Will Work For Coffee...

[janikphoto]

I found this on a job board and thought it was funny. You do all the work and get coffee and an old jump drive, in return:

We need someone who can cartoon really well. Our HR department is
in need of some cartoons of situations regarding harassment.
These cartoons will be used for computer based training. This is
an UNPAID position, but we are willing to give the student a
Starbucks gift card and a few things from our marketing
department, such as a 4gb jump drive. We need someone ASAP - thedeadline for the draft submittal to our HR group is February 5th

[revjvegas]

That SB coffee ain't cheap ya know.

[texkam]

This is an UNPAID position, but we are willing to give the student a Starbucks gift card and a few things from our marketing department

They're a company, that needs something from someone who has a specialized talent. Something that most people can't do and they insult them like this. Gee whiz, maybe they can get services from other talented individuals this way too. legal, accounting, HVAC, etc. I think the HR department needs to come in and work for free. Then they'd have money to pay the artist.

[Some Idiot]

Originally Posted by texkam

i think the hr department needs to come in and work for free. Then they'd have money to pay the artist.

bingo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jeffclow]

The nerve of some people....and the sad thing is that probably someone will take them up on their offer.

I have people write me almost daily asking if they can use a photo of mine for their......website.....book....business card.....non-profit......you name it. I always tell them no and one said that he could find similar images elsewhere for free.

I told him go ahead...and he said "but yours is the best image and that's why I took the time to write you".

The nerve.

[Cajungaltx]

You guys are SO darn cynical.

I can see a group of people talking about how lame their current harassment information is and how people basically 'tune out' during the meeting. So someone came up with an idea to incorporate humor, and cartoons to get the point across. But there's no budget... so they are offering what they've got.

Depending on the SB gift card... lol... if I could draw worth a flip, I might take a couple hours out of my day to help them out...

[mmuhlenkamp]

Well, it's the same problem as parents with a camera at kids sporting event and cutting into the photographer's sales that might be covering the event. If you don't value you're work go for the Starbucks gift card. I like to be paid for my hard work. Just because I enjoy my work doesn't mean I shouldn't get fair compensation. Creatives need to value their own work before others will.

[Cajungaltx]

Originally Posted by mmuhlenkamp

Well, it's the same problem as parents with a camera at kids sporting event and cutting into the photographer's sales that might be covering the event. If you don't value you're work go for the Starbucks gift card. I like to be paid for my hard work. Just because I enjoy my work doesn't mean I shouldn't get fair compensation. Creatives need to value their own work before others will.

I don't see any difference between someone creating something on paper, and someone building a building.

Someone who is established in a field is not going to be interested in this because he/she has enough going on that it serves no need for them.

However - take a 3rd year art student - who lives on financial aid - loves to go to SB and have a cup of java and study...but doesn't because the $5 Frap isn't in their budget.

They can draw.
They like coffee.

Should they not do it because Mr. Established wouldn't accept that arrangement?

I don't think there is any shame in either the offer, or the accepting of something like this...

[mmuhlenkamp]

I see your point, but most of the time people that ask for this type of work for little to no compensation also ask the most. I've seen it posted numerous times that when a photog raises their prices it also raises the quality of their clients.

So if you like coffee and you like having people who don't really know what they want but "well, we'll know it when we see it" go for it. Besides even a 3rd year art student should value their work more. Maybe a high school student would be more suited.

Also, you get what you pay for, they'd be better off having someone in the office draw up some stick figure cartoons.

[texkam]

-Warning I’m going to go off. ....and ramble too. -

if I could draw worth a flip

This statement is the key here.

Good god, I’ve heard this a bizillion times. Gee, all you have to do is.... and after all, your real good at it so you could knock it out in a couple of hours..... It’s not like it’s real work, it’s just cartoons. Arrrrgh! If ! ...If, if , if. If I could sing well, dance well, write well, sew well, cook well, play golf well. Just like these, how many people do you know who can illustrate “really well”? That’s what they’re asking for, “someone who can cartoon really well”. So, how many? 2? 1? None? Not that many huh? How many people do you know who do photography “really well”? I’d say they’re are maybe a couple of handfuls on this statewide forum. How ‘bout a “really good” musician, mechanic, doctor, plumber? All these people have something in common, they are rare. And because of that their work has a lot of value. Oh, and time has nothing to do with it. After all how much time does it take a photographer to just snap an image? (yes, a lifetime) A pastry chef can create a wedding cake a heck of a lot faster than me so why should he/she be able to charge a heck of a lot more? Value. Value due to talent. Do HR workers provide value to that company? Of course and they are paid for it. Will a really good illustrator add value to that company’s bottom line? You bet. So why shouldn’t they deserve to be properly compensated for it just like the HR workers? If the illustrator has “an artistic gift” one could argue they have a lifetime of hours in that job. A lawyer may bill 45 minutes to advise a company on a decision that may save them millions of dollars. How much value does that 45minutes have? How ‘bout the simplicity of some corporate logos/branding? “Oh, that’s so simple, I could have thought of that”. ...But you didn’t. Ideas have value. As you suggest, putting a pen in your hand won’t produce a really good cartoon. So there’s more than just pen and paper involved here. That “something more” has value. I bet those HR people couldn’t make your “really nice camera” sing like you can. You bring your degree of value to the table and only you decide how much that’s worth. If you’re really good you deserve to be compensated accordingly even if it comes easy to you and you enjoy it. ...even if you HAPPEN to be a student. And don’t get me started on exploiting students. If you haven’t had a chance to hone your skills yet you may have to agree to some lower paying gigs until your work measures up, but that’s not the case here. They want work that measures up. Well guess what, if the work measures up the value goes up. If you can run with the big dogs you should be treated like a big dog. You think Columbia University is going to say “Let’s don’t give the Pulitzer to this kid because they’re just a student”?

However - take a 3rd year art student - who lives on financial aid - loves to go to SB and have a cup of java and study...but doesn’t because the $5 Frap isn’t in their budget. They can draw. They like coffee. Should they not do it because Mr. Established wouldn’t accept that arrangement?

No, they should not do it because they CAN draw, ...”really well” and this compensation falls well short of what their talent is worth. If they can’t draw, they shouldn’t respond to the post. If the company wants to go cheap then they need to change the post to reflect their lower expectations and leave the insulting “student” reference out of it. Some students do better work than seasoned pros. Compensation should be based on one's value not their age, sex, race, etc.

Sorry Donna, you struck a nerve.

[mmuhlenkamp]

I like you, Mark