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The Black Market
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photo via http://www.stephaniesyjuco.com
They don't write, they don't call. They don't even text, those prospective interviewers. Where are they? Is the economic situation still so bleak that really no one is hiring (except for interns, which these days are worth their weight in coffee)?
People I know are settling for all sorts of temporary solutions -- part-timing it at non-profits whose budgets are so low employees have to bring their own pens and share computers; painting bathrooms; volunteering to be photographed in the nude. Even jury duty can seem like a boon if it comes with a stipend.
But as we unemployed, struggling young professionals make these choices, we know there is another way: a less honest but perhaps more lucrative path we could take. A visit to the dark side. Because, after all, when traditional markets aren't hiring, what does that leave?
Don't fall for it, friends. Not just because you could get caught in the grip of Nigerian scammers. Not just because it's wrong. (After all, eating tuna fish three meals in a row is also wrong. Think of the dolphins! The mercury! The damage that overfishing is doing to the delicate ecological balance of the oceans!)
No, avoid the black market because it sucks. You end up as an "independent contractor" for a shell company in Nevada, interacting with a middleman named Kenny, using your god-given talents on behalf of entitled brats who want to get into MBA programs but not badly enough to write their own essays. On top of which, you'll soon find you're selling your soul for the low, low price of $77.
Stick to freelancing, applying copiously, and hoping. Someday the phone will ring.
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