Do the hustle...
So you get an email from someone you know telling you they know someone who’s trying to fill a position doing whatever it is you specialize in and it pays about 80% above the industry average (that’s almost double). You’re not really looking, and you’re happy doing what you’re doing wherever it is you’re doing it, but for that kind of money, you’re willing to talk.
For that kind of money, you could solve a lot of your problems. You could wipe out that credit card debt. You could save up that downpayment on a house. You could finally afford that trip to wherever.
So you tell as much and they set you up with an email introduction to their contact who’s in HR at this company. You bounce a few emails back and forth and set up a time to talk.
In the meantime, you use the email address to look into the company. The site says that they do one thing, but the word “jobs” or “careers” is in the URL, so you figure they’re a headhunting shop that specializes in your niche/industry.
Then you have your call with the HR person and they ask you if you know what you do. You tell them your theory about them being a headhunting shop, and they tell you that you have it all wrong. Then they ask you to hear them out while they tell you the part that scares most people off, and then tell you all the great stuff about their company.
How YOU doin...
They do porn. Plain and simple. They do porn,but they have a great culture, offer plenty of benefits and flexibility, and they’re committed to doing something in whatever field it is you specialize in. They want someone like you to come in with a vision and build a strategy and team to make that vision a reality, and they’d really like to meet with you.
You would have carte blanche.
You’re interested in what they have to say. They sound very serious, but you’re not all that sure. You’re happy with where you are and on the path you’re on, so you tell them as much.
They ask you if an extra $10K would change your mind.
They’re already paying way above the industry standard, they haven’t even met you, and you’re only having your first call with the HR person, not even the person who’d make the final hiring decision or that you’d report to, and they’re dropping ten more grand on the table like it’s a fortune cookie.
So you figure it can’t hurt to go in and meet them, and you do. You go down there, and it’s a typical digital media office space. It’s in an office building with a receptionist, and there is nary a booby nor a schlongs to be seen.
You sit down with the person who’d make the final hiring decision – the person you’d report to. You talk vision and strategy, both long-term and short-, and you’re both on the same page. They know what they’re looking for, and you fit the bill perfectly.
So what do you do? Do you take the gig? Do you wipe out the credit card debt, save up that downpayment, and/or finally afford that trip to wherever? Or do you curl back up into your comfort zone and tell yourself that adherence to social stigma is worth it?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
It would depend among other things on the shop and the kind of porn they publish but, theoretically, yes.
I don’t know what intrigues me more: what you thought to ask what kind of porn they might make, or knowing what kind of porn you would draw the line at :P
Hey, I didn’t ask! ;-)
But yeah, I have some lines I wouldn’t cross. Some are interest-based (male gay porn wouldn’t be my thing; nothing wrong with it but just not my thing). Others are values-based (I’d certainly refuse anything that was *clearly* degrading to women, or that stars very young looking girls, that kind of thing.)
What Marc said.
Yes, I would.
Though I haven’t seen them in person, both Playboy (well, up until like this month) and Mr. Skin are in Chicago, and what you described is what I saw on the videos – your typical digital office.
And my kids’ private school tuition isn’t paying itself!
mp/m
You know what, I know a guy who has like 3-4 kids, and guess who his biggest client is?
I heavily considered applying to an “escort” agency (one of those ads in the back of the Mirror) in my early twenties, I was so tired of rolling pennies for cigarettes and struggling to make rent. I tried to rationalize that I’d only be “escorting” people(men) and that it couldn’t be much worse than serving drinks in a bar. In the end, I decided I would probably find myself in situations where lines would get too blurred and I couldn’t be certain I had the strength needed for that sort of thing, even if it did allow me to afford cigarettes & beer.
Granted, my example is way seedier with more obvious ramifications, but it’s a situation that begs the same question: what parts of yourself are you comfortable exploiting? There are so many versions of exploitation in any industry, only just made prettier/covered up better. So maybe you work for porn, but it’s all out there and you know where the money is really coming from, and there is a certain valor in its honesty. You could be folding shirts that children sweat over in some retail shop, working in complete ignorance and/or denial… you gotta serve somebody, right? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzJUvx2yQPg)
I love that you linked Bob Dylan… Who could put it better than him?
i think i’ve told you this before, but take the gig. and the worst you can do is leave when your not comfortable, but you leave with a phat wallet.
You’ll do anything for money, won’t you, you cheeky bastard?
I think the opportunity is worth exploring, whats the worst thing that can happen, you don’t like the job and you leave. Would you be asking yourself the same question if an online casino, tabaco company or distiller came knocking?
Would the money be worth it down the road?! Would you even be considering this if you had the money to begin with that these people are offering?
…The money is so good, you may get sucked in and be doing this for much longer than you imagined. It will either trap you or liberate you. Are you ready to take that risk?
That’s pretty much a dream job. Good money and an infinitely interesting client.
A dream job, but not for me. My family is way more important than this.
My friend designed the covers of gay pr0n DVDs before she got a cushy government job.