KMIKEYM

Wieden + Kennedy’s recent posting for a Social Media Strategist is shitty. Creating a job application in the form of a “contest” that demands an applicant put in an incredible amount of original work so that they might “win” a job is tasteless. The idea that a job working for W+K is a worthy prize sets up an unbalanced work environment in which the employer has total control over the employee. Your prize is that you get to do a job! Yay! No. The “prize” of a job is getting fucking paid. Period. Any cupcakes on your birthday or free soda on Fridays is a bull shit bonus designed to trick you into giving more than you get. If you work then you get paid. You work harder, your employer better fucking recognize your talent and skills and pay you more. Or you leave. Especially within the fickle world of advertising where massive layoffs happen ALL THE TIME it’s incredibly arrogant to imply that the dangling of a precious job offer is worth someone completing multiple challenges in order to impress the old men in the corner offices (“Dance Monkey, dance!”). And let’s look at these challenges… Even taking into account that this job is about social media “strategies” the idea that to “win” a job you need to fuck with existing communities of people (including your parents!) reeks of frat boy shenanigans. Asking people who might have an inkling of “strategy” to be judged based on likes, clicks, or other poor measures of engagement is exactly why W+K needs a social media strategist (hint: the number of followers/likes/friends/hearts/charms/notches/etc. you have doesn’t actually mean anything). It’s fucking DARK to tell people that you might give them a job if they can effectively manipulate communities of people. Fuck that, my friends and I did not build a community for your amusement. This is our real life. The official rules state that even if you “win” the most challenges they still don’t have to hire you or even give you a fucking interview. They just pick who they like the best. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST OR GAME. And the only way to win is not to play.
Also, like this post so that I can get a job.