Must Have Good Sense of Humor
Another thing that aggravates me in job postings is when "good sense of humor" is listed as a requirement. You'll see this in almost every job posting for the non-profit sector, but something like "good sense of humor" belongs NOWHERE NEAR objective measures like a BA or proficiency in Photoshop. First of all, everyone thinks they have a good sense of humor. If someone told me I didn't, I would just assume they didn't appreciate or understand my humor, not that I didn't have any. People are always telling me I'm funny, however, I think I'm only funny to certain people, and these are, perhaps, the people I choose to keep closest to myself.
Second, why is a sense of humor so important for office work? I don't think it is, but maybe this qualification is just used to show what a jovial and friendly workplace the organization has. Maybe it is, for once, some attempt at honesty: You will, indeed, be judged on how your personality is perceived, and your personality is just as important as what degree you have or how well you use Photoshop. It's in the same section, after all. When I worked in London, my supervisor told me that in the beginning, she thought I was very reserved. I told her that I wasn't used to laughing and chatting with my co-workers, that it wasn't an American thing. I know that for many American workplaces, my description may not be accurate. However, there is definitely a cultural component when it comes to senses of humor. You'd think in an international city like San Francisco, people would take that fact into consideration.
This all reminds me of when I spent an evening volunteering to help professional-level immigrants prepare for job interviews. It was really interesting. One guy I worked with was a surgeon from the Phillipines and he said that in that country, people just cared about your job experience and education. It didn't seem as complex as it is here-- I don't think a job posting would include "sense of humor" over there.
Yes, I'm still running low on self-employment ideas...
Second, why is a sense of humor so important for office work? I don't think it is, but maybe this qualification is just used to show what a jovial and friendly workplace the organization has. Maybe it is, for once, some attempt at honesty: You will, indeed, be judged on how your personality is perceived, and your personality is just as important as what degree you have or how well you use Photoshop. It's in the same section, after all. When I worked in London, my supervisor told me that in the beginning, she thought I was very reserved. I told her that I wasn't used to laughing and chatting with my co-workers, that it wasn't an American thing. I know that for many American workplaces, my description may not be accurate. However, there is definitely a cultural component when it comes to senses of humor. You'd think in an international city like San Francisco, people would take that fact into consideration.
This all reminds me of when I spent an evening volunteering to help professional-level immigrants prepare for job interviews. It was really interesting. One guy I worked with was a surgeon from the Phillipines and he said that in that country, people just cared about your job experience and education. It didn't seem as complex as it is here-- I don't think a job posting would include "sense of humor" over there.
Yes, I'm still running low on self-employment ideas...