My Reaction to The Comment War That Was “6 Reasons You Don’t Have a Job”

Last week I wrote what many have called the best post here on Corn on the Job.  One fellow went as far as personally calling me to say it was the greatest blog post he’d ever read.   But I can’t please everyone, and the (nearly 80!) comments on  post proves that fact.

“6 Reasons You Don’t Have a Job” wasn’t meant to offend anyone.  But it did.  Holy shit, it certainly did.

In the “controversial” blog post, I offered six of the most occurring reasons why people are out of work.  While I didn’t list the economy as one of the six,  I clearly stated that the economy is surely a factor, but most use it as an excuse, resulting in barely keeping their head above water, or worse, letting the excuse of the economy force their own slow drowning.  Say what you want, but it’s just fact.  For those offended by the kick in the ass I served, grow up and use my words as motivation to work even harder.  That’s all I can tell you.

If you don’t fall in those 6 reasons or the economy, then why are you so upset?  I’m clearly not talking about you.

The majority were offended when I said that homeless people aren’t as employable as the non-homeless.  I do apologize if this came off as harsh or bold, but it certainly does take much more work for the homeless to get a job.  This was meant to start a fire under the ass of those that simply aren’t working hard enough to find employment.  Instead of bringing a small flame, my words lit a short fuse to a stick of dynamite.  And you know what?  I love it.  A little emotion/passion never hurt.  How about you bottle some of that up and use it.

Now to talk about the comments that actually really did piss me off and are absolutely ridiculous.  In two of the mentioned reasons (Poor Resume and Poor Interviewing Skills), instead of offering lengthy advice and tips, I suggested that my services be hired.  More than a couple comments suggested that I am “self-serving” and that my only motivation for running Corn on the Job is to make money.

How dare you?    Do you have any idea how long, and how many hours I’ve worked on Corn on the Job?  Do you know how many people have benefited from my fucking free advice, stories, tips, weekly #JobHuntChat on Twitter, and general willingness to answer questions through email, Twitter, and Facebook?

No.  You apparently don’t.

Did you EVER think that you could simply find the COTJ Search Bar and type in the words “Interview” or “Resume”?  If you did that, you might find 15-20 FREE blog posts on those topics. It only takes 5-10 seconds to use the search bar, and I hope you do use that tool.  My intention here is to help people and offer as much free advice as possible.  I promise that if you spend some time, you’ll find the resources you need.

If you must know, “I want your money” because in that particular blog post, I could never cover each reason why your resume is terrible or why you’re an awful at interviewing.  Honestly, the possibilities are endless, and I could write an entire post, or even a book on each.  Rather than offer general tips that probably won’t help, I suggested what I know would help.  That’s my job.

So the offer is still there.  You pay me money, and in return you walk away a better interviewee, with a better resume, and more confidence in your job search.  Or hey, you can just use that search bar and read hundreds of free blog posts.  That choice is yours my friend.

My time is certainly worth your money, but don’t get it twisted.   I’m 200% about helping job seekers.  I’ve proved that over and over again. The question you should be asking is, are you helping yourself?