But she did get my wheels turning like they haven’t been since smoke-filled dorm rooms kept young brains contemplating life into the early morning hours. Who wouldn’t I work for?
Maybe I jumped the gun on the Republican Party (I’d just charge them out the wazoo), but I wouldn’t work for any gun manufacturer — ever. And marketing tobacco to minors is sleezy, even if Philip Morris pays more than god. Investment schemes. Sneaky marketing techniques bilking money from the elderly. Tricky emails to unsuspecting winners. Porn. It’s a slimy, sketchy world out there and everyone’s looking to make a buck. Especially moms who’ve been out the workforce for way, way too long and are itching to get back in.
But there is a cost to working for companies that don’t let you sleep at night. Or make you want to wash your hands, and mind, of the implications. Boss Lady had a point, and I really appreciate the opportunity to think about it.
Next time I’m asked that question, I’ll keep it professional and lie. I had never thought about it before, but now I can’t stop thinking. And bad news for me, my list keeps getting longer and longer. But instead of sharing, I’ll take the information home and store it away before accepting jobs that make my skin crawl.
This was your best blog yet! It is so true! We have spent so many years pleasing and doing that when we are once again faced with such ethical questions, on the spot, it we think we know what to do. Then when the brain kicks into gear a clarity arises from the clutter!
The answer to that question is no one’s business. The question to ask is can deliver the goods?
Tha saddest thing is it’s probably best we not know who we’re already working for. If we actually looked at what our current employers have as values it might creep us all out. The fact that we’re all working for the frickin’ almighty buck so that we can just add more clutter and garbage into our already overstuffed with crap lives might make us all depressed. We need to minimalize, instead we sell our souls bit by bit to do what exactly???
When I read your blog (and your list of what you would not do for a buck), I was reminded of the days that I had my own consulting business. There were times when I was dealing with very difficult clients when I would ask myself “What am I putting myself through this for?” I think that there are ethical reasons for choosing clients, but there are lots of other reasons–sanity, stress, alignment with your career goals, etc. The main point is CHOOSE YOUR CLIENTS. A very wise businessman told me that once–and I have continued that practice every since. –Kathryn Sollmann, Co-Founder, Women@Work
What wouldn’t I do?? Kind of scary… With the state of the economy, it’s hard to imagine turning down work, but being able to look at myself in the mirror is really important to me. There are some jobs that I would do, but it would cost, and then there are some that no amount of money could entice me over to the dark side. My list is similar to yours… harming kids, or any of the defenseless is out of the question. While I repect peoples’ rights to have opinions different from my own, there are certain organizations I couldn’t even begin to give lipservice to…(Moral Majority (which is neither), Racist organizations… Porn, etc..)
So maybe that’s the reason that I teach in a public school? My life might be easier in a private or Parochial school, but I can’t see building my career someplace where the foundation is an exclusionary practice… So am I as careful when I freelance? Not yet… but maybe I should be.
Is it better to know? or not know?
I love your blog…
I once had a job for a really prestigious liquor company. I worked there a year or so, and at first it didn’t seem too compromising. But then I realized what my job was — to get guys to drink as much as they could as fast as they could as often as possible, and make it all seem sexy and fun. I quit the next day.
Literally.
Unethical job # 2…Another well paying job where the boss actually asked me to go to a trade show undercover and spy on a competitor. And stupid me, I did it. Regret it to this day.
Now that I am older (and wiser), I get it: when the work goes against my values, I’m not for sale.