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From The
Archive
13. Don't
suck canal water.
In Ask The Headhunter I advise job hunters to avoid trying to
swallow a broken job. These are jobs where:
- there might be a formal job description, but it's not clear exactly what work needs to
be done;
- there's no simple, objective measure of performance in place;
- the manager is throwing bodies at a problem that he himself doesn't really understand;
or,
- the manager desperately needs to have a short-term task done, but can't specify what the
job will entail afterward.
When a job is broken, it's impossible for you succeed at it and it's impossible for
management to assess your performance. The outcome is that your morale suffers, your
career is put at risk, and your life becomes miserable. In other words, you're sucking
canal water.
To avoid a broken job, ask the interviewer to explain the work in detail in his own
words; to lay out specific, objective measures of success; to sketch out the future of the
position; and to explain how the work you'll be doing will contribute to the profitability
of the business.
If you don't get straight answers and you're left wondering why the job even exists,
toss the boss a quarter and suggest he call you when he's got a real job for you to do.
Don't suck canal water.
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