I'm feeling really snotty so I'll stick my two cents in on the Typsy debate.
Those of you working in a real company (and those of you who used to) --
remember the resumes that sometimes appear where everything is misspelled,
aligned wrong, *and* badly photocopied? I'm sure you all know how everyone
judges those resumes. No matter what the college degree, work background,
or talent, if the person can't do a resume at least partly right when
applying for a job, then they aren't someone who a company would want to
hire. The assumption is that if someone is unable to take the care and take
the time to do a resume right, then there must be other things they can't
do right.
Typsy (or whatever your name is), you did the same thing here. No matter
what your reasons, you posted the list equivalent of a bad resume. In other
words, you didn't take the job of posting seriously enough.
*Of course* we ridiculed the message -- when I read it the first time I
thought one of the list folks with a twisted sense of humor was trying to
pull everyone's leg with a fake posting. (I even spent some time trying to
figure out who it could be!) I didn't take you seriously at all -- simply
because you were writing like a novice *and* asking for legal advice. It
isn't what you were asking that got us -- it was the combination.
We don't make fun of folks who ask questions...ask TJ about how we've
treated all his questions about how to get business licenses or sign up
clients or how much to ask for a down payment. Now that you're writing in
lower case (a bit too much for my taste -- I happen to like capital letters
in some sentences, unlike Mike Stone <wink>) you no longer jump off the
page as a novice...but the way you word your sentences, added to your
defensiveness, is still a badly formatted resume. You're asking us for help
-- asking us to take time and effort to help you -- and you're getting
defensive when we don't all jump in and practically set up your business
for you. Why should we? You say you're a web designer, but won't share a
URL -- since my first impression of you was that this posting is a joke,
how have you shown me that you aren't just a joke by one of the list
members? The answer is that you haven't -- you've just continued to
complain that some of us won't help you.
Well, bugger that.
I've had a tough day, spent 40 hours pulling together a HUGE proposal and
basically got told that I'm an idiot by a twit of a marketing exec who
"forgot" to tell us that all the requirements she had given us were just
her personal requirements and weren't even close to the stuff wanted by the
company execs. After two days with little sleep, getting reamed in a client
meeting does not put me in the mood to jolly you. It doesn't put me in the
mood to be patient with you. And you have not in any of your postings given
me any reason why I should change my mind. What you've missed here is that
your posting should have *sold* me and everyone else on your talent and
enthusiasm so we'd push through the daily hassles and help you. All your
postings have done is make you sound like a whining child.
I'm glad to give new or potential professional web consultants help and
pointers -- but messages such as I've seen posted by you don't go very far
at convincing me to take the time out of my day. There are a lot of other
folks out there asking much more interesting questions in a more palatable
way. Try some sugar coating -- maybe a few humble apologies -- and you'll
see that you really do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Tamra (grouchier than Kayla!) Heathershaw-Hart
Managing Partner and client punching bag
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Hart Consulting Web Studio http://www.hartcons.com/
Web Site Design, Production, Programming, & Promotion
650-967-6162 (phone) 1-800-749-8032 (fax)
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