January 13, 2010

Job seekers: Take Conan's message to heart

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I like to provide practical advice about real issues facing job seekers here at Hire Ground, but please bear with me for a moment to comment briefly about a fantasy world--by that I mean Hollywood, specifically late-night TV.

Over the past 24 hours, I've surprised myself over how energized I felt after reading Conan O'Brien's defiant, yet still funny and poignant, statement in response to his de facto demotion at NBC. After a six-year build-up and just seven months at the helm of what he aptly called "the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," O'Brien was made a scapegoat for the lousy ratings of Jay Leno's 10 p.m. experiment, not to mention the rest of the NBC prime-time lineup. In short: "Hell, no! Coco won't go!"

Let's be clear--this is a dispute between fabulously wealthy people doing jobs that 99 percent of working people would consider play. It's hard to build up sympathy for the tribulations of entertainers who, even if they never earned another cent, will never have to worry about paying a mortgage or affording groceries for the rest of their lives. O'Brien is no working-class hero.

But after a year of seeing America's dwindling workforce quietly take on extra responsibilities and give up benefits without complaint for fear of the hovering layoff axe, it was heartening to see one person--a rich celebrity, for sure, but still one person--take a stand on principle. No one will weep over a TV star's bank account, but depending on how the lawyers interpret the fine print, O'Brien may be walking away from an eight-figure contract with no guarantee he will reach such a lofty perch again.

I hope O'Brien's well-crafted message he sent to the "People of Earth" will resonate among the weary worker drones who are scared to rock the boat in this economy--people who cling to jobs that they hate because they think there's no alternative. There may be fewer job openings out there in the real world, but that's no reason to be taken advantage of by uncaring bosses who see an opportunity to reap short-term gains on the backs of their employees.

I choose to see O'Brien's stance as a new symbol for 2010. You can already see an orange-coiffed "I'm With Coco" movement forming in some parts of the blogosphere. I would never want to see people leaving their jobs en masse in a populist act of protest, but I hope that the coverage of this story might give a few unhappy workers the extra bit of courage they need to start looking for more rewarding careers. Perhaps O'Brien's polite but firm reaction to the NBC executives' capricious demands will inspire job seekers to look beyond their comfort zones and focus their networking efforts on positions that will give their work meaning.

So the next time your boss decides to give you more work without extra pay or halt contributions to your 401(k), just ask yourself: What Would Conan Do?...

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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2 Comments

whalewriter on January 15, 2010 12:07 AM | Reply

What does the message Conan O'Brien gave his "fans" have to do with being taken advantage of at work?

Read carefully, and you will see that Conan is defending his position because of what he perceives as the re-branding of the Tonight Show.

It seems you are not only mixing metaphors, you are confusing peacocks with donkeys.

jhoysi on January 15, 2010 11:43 AM | Reply

@whalewriter - I disagree. It's not the re-branding of the Tonight Show, but what he perceives as "the destruction of the Tonight Show."

This "destruction" is because they are shifting its time slot, moving Jay Leno back where he was when he was host of the Tonight Show. In other words, Conan is saying that they are deeming one former host of the show more valuable than the show itself.

That translates very well when talking about being taken advantage of at work. The integrity of an entire show - or team - is getting shifted for the benefit of one person.

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