Jillangill and Craigslist
Pretty much I’ve noticed that Craigslist is more of a societal barometer than anything else, providing glimpses into the way people actually function in these times of “economic uncertainty.” For instance, a little while back I saw something really sad and desperate…there was a mom who was looking for a birthday gift for her son. She didn’t have any money, but was begging people to trade her “anything electronic that my son would like” in exchange for mass amounts of ice cream.
Looking for jobs on Craigslist is always a task that requires a little bit of bravery, especially when you’re browsing the writing/editing category and you live near LA. There are basically 3 types of jobs posted.
1. Some “struggling artist” is convinced they have a stellar idea for a screenplay or novel, only they don’t have the actual talent or patience to produce it. Lucky writers of the world, who wouldn’t want to slave over someone else’s work and share in a fraction of miniscule royalties in the unlikely event it’s published?
2. A nameless company wants to hire a writer/proofreader. Duties of the writer/proofreader include graphic design, developing their website, acting as the secretary, and performing assistant duties for the higher-ups. All for 8 bucks an hour. Oh, and you need to be experienced in the full Adobe Creative suite.
3. A myriad of jobs with special demands that exclude you from the start. I don’t speak Mandarin, German, or Spanish; I’m not allowed to apply for the job as Beauty Editor of a Latina magazine. I’m just a white girl with lots of experience.
It’s highly frustrating. Many of the jobs that sound interesting to me aren’t even offered on a full-time basis, yet they want you on-site in nowheresville for 34 hours so they don’t have to provide benefits for you. They want to pay you 12 bucks or less per hour for work that’s worth easily 4 times that much. But they can offer these kinds of ridiculous terms because people are desperate.
Don’t even get me started on the “Casual Encounters” section. The only thing Craigslist has going for it is that there aren’t 50 million job postings urging you to join the Navy or become a “Hollywood Extra!”.