I believe that one of my greatest obstacles in life has been the tendency of others, who might otherwise help me, to assume I have it all figured out. This has been true of my family, friends, teachers, mentors, and employers—both real and potential.
I have never had it all figured out. I don’t even think that’s possible. I have come to view life as a series of struggles that you either overcome (temporarily) or you don’t, and even if you manage to overcome all of them, you cannot overcome death. So there is no such thing as a happy ending except in movies and at certain massage parlors (or so I’ve been told). It’s become a cliché, but I’ll say it anyway: life is about the journey and not the destination.
And my journey has not been a “bed of roses” to quote from the song, “We Are the Champions,” by one of my favorite rock bands. Sure, I am white, male, straight, smart, and a lot of other things associated with privilege, but these attributes do not guarantee that I will achieve my goals. People overestimate me (and others by extension) because they evaluate based on their ideas of success, privilege, and potential. They are likely not even aware of mine.
Moreover, given that many of my goals relate to building a better world—and not a better bank account—the aforementioned attributes are not so relevant. If I am perceived as a communist or anarchist, I don’t think it matters so much how white, male, or straight I am to a reactionary capitalist with a job opening to fill. Conversely, based on those same attributes, I may not be considered left-wing or “woke” enough to be trusted by organizations pushing for social change—and probably would not garner much sympathy if passed over because of the perception that I’d have a better chance at succeeding elsewhere than those who are not white, male, and/or straight. To summarize, the attributes that benefit Americans in mainstream society are the very same attributes that hold them back in the counterculture. So what can be done if you cannot (or will not) conform to either?
I have no answer to this question despite struggling with it for most of my adult life. I do not think it’s possible to change people’s perceptions without their full participation. Prejudice runs deep and has many forms—some are even positive—but it would be far better if human beings made hiring decisions based on logic and facts. The fact I’m most concerned about is that people need money in order to sustain themselves in the world we live in, and in order to get that money—no matter how smart they are, white they are, or male they are—they usually need a job. In order to get that job, they usually need someone in a position of authority to perceive that they need (and want) that job and are capable of performing it effectively. (The exception would be if they are entrepreneurial, but most people are not.) If this hypothetical person is overestimated, even based on something as simple as an advanced degree, and deemed “overqualified,” the person is effectively marginalized if he or she is unable to attain a job requiring a more advanced degree. This is the ultimate catch-22 of employment in my opinion, and I have never heard it discussed.
I would rather that every potential employer saw me as ordinary and pliable than deem me overqualified—at least then they might give me the opportunity to prove them wrong.
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Previous posts in this series:
Unemployed? Don’t Feel Bad for Feelin’ Bad
Don’t Need a Job to Need a Partner
Being Unemployed Doesn’t Make You Less of a Man
When Unemployed, Exercise Every Day
Don’t Sell Your Soul for a Job
If You Can’t Make Money, Save Money
Get By with a Little Help from Your Friends
When Out of Work, Work on Self
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