As an Adelaide resume writer I rarely use the word ‘passion’ as it’s a cliche and empty of meaning. The word can also hide all number of sins in a job ad. The story below is from the ABC and I’ve made a few comments as well.
From an outsider’s perspective, certain jobs can look appealing but optimism can quickly be replaced by an impending sense of doom.
Dr Lisa Cohen is an associate professor of organisational behaviour at McGill University in Montreal.
She argues that ‘glossy work’ is most common in cultural industries, like film, music and theatre. Glossy jobs often straddle two worlds: external charm and inner dreariness, Dr Cohen says.
Martin Preece has experienced the glossy work problem, too.
Today he’s the director of a company that specialises in construction and property recruitment, but earlier on in his career, he took up a managerial role because he felt he “should be thinking about progression”.
He was also attracted to the credibility and gravitas that can come with a more senior position. But over time, as he took on new roles in management, they turned out to be more of a burden than he had expected.
Despite earning more money, his management role was stressful, the pressure was intense and he soon discovered the “warts and all truth” to some senior roles.
“But when it came to explaining the rigours of the role and the stresses and strains, I would probably keep that to myself, or speak to my partner.”
Mr Preece re-evaluated what he wanted from his work, and he’s long-since changed roles and started up his own business, which he finds much more enjoyable.
According to Dr Cohen, there’s a deceptively simple word that can lead to glossy work: passion.
“I have to say, I hate that word [‘passion’],” Dr Cohen says. “It’s one of the most dangerous words when it comes to jobs and looking for jobs.”
She argues it conveys a sentiment that can be easily masked as something else, particularly in the realm of start-ups.
“I did about 200 interviews with people in start-ups … and so many of the entrepreneurs said, ‘We want passion, we are looking for passion’,” Dr Cohen says.
“I asked them what that meant, and how they would determine if somebody had passion. They had absolutely no idea … why they wanted it or what they really meant.
“I think what they meant is that they wanted somebody who would work like a dog for them.”