The Blog of Lisa Morosky

I’ve been thinking about this idea of authority and age, in terms of business, lately. The thoughts have been spurred by some interesting feedback I’ve gotten recently (and not so recently). I’ve heard a lot of people, in my industry (online business) and back when I worked at a job, tell me directly (or indirectly, as the case may be): Shut up. I’m older and wiser than you are. I can’t listen to what you’re saying or acknowledge what you’re doing because of your age. And because of your age, I’m convinced that you couldn’t possibly add any value to this topic.

Perhaps they’re right, considering my initial response is to want to smack around anyone who hints at such a thing. Which is probably not the most mature way to think. But, just for clarification here, and not because I feel like I need to justify myself to anyone (because I don’t), I’m not your average 23 year old. And that’s all you need to know.

So I’ve been pondering these questions. Do authority and age go hand-in-hand? Do people listen to and take seriously someone younger than they are who has more experience than they do? Are we subconsciously paying attention to this “older = wiser” stereotype, even if we say we aren’t? Do you have to prove yourself twice as much when you’re young? Do wisdom and age go hand-in-hand?

Here’s what I think.

Unfortunately, authority and age, and wisdom and age, both go hand-in-hand.

And I say that’s unfortunate because I feel like a lot of young people in the business world get dismissed as being near worthless because they’re not a little bit older, and thereby a little bit wiser.

A good example is my friend Erica Douglass, who recently did a post on a great blog called Get Rich Slowly. Just read the comments. Erica has done some great things in her life, and has some great wisdom to share because of it. But it seems like some people want to focus on her age and use that as a reason to discredit her. If she were 45, I don’t think her credibility, and authority on the topic in which she wrote, would have been under such attack.

Sometimes if you’re young, and you want to be taken seriously, you’re going to have to put in double the work, have double the success to show for it, and strongly make your presence known.

In the business world, if you’re older, you command a level of respect right off the bat. If you’re young, suddenly you need to try really hard to earn that respect – even if you’re running circles around others. I know that’s the game I had to play at my last job. And I’m not into playing games and wasting time – so I quit. I guess I made my presence known then.

And I don’t even think we’re aware that we’re prejudging people.

I know I’m not aware of it most of the time. But I’m becoming aware of it. I’ve made a conscious decision to judge the authority and merit of people based on their accomplishments – not their age. And I’ve been exposed to a whole host of new authorities in the online business world.

So here’s a situation for you. Let’s say two people have the same amount of experience, in blogging and social media (since we’re all probably familiar with those realms). Are you more likely to know, like, and trust the older person, or the younger person? And why?

Note: You should read all of this post to get the entire effect of how bad this experience truly was.

I talk a lot about my work history and why I’ve chosen to leave the corporate world. It all boils down to me having a very low tolerance for BS and demeaning behavior towards me or others. Plus, I’ve been bored at essentially every “real” job I’ve ever worked at. And, I like creating and growing my own ventures.

I have a lot of stories of just how truly messed up my work life was at my past jobs. I’m sure I’ll share them as time goes on. But for today, I thought I’d share one of the most pathetic/mortifying/crappy work experiences I’ve ever had: the worst job interview I ever went on. This experience should have been enough to convince me to go it alone. Unfortunately, I tortured myself for another year or so before making that decision (which is a whole other story).

Here’s some background info.

My husband and I got married right out of college. We went on our honeymoon, then picked up and moved to Illinois (where neither of us knew anyone) so my husband could go to chiropractic school.

When we got to Illinois, I needed to find a job fast. We only had so much wedding money and I was to be the sole provider since my husband takes a ridiculous amount of credits every trimester.

I have a degree in Communications (Media Studies, to be exact). No matter what they tell you, unless you’ve done 25 internships in school and you know someone, you’ll never get a decent-paying job when you graduate college with a degree in this field.

A seemingly awesome opportunity comes my way.

I was sending resumes and cover letters to every person who was hiring someone in my field. Dozens and dozens of resumes later, I had maybe one or two interviews, and neither amounted to anything.

Then, I saw a job posting for a Marketing Assistant. I wish I had the original job posting so I could convey how incredibly misleading it really was in the end (it’s almost comical, really). They were searching for someone to assist in the daily marketing duties at a web design firm.

Ca-ching! Score! This was right up my alley. When I got a call back for an interview, I was pumped.

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Interview day arrived and I put on my best business suit and drove to their office.

Red flag #1: Their building looked really sketchy from the outside, and was located in a bad neighborhood.

That didn’t deter me though. Plenty of respectable businesses are located in less than optimal locations.

I went inside and what I saw was one big room, filled with a couple dozen people in sweatshirts and jeans at desks. I waited patiently for the interviewer to call me back.

Red flag #2: The woman who interviewed me was frazzled beyond belief.

She took me back to a corner. Not a separate room, but a corner of the same room everyone else was in, and proceeded to tell me about this job.

“The sales managers sit over there,” she said as she pointed to one side of the room. “Sometimes, the sales managers need someone to pull a file from the filing cabinet and bring it to them. That’s what you would be doing.”

Red flag #3: The work would be insultingly simple, and there’s a clear hierarchy of importance here.

Now, you need to understand my desperation to find a job, in order to understand how I responded. I was newly married, literally poor, and needing to work.

I told her that I could handle that and that it sounded like a great opportunity (gag).

“How do you feel about porn?”

As we were wrapping up the interview, the woman casually asked me: “how do you feel about porn?”.

Red flag #4: It’s time to run as far away as possible.

Baffled, I replied the best way I knew how: “I don’t think I understand the question.”

She then told me that they mainly design, develop, and sell porn websites. She wanted to know if being around porn all day would be a problem for me.

Oh, and the reason for everyone being located in one large room? So that no one gets “distracted” while they’re working.

In the end…

I didn’t take that job, although I was offered it. Call me crazy, but working in one big room, taking files back and forth from lazy people who can’t even stand up to get them themselves, all while being surrounded by porn sights and sounds, just wasn’t my idea of a safe and happy work environment.

I was desperate, but not that desperate.

So here’s the million dollar question: what was your worst job interview ever?