Creative? Find Your Work Not a Job!
Creative professionals of all kinds, from architects to writers, don’t do JOBS.
Well, not if they’re smart.
Creatives aren’t cut out to work for companies. As a client said today, and I loosely quote, "companies suck the life out of you!"
Companies are about rules, policies, procedures, mass production. Very few corporations with the notable exception of Google, Apple, and others provide the RIGHT ENVIRONMENT for creatives.
Artistic types, need to be able to, in fact MUST express their creative urges, in and through their work. For creatives their is no boundary between them and work.
They ARE their work.
And, they need environments that NURTURE, GUIDE, that expression NOT stifle it.
So, if you are a creative professional, don’t language it as a "Job Search". It’s NOT!
It’s a search for a way, a place, where you can DO YOUR WORK.
I totally relate. And it’s not just jobs and companies that stifle me too much – it’s all types of institutions like schools, universities and anything with a very rigid structure.
I think Craigslist was really on to something when they started calling the creative stuff “gigs” instead of “jobs” – it has a completely different feel and doesn’t make you feel like clicking the link will suck you into the corporate quicksand of doom!
Thanks. YES, the more I work with and coach Creatives the more I realize how WE creatives NEED the just-right-structure… even in the NAME of the thing. Great observations Trisha and Jennifer. Lyle
I love freelancing because if a gig isn’t a good fit I can say “no harm no foul” and walk away…
I think that is so true. Companies that embrace the creativity of their employees will only harness a much greater power. Far to often companies negate what additional services a creative employee has to offer because in their minds it is something that is not relevant to the exact role of their job. Overall I think that it is society that is brought us up in this type of environment.