For this week’s blog post, I want to discuss an issue of major concern for many law students and young people alike; there are no jobs for us. As somebody hoping to find work in the field of international trade, commercial, intellectual property, and/or tax law, I cannot help but get discouraged given the state of the employment market. Nonetheless, I know that remaining positive and hungry will give me the best chance of finding meaningful work. For this reason, I am trying my best to remain positive. And, certain things help me to maintain a positive attitude. First off, it helps to know other people are suffering too (no one likes to suffer alone). Secondly, it helps even more to know that tricky situations like the current job market trigger extraordinarily creative solutions.
For instance, take my friend Alex. She wants to become a copywriter. I know she is extremely capable for such a position, but like the rest of us, she is having significant difficulty finding meaningful work to apply her newly developed skills (she finishes ad school this spring). But, instead of sitting around and moping about the fact that it’s tough to get a job, she is creatively using her newly developed promotional skills to help her cause. Specifically, Alex and her friend Charli, who is in an even more precarious position due to the fact that she needs to find permanent work to keep her visa, created Hire us so we won’t have to marry each other to help themselves find meaningful employment.
Hire us so we won’t have to marry each other is a promotional campaign where Alex and Charli “request” potential employers to hire them so that they will not be forced into marrying each other, which, theoretically, would guarantee that Charli remains in the country (Alex and Charli are straight). This move is kind of offensive, kind of controversial (it has made significant noise in the ad world, both positive and negative), kind of illegal (i.e. DOMA is still good law and consequently prevents green card sponsorship by way of same-sex marriage), kind of funny, kind of bold, and definitely creative, which I have to think makes for a good bit of promotion (I am no advertising expert but I do watch Mad Men).
I am happy for Alex and Charli for coming up with such a unique, yet controversial, way to bring attention to their plight. I have to imagine that it bodes well for their future employment chances. And, I know it bodes well for the future of my generation that people like Alex and Charli can come up with such a creative response to this unfortunate employment market. Alex and Charli are helping me stay positive during these tough times.
Again, I am very happy for Alex and Charli (and to be honest a little proud), and I am very confident that they will find fulfilling work very soon. At the very least, I can always hire them to promote me…
Post your thoughts.
Some links:
This is probably one of the most creative efforts I’ve seen to try and secure employment these days, and clearly, it’s necessary since ordinary means aren’t enough anymore. In a time when all industries are suffering, I’m sure it’s doubly hard to find work in a creative industry. Since these two girls wanted to reach as broad an audience as possible, I think playing on the very current (and controversial) topic of gay marriage was a good move. After doing a little research on the internet, it seems that there are some who feel that this campaign is very insensitive and insulting to the LGBTQ community. They feel this is somehow mocking the plight of actual gay couples who are at risk of having one partner deported. Personally, if anything, I feel like this could possibly help by bringing light to the difficulties that gay couples face in dealing with immigration issues. Regardless, as they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Frankly, I find this offensive for several reasons. Before I start, I should begin by saying I’m a proponent of gay marriage. I see no reason why a same-sex couple should not be allowed to marry and obtain the same rights as an opposite-sex couple. One of the arguments opponents of gay marriage use is that it destroys the sanctity of marriage. The situation outlined above seems to lend support to the opponents’ claims, and I think they would use it as such. What starts out as a joke could be used against those who truly want to get married because they are committed to one another and love one another, which, in my opinion, is tragic. I’m also unsure of the efforts of these two to find jobs. I know very few people who have gotten a dream job in a dream industry straight out of college (even when the job market was fairly robust). It seems to me that these two women came up with this plan after they failed to find dream jobs. Have they tried to find jobs through a temp agency? I know three people who, in the past three months, have gotten temp-to-permanent positions through temp agencies. Two have already gotten permanent, full-time offers and I suspect that the third is not far behind. Have these women even considered expanding their searches to jobs in different industries? Have they tried temp agencies?
I have mixed feelings about this situation. At first, I thought that it was interesting and a rather good idea, until I went to the Facebook page. I was not impressed and my feelings turned towards annoyance. I went to the information page and found nothing that explained to me what this was about. I honestly never would have known unless Adam wrote this article to explain it. So needless to say, I am not seeing how this would help them in the job market. I did find the links to their web pages and enjoyed the work. However, if I were looking to hire someone, and I Googled either of their names and saw such a controversial page, I would be forced not to hire either, regardless of their talent. I get that they are trying to stand out…maybe if they created an interesting bio under information to explain why they are advertising themselves this way? Someone might come across this page and think it’s creative, but more likely than not, they will be applying to a company on their own, and the company will Google their names, see this add, and pass. There are other ways to market oneself and stand out that are less controversial.