TEDx Talks - How to land a job and master corporate bullsh*t | Fredrik Fornes | TEDxArendal
The speaker humorously addresses the frustrations of job hunting and corporate culture, sharing personal experiences and insights. They highlight the absurdity of job ads, such as unrealistic requirements and clichéd phrases, and the tediousness of filling out application forms. The speaker emphasizes the importance of presenting oneself strategically, even humorously, in resumes and interviews. They share a personal anecdote about using corporate jargon to impress a recruiter, which led to a job interview. The speaker also discusses the age bias in corporate hiring, illustrating it with a graph showing how age affects perceived experience. They offer a candid approach to interviews, suggesting honesty and bold questions to assess potential employers. Finally, the speaker warns about toxic workplace indicators, such as excessive perks, and shares a humorous story about accidentally revealing their true feelings in an email due to a formatting oversight.
Key Points:
- Job ads often contain unrealistic and clichéd requirements; interpret them critically.
- Strategically use humor and corporate jargon in resumes and interviews to stand out.
- Be aware of age bias in hiring; there's a narrow age range considered ideal.
- Ask bold questions in interviews to assess company culture and fit.
- Watch for excessive perks as indicators of a potentially toxic workplace.
Details:
1. 🎤 Introduction and Made-up Statistics
- The speaker humorously claims that 'over 80% of every adult alive right now has at some point thought God I hate this job,' highlighting the use of humor to engage the audience.
- This approach sets a light-hearted tone for the presentation, aiming to resonate with common experiences of dissatisfaction at work, though it lacks concrete data or actionable insights.
2. 📄 Job Application Adventures
- The speaker applied to over 200 job positions and only received one response, highlighting the need for better application strategies.
- A recruiter criticized the speaker for listing 'fluent in corporate' as a skill, suggesting the importance of appropriate resume language.
- Despite the initial negative feedback, the speaker's use of corporate jargon impressed the recruiter, leading to a job interview opportunity, indicating the potential value of industry-specific language in applications.
- The speaker humorously updated their LinkedIn headline to 'Senior Director of Strategic Application Failures,' demonstrating a creative approach to personal branding despite setbacks.
3. 🧩 Deciphering Job Ads
- Job ads often employ vague or misleading language, such as terms like 'rockstar ninja' for roles in newly emerged industries, or seeking candidates who are 'experienced' yet 'young and dynamic.'
- Common job ad phrases have hidden meanings: 'competitive salary' might indicate a salary that barely covers living expenses, 'unique opportunity' could mean the role is common, 'team player' suggests taking on extra tasks due to poor workload management, and 'like a family' may hint at workplace drama and emotional manipulation.
- To navigate job ads effectively, candidates should critically evaluate such language and conduct further research into company culture and role expectations.
4. 📝 Resume and Application Challenges
- Applicants often spend hours polishing resumes, only to re-enter information manually in application systems.
- Employers use this redundancy to test patience and attention to detail before hiring.
- A strategic approach can be to reference the attached resume in text fields, demonstrating efficiency.
- Age can be a critical factor in hiring, with an optimal range perceived between ages 26 and 40.
- Candidates outside this age range may be viewed less favorably regardless of experience.
- To overcome redundant application processes, applicants can prepare a generic application template to quickly fill out forms.
- Highlighting key skills and experiences directly in online application fields can help ensure they are noticed by automated systems.
- For those concerned about age bias, emphasizing continuous learning and adaptability can counteract negative perceptions.
5. 🤥 Honest Job Interviews
- Candidates using extreme honesty in job interviews provided unconventional responses, such as envisioning themselves in vastly different roles or expressing doubts about long-term tenure, which may not align with traditional expectations.
- Stress management was humorously depicted as a dramatic escape, showcasing a candid but potentially off-putting way to address personal challenges in high-pressure situations.
- The lack of follow-up questions after these honest responses suggests that while authenticity is valued, it may need to be balanced with professionalism in interviews.
- Inspired by Simon Sinek, candidates asked interviewers about their weaknesses and conflict resolution, flipping the script and promoting a two-way evaluation process.
- Candidates questioned interviewers about their career paths, indirectly highlighting potential stagnation and encouraging reflection on career growth, demonstrating a bold approach to assessing company culture.
6. 🕵️♂️ Navigating Toxic Work Culture
- Submitting 200 applications and facing ghosting by almost every company highlights the pervasive issue of employer non-responsiveness during hiring processes.
- To manage expectations, adopting a 'playing hard to get' strategy during interviews can shift power dynamics towards the applicant.
- Ending interviews by stating that you will inform the employer if you want the job, otherwise you will 'ghost' them, reflects taking control and mirrors the behavior experienced by applicants.
7. 🔄 Back to Job Hunting
- Quirky and excessive office perks, such as Pilates classes and recreational activities, can indicate a toxic workplace culture that masks underlying issues.
- Receiving work emails on Friday nights with tasks due by Monday is a sign of poor work-life balance and toxic management.
- A strategy to manage frustration involved sending venting messages in white font, which backfired when the boss used dark mode, highlighting the need for better communication strategies.
- The decision to return to job hunting involved preparing a resume and facing repetitive online application processes, emphasizing the importance of persistence and adaptability in the job search.