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The World is Thinking

Barbara Ehrenreich

Books Inc
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savageb Avatar
savageb
Posts: 67
Posted: 10.02.06, 09:59 AM
Erhenreich's description of the business world is both ironic and frightening. Anyone who has recently graduated has encountered at least some of these situations if not worse. She explains that experience can be bad, employers are more interested in your personality, rather than your ability or talent, dress codes often determine your status and work compatibility. She offers advice for what she calls the "working poor," people who are college graduates and graduate students who are still working at Starbucks. She even started a networking organization called United Professionals to help those who are in the situation.
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bigbigbrain Avatar
bigbigbrain
Posts: 3
Posted: 10.09.06, 04:03 PM
On the topic of employers being more interested in personality than ability, I'm really creeped out by how it seems that all businesses want someone who is "very outgoing" and who "loves to meet people". It's possible to be perfectly skilled at Customer Service without possessing either of those traits...I don't know when extroversion became the new favorite personality type (maybe with the advent of reality tv, where all the people are more or less that way), but I wish more employers would realize that both types of people, introverts and extroverts - and people who are in the middle, like maybe moi - can be good employees.

Was that a thread hi-jack, I hope it wasn't. Am I only supposed to talk about Ehrenreich's speech, or can I digress a little on what other people have said?

As far as her speech goes, I thought it was dead-on and I love the fact that someone has recognized this problem of well-educated people in their twenties being out of work, and even started an organization to help them. I guess it's a drawback to so many people being educated and all wanting similar jobs...
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rocketdog Avatar
rocketdog
Posts: 200
Posted: 10.13.06, 09:31 AM
I'm going to have to question Eherenreich's conclusion that businesses are looking for extroverted, outgoing people exclusively at the expense of traits like creativity and skill. Isn't it true that your options for employment depend to a huge degree on the type of jobs you're applying for? Ehrenreich's study involves one person (Ehrenreich herself) applying for allegedly hundreds of jobs as a PR representative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't extroversion and outgoingness qualities you would want in a PR representative? She points out that her resume doesn't exactly indicate that she's suited for this job. If that's the case, then how is this book supposed to be conclusive of anything? If it's Ehrenreich herself who isn't personally qualified for the job she spent a year trying to get, then I'm not surprised it didn't work out. I'm guessing if she applied for a job as a journalist this would have been a much shorter book.
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McGruff Avatar
McGruff
Posts: 24
Posted: 10.26.06, 11:25 AM
I second rocketdog's remark. It may certainly be true that many people remain underemployed in jobs they assume they are theoretically qualified for, but it is certainly possible that many of these people are simply trying to get into the wrong profession. Just as an introverted, creative person may find a hard time finding employment as a PR representative, an outgoing extrovert may not be the best fit for a job as a writer, editor, or etc. There are exceptions to these broad generalizations, to be sure, but as Ehrenreich's book draws these same sorts of generalizations I don't think I am getting out of line here. We can't all be doctors or lawyers, or even white-collar PR representatives. And that is a good thing.
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