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Exit, Pursued By A Bear
We’re in a theater and this is all a play.
Steph Lundberg
August 18th, 2024 • About 35 minutes
In today's issue:
Exit, Pursued By A Bear
(For instance: if you hover over the footnotes, they’ll pop up so you can read them right where you are in the text.)
I’d like to say that all of these changes were planned in a mastermind fashion and expertly executed without issue. I’d love to say that. Can I say that?
Uh, no. I cannot.
One of the wonderful things about doing this newsletter is that it helps me connect with people. I’ve spoken with a few people about the work I’m doing face-to-face and with more passingly on social media,2 and I love it every time. But lately, it’s made me worry.
I wonder what people see when they watch me publish this newsletter, run the Jobs board, the Resources site, or, as I started recently, the podcast. It’s work, I think that much is obvious to most people. But outside of that, I worry that I’m projecting an image about all this stuff that just isn’t accurate.
I don’t think anyone considers writing a newsletter glamorous, but I do think there’s just enough mystery surrounding it that it seems like something one might breezily pick up for fun and profit.
And I’m not saying it isn’t fun — my ADHD wouldn’t allow me to do any of this if it wasn’t novel or fun in some way — but if you’ve read this newsletter or Bad Job Bingo and found it to be of any quality standard above “not reminiscent of garbage in an alley after it’s been cooked in the heat of a Texas summer,” let me just say: insert relieved laughter followed by incoherent sobbing here
It is those things, but it’s also…much more than that.
For one, it’s exhausting. It’s an exhaustion I picked! But when I’m on a break from my full-time job, I’m writing. That last issue about Andreessen and Horowitz’s endorsement of Trump? That was three solid days of researching and writing every moment I wasn’t working or sleeping (when I slept, which wasn’t much).
If I want to publish on time, then at night after work I’m on the couch, half-cuddling with a kid and half-rating jobs for Bad Job Bingo. On weekends I’m in my office, updating the job board and the Resources site, putting together the newsletter. I record podcast episodes when my kids are asleep and the house is quiet. Sometimes, I’m typing away in bed while Mr. Steph sleeps.
There’s no getting ahead with this kind of work. If I take a day off, I feel guilty for not hustling more, and that’s one day later the newsletter goes out, which means I can’t publish consistently, putting a successful newsletter that much farther out of reach. If I work whenever I can, I feel like a terrible parent, sacrificing precious moments with my kids for something that may or may not ever be worth it.
Also, not for nothing, but I have no idea what I’m doing. Seriously. If I’m not making shit up or trying to figure shit out, I’m fixing shit I broke. If I really fuck up – like, say, messing up my Stripe account so that subscribers can’t support me3 – then that’s less money that I can depend on to pay my bills, which means I have to take on outside freelance work, which means I can’t publish consistently, putting a successful newsletter that much farther out of reach.
Hey, speaking of money, I’m not making any. I mean, hopefully I will at some point! But the costs of operating the newsletter, the job board, and the Resources site are currently higher than the income they’re bringing in.
Again, this isn’t me complaining – I’m choosing to do this! It’s also not a guilt trip or a money-grabbing strategy – I’m intentionally doing things that I knew would be hard and wouldn’t have traditional revenue streams.
What it is is reality.
I worry that by not talking about how hard all of this is, how chaotic it actually is behind the scenes, folks who are trying it themselves (or anything new) will look at me and wonder what they’re doing wrong. I’m managing to do so much, so why do they feel like imposters on top of not making any money and feeling like shitty parents and shitty partners?
It’s because we’re in a theater and this is all a play, except I’ve neglected to tell you what I’m acting out. It’s Shakespeare! So highbrow! But oh no, it’s The Winter’s Tale, and I’m Antigonus, my business is the baby, and real life is the bear waiting to chase me offstage to my demise.4
Also I have good news for anyone who feels like this in their job, too, because it’s not just the newsletter. I found myself asking the universe this week: how does anyone ever feel like an expert at anything?
I only seem to find ever more challenging work, and I think, it’s fine! This is good! If I can do this, I can do anything! And yet, no. The next thing is just a different, harder thing.
For me, searching for expertise is like diving into a well and trying to find the bottom. Despite my inefficient dog-paddling, I do get deeper! But the water just gets darker, and colder, and the bottom never appears.
So like. If you’re going through life and encountering nothing but hurdles when it seems like everyone else is leaping like perfect, graceful gazelles5 over them, let me just lower the bar for you.
No, lower.
Lower than that.
Oh, is it on the ground? Great, because that’s where I am. Don’t worry, I face-planted, but I’m still breathing. Just give me a minute.
Anyway. Changes. Right.
For starters, you’re probably going to start seeing ads in the newsletter (unless you’re a paid member, in which case you shouldn’t see anything!).6 I would love to be solely reader-sustained, but I also need this work to be sustainable in general. To do that, I need to be able to fund it. Thus, ads.7
I’m able to do this because I moved the newsletter from Ghost to beehiiv.8 Aside from the neat trick with the footnotes, the writing and publishing experience is better for me, and despite the ads, I think it will be a better reading experience for you.9
Here’s a change I’m really excited about: I’m helping the ElevateCX community with their newsletter, and from now on the Good News and the Read / Watch / Listen sections will become a part of that publication. It’s a better fit, and it means I can focus more on the core parts of this newsletter.
Because of that, I’m experimenting with dropping the Roundup from the title of the newsletter and the date from individual issues. Calling it Support Human is easier, makes for better branding, and aligns more with what I’m doing here.
Finally, for possibly the biggest change of all, I need your help, my fellow Support Humans.
You’ve probably noticed that the newsletter gets long. Like, really long. So long that many email clients routinely cut off much of the text, forcing subscribers to finish reading online. It’s probably being clipped right now, in fact. (If so, click Read Online at the top of this email.)
I introduced the Brief to help alleviate this problem, and that’s not going away,10 but it doesn’t really fix the issue for readers of the original newsletter. So, let’s consider some options for a different format / publishing schedule. Then I’m hoping you’ll help me decide by voting for your favorite option.
Pros: I wouldn’t have to change anything I’m doing.
As a reader, you get just one issue a week, which is what I promised when you subscribed, and which might be easier for you to keep up with.
Cons: Doing both a main story / news commentary and Bad Job Bingo at the same time makes for a punishing schedule for me because it means I’m updating the job board and the Resources site at the same time. It also makes it more likely that there won’t be a main story, or that there’ll be less Bad Job Bingo, or that there’ll be no new issue at all if I’m having a busy week.
As a reader, you can’t just stay in your email if you prefer that, which might be a nuisance for you.
Option 2: Keep the news/commentary and Bad Job Bingo in one issue, but just link to the jobs (no ratings commentary).
Pros: Each issue would be much shorter, and it would be easier for me to put together the Bad Job Bingo portion of the newsletter. Because issues would be shorter, I could potentially fit in more jobs.
As a reader, you wouldn’t have to leave your email to read an issue, and you could go to only the jobs that sound the most interesting to you.
Cons: This doesn’t really solve my pacing issue, and honestly, it would take away a lot of what’s fun for me about doing the newsletter.
As a reader, if you’re here primarily for Bad Job Bingo, a commentary-only newsletter will likely be a bummer for you.
Option 3: Divide them up! Publish news/commentary in one issue and full-length Bad Job Bingo in another.
Pros: Not to sway you, but this is admittedly my favorite option at the moment. This would solve my pacing problem completely; I could do Bad Job Bingo and update the job board weekly regardless of whether there’s news for which I feel I could offer an interesting perspective. When there is, I can take my time and focus on that without it derailing Bad Job Bingo, as it so often has. (Timeliness to the news notwithstanding, as there’s no way to get rid of that pressure).
As a reader, you get jobs in your inbox weekly with a healthy helping of sass, and every once in a while you’ll still get high-quality commentary on CX and Tech news in a different issue.
Cons: I still have to publish weekly, sometimes more than weekly.
As a reader, if you’re here primarily for the main story/commentary, having a Bad Job Bingo-only issue will likely be a bummer for you. Plus, you’ll potentially have to keep up with two issues in one week, which may not be what you signed up for.
Option 4: Something else I'll explain in the comments.
Have an option I haven’t considered? Let me know in the comments.11
Thanks for the help!
And Now for Some Good News
Love this batch of folks for the last edition of Good News. Thanks for letting me celebrate y’all here — see you over at the ElevateCX newsletter!
Rachel Avery earned a Social Media and Social Content Strategy certification from the Digital Marketing Institute.
Yas Longoria joined Employ as Senior Manager, Customer Success and Support.
Liz Bunger joined Vertex as a Knowledge Management Leader.
Jennifer Kyles joined Klaviyo as a Senior Billing Specialist.
Matthew Doering joined Meta as a Technical Solutions Consultant II.
Gary Lam joined Inteplast Group as a Customer Service Representative.
Ian McMullen was promoted to Senior Customer Support and Operations Manager at Retrium.
Melissa Beringer was promoted to Senior Customer Success Manager at Braze.
Get Hired
I play Bad Job Bingo with every job listing that appears in the Roundup and categorize them according to how well (or poorly, if I hit Bingo) they do in the game.
However, please remember that a job appearing in a positive category isn’t an endorsement of any role or company, and a job appearing in a negative category doesn't mean I think you shouldn't apply if it works for you. Bad Job Bingo is simply an effort to give you a shortcut to finding roles that may match your needs and values.
These and past contestants can be found at Support Human Jobs.
Green Means Go
No flags, or green flags only! A true unicorn.
VP, Customer Success and Technical Operations ($180k-$210k) at HUMAN (Hybrid US-NYC, NY)
The Careers page is somewhat bare bones, but otherwise fine. Their values seem honest and in keeping with their brand.
I'm pretty impressed with the job description overall. Aside from a brief reference to "diversity of thought" (which in context seems harmless), they manage to convey the qualities they're looking for without being unnecessarily prescriptive or ableist, they seem to understand well what they're looking for, and the stated goals are unusually grounded for a VP of Success position.
All in all, I think this is a solid Green Means Go.
Eh, It’s Probably Fine
A few flags popped up, but no serious ones.
Senior Technical Writer ($133k-$170k) at Circle (Remote US-Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; NYC, NY; Phoenix, AR; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA)
The Careers page is straightforward, their company values are pretty run-of-the-mill.
I know this is a bit outside Support knowledge work, but I think it'd be a good fit for CX folks. The position seems fine, and the pay is great.
Note: I think the job is probably Remote in the US, but candidates are asked to pick the city closest to them before applying, so I'm putting those cities as the location just to be safe.
Community Manager ($100k-$150k) at Medium (Remote US)
The Careers page is straightforward, run-of-the-mill tech company fare.
This seems like a somewhat hybrid role between standard Community work and Support work, which I always enjoy seeing. Given the duties, I do wish this were a more senior title, although the pay is great regardless.
Enthusiasm for building something new, coming up with new ideas, and working autonomously. You know how to engage communities and you have new ideas to bring to Medium that you’ll launch and oversee. — I like the way they phrased this – a thoughtful alternative to the lazy and boring "must work independently."
Proven ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment. — Man, we were so close to avoiding the standard job cliches!
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a product- and systems-thinking mindset. — You know what, this is also a nice break from the "high intelligence" bullshit I so often see in job descriptions. I know exactly what they're asking for and, therefore, can ascertain why they're asking for it.
Working with a fully distributed team: We’re totally remote and have teammates across the U.S. & France — Sing it with me: this is not a benefit!
Note: This job has closed since I rated it.
Tread Carefully
Didn’t quite hit bingo, but there were several yellow flags or more than one red flag.
Vice President, Customer Support ($200k-$280k) at Billtrust (Remote US)
A ping-pong table made an appearance in a company recruitment video. Tsk tsk.
The video is actually pretty cute overall, though. I appreciate that they say they hire "people with diverse backgrounds" rather than "diverse people," and I love the bloopers at the end (I'm a sucker for personality and people obviously having fun). I also think it was great and fairly savvy to note that they only used real employees in the video.
For a larger company (over 750 employees, according to their Careers page), I'm pretty impressed that they've managed to balance the corporate speak with a clear company personality. Of course, it's no substitute for how they actually treat employees, but I appreciate the effort.
The actual job description is significantly more corporate, sadly, which isn't a surprise for an executive role, just a little disappointing.
You will maintain and grow established relationships with both customers and internal leadership alike and will apply your negotiating skills when working cross-organization (i.e. – IT, DEV, eOps, etc.) to facilitate solutions or meet urgent customer timelines. — Eehhhh, this feels like a flag to me. It tells me that Customer Support as a discipline isn't highly thought of in the company, and so you'll spend a lot of your time trying to get other functions in the company to take you seriously and apply their resources for the good of the customer.
You will execute your strategic vision to identify opportunities for enhancing organizational alignment, process efficiency, customer self-service, and employee engagement, while maximizing the cost of support. — Sigh. I wouldn't mind this so much if it weren't always Customer Support getting the directive to maximize costs.
Use skills of persuasion and negotiation to drive positive change for the organization with Sr. leadership — *nervous laughter*
Work with internal support partners to ensure appropriate structure in place between organizations to maximize working relationship — I'm not sure what this means, but it can't be good, right?
Maintain ownership of CS projects and initiatives associated with continuous improvement, cost reduction, monetization, and employee engagement — Because nothing says positive employee engagement like cost reduction and monetization?
Strong senior leadership work ethic with confident decision-making under adversity — WOOF.
Proven ability to lead, succession plan, and inspire a team of managerial direct reports — Wooo, they throw "succession plan" in the middle there so casually, don't they! Tell me there's lots of turnover without telling me there's lots of turnover.
On the one hand, the company has obviously put a lot of effort into thoughtful recruitment and employee benefits. On the other, there are some flags here that I'd ask about – Support's relationship with other teams, Support's relationship with senior leadership, and things like manager turnover (which is often an early warning sign for employee turnover). Good thing we have Tread Carefully!
Sr. Manager, Learning & Quality, Ring Technical Customer Support ($121k-$225k) at Amazon (Remote US)
Reading through the job description, the title seems misleading—this feels more like an AI content automation position than a Knowledge & Education one.
For that reason, and because the whole thing feels phoned in at best (you'd think a company with Amazon's resources would be able to put together a reasonably informative JD), I'm throwing this in Tread Carefully.
Anyway - the pay is good, benefits seem good. You'd be working for Amazon.
Product Specialist, Manager (Post Sales) (No comp given) at AlphaSense (Hybrid UK-London)
The Careers page is well-developed, informative, and pretty straightforward.
We spend our waking hours obsessing over our customers — Eh, do you though? 'Cause that's not necessarily something I'd brag about.
You demonstrate equanimity in all situations. — This is "stay calm under pressure" in sheep's clothing, in case you were wondering.
You are a warm but demanding manager to your direct reports. — Again, it's not that weird, just a signal of a specific kind of culture, which could be fine! Make sure it's your kind of culture, is all I'm saying.
An intelligent, articulate, consultative and confident client facing professional — No unintelligible, meek boneheads, thank you very much.
Superior ability to develop rapport with people, and to maintain relationships, combined with a positive and proactive personality. — Ah, so we're prescribing personalities now, cool cool cool.
Energetic and creative individual — I'm just a girl, standing in front of a faceless company, asking them to stop saying this ableist bullshit.
Effective attention to detail, time management and task prioritisation, even when under pressure. — I'm not going to copy and paste the typos / errors in this JD (you'll see them below), but there were enough that I thought to myself, "These folks are definitely going to require attention to detail." It's just a constant of the universe now.
I was going to give this an Eh, It's Probably Fine, but the weird culture signals tipped it over into Tread Carefully for me. Oh yeah, and there's no salary transparency (and the application asks for comp range), so that would've done it anyway.
There’s a Product Specialist, Manager (Pre Sales) and a Customer Success Manager (B2B - Presales) open as well (both Hybrid London).
Customer Support Manager (No comp given) at Vetcove (Remote US)
Okay, so this is why I keep an archive of roles: back in January, Vetcove put up a listing for a Head of Growth and Customer Experience.
Many of the duties are the same, with some notable updates. Take this duty in the Head G&CX listing:
Manage three customer support managers who each oversee a team of support associates and act as the direct manager for our retention specialist
Now this one from the current listing:
Manage a team of offshore contract support associates, provide training, onboarding, and measure performance
So I'm making some assumptions here, but nothing that's not confirmed by what we've seen in the Customer Support industry as a whole in the past couple of years. It sounds like they laid off what in-house managers and support team they had, including the Director (assuming they ever hired one), and then, of course, brought in the BPO team.
I can give you my professional opinions about this trend (it's short-sighted, destructive to the company and its customers, and ultimately futile as a cost-saving mechanism), but I don't know anything about this company other than what's on their website.
I can tell you that I think they're asking too much from a Manager-level role, and I think the evolution in their Support approach above is a bad signal for the function and the company's future. Tread Carefully.
Associate Customer Success Manager ($49k-$148k) at GitHub (Remote US)
Boy, that's a wordy job description. And dense.
Nothing in particular is jumping out at me, but I confess I did skim. Did I mention it's long? Also that salary is as wide as the JD is verbose. One might say comically so.
Product Specialist (No comp given) at AlphaSense (Onsire UK-London)
This role has the same weird (and ableist) culture signals as the Manager role. Also, there's no salary transparency and the application asks for your target comp range, so into Tread Carefully it goes.
There’s a Product Specialist (Remote US) and a Customer Success Specialist, Financial Services (Onsite London) open as well.
BINGO
Welp.
Technical Support Representative ($56k-$89k) at Drata (Remote US)
This one was reader-submitted. Thanks!
I'm on the fence about Drata's "rules" – on the one hand I appreciate the rules are highly visible and clear. But there are also more elements of toxic startup philosophy than I am personally comfortable with. Your mileage may vary! But make sure you read them and are comfortable with them because you will definitely be measured by them.
Our Reader noted that there's something of a bait-and-switch happening in the application, and they're right: in the job description, there's a lot of language about growth and learning and only needing basic cloud knowledge, yet in the application, there's this question:
What cloud applications can you troubleshoot for? Please list them out and plan to talk through them during each of your interviews.
That, coupled with Drata's rules and the frankly abysmal range for a technical cloud infra support role, and this is our first BINGO of the week.
Customer Success Manager, High Touch ($95k-$147k) at Drata (Remote US)
I'm getting a heavy AI vibe on this job description, but there are typos that make me think someone added to it afterward.
This job was fine, fine, mostly fine until we hit the last bits of it, and then it started telling one hell of a story:
Collaborative, coachable, constructive attitude Embody our ethos of ‘Trust’ Demonstrable previous successes in a high-growth environment
Resilient and adaptable to change
High capacity for managing, prioritizing, and balancing customer and organizational workload (meetings, tasks, administrative, email, project work, etc.)
This is an exciting opportunity to play an integral part in Drata’s high-touch commercial customer success program. We expect you to be an incredibly well organized and meticulous person with the communication, technical, and soft skills needed to thrive in and drive our fast-paced environment. Personal attention to detail and keen enthusiasm for collaboration with our teams are requirements for success.
Also, if you guessed we hit BINGO on "Poorly-written job description requires attention to detail," you nailed it!
Customer Success Manager, Strategic Accounts ($95k-$147k) at Drata (Remote US)
See the other two listings from this company for more information on the company and it's culture.
I debated on whether to rate this one as Tread Carefully or BINGO and decided on BINGO because of the EEO statement, which I haven't yet addressed. Specifically, this statement, which is funny uh-oh:
We also make reasonable accommodations to meet our obligations under laws protecting the rights of the disabled.
"We'll do the bare minimum we're required to do not to get sued. Good luck." I mean, it's not like this isn't the unwritten norm, but kudos to them for stating it so clearly, I guess.
Director, Support Operations (No comp given) at Quince (Remote US)
No Careers page as far as I can tell, which makes my spidey sense start tingling.
The ideal candidate is a self-starter, problem-solver and successful in combining technology and data into best-in-class outcomes. — LOL. Why am I always right. (This is the opening sentence!)
The candidate is energized by solving complex business problems and consistently effective in making high-judgment decisions at rapid pace amidst the frequent ambiguity that comes with charting a course of action with no precedent. — Y'all. I have concerns. I have many, many concerns.
Moreover, the ideal candidate is energized by an environment where strategy, innovation and decision-making are intentionally distributed — Why does this sound like "decision-making is intentionally distributed to ensure blame is deferred?”
where candor, speed and data are highly valued and colleagues at all levels hold each other to unusually high standards on behalf of Quince customers. — Honestly, this sounds like a nightmare.
The ideal candidate is a top-tier business operator, with a strong analytical toolkit, the ability to solve complex problems from first principles, and a deeply-rooted bias for action. — Love the buzzword soup!
(Unusually, I'm on the fence about whether this job description was written by AI. I think AI might have been used to draft, and then the draft was edited. Which is better than just copying and pasting wholesale, but I think more editing probably would have been wise.)
They will be energized to help build a category-defining company in a still-evolving space. — If you've been taking a shot every time they exclaim you should be energized by something, you are already drunk and we haven't even gotten out of the introduction.
Partner with Quince Finance to accurately forecast our customer service needs on a rolling 8-week basis. Build a staffing solution that matches our forecasted ticket arrival patterns to our workforce schedule. Ensure we hit our daily, weekly, and monthly service level targets across our email, chat, phone, and social support channels, down to the 15-minute interval — To be fair, they do say this is a Support Operations role. They are very clear about that. And yet: Yikes.
Lead our real-time analytics team, managing and monitoring our support operation 24/7/365 — I think they probably mean the Analytics team is monitoring 24/7/365. Probably. Maybe. I hope.
Partner with team and company-level stakeholders to ensure we hit the business inputs needed to achieve our annual cost plan — Is the company in trouble? Because it kind of sounds like the company is in trouble.
So there's a lot to unpack here. As the BJB Shitposting Focus Group pointed out, they're likely growing way faster than their service capacity and struggling to figure out what to do next. This could be an ideal environment for some folks – stepping into the whirlwind and calming the weather. Just be clear that that's what you want to do; this seems like a category 5 hurricane.
Note: This job has closed since I rated it.
Seriously, Maybe Don’t
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Enterprise Customer Success Manager ($110k-$150k) at Finout (Hybrid US-NYC, NY)
Still as obnoxious as the other two listings on the job board.
A self-motivated team player with an ability to work in a fast-paced environment with minimal oversight. — HAHA. So many Bad Job Bingo entries packed in a single sentence!
Client Success Manager ($60k) at Healthpreneur (Remote US-Los Angeles, CA)
This one is reader-submitted, and y'all. We're whipping out "unclear if you're joining a cult or a company" for maybe the first time ever, and I HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED AT A JOB LISTING YET.
Okay, it's fine. I'm not scared! Scratch that, it's 1125 words before we get to the actual job description, I'm terrified.
In this role, you'll be the secret weapon that propels our clients (health professionals building their coaching businesses) to new heights. — What kind of mixed metaphor fuckery is this.
Imagine the satisfaction of watching your cohort of clients enroll more clients into their health coaching businesses, allowing them to transform more lives. — Sure sounds like a cult! Or a multi-level marketing scheme! Or, of course, both.
With your entrepreneurial mindset and mastery of behavioral psychology — I'm sorry, my what?
In a world where most businesses (and the people within them) are average at best, we refuse to join their ranks […] If you’re selected to work with us
Oookay, I guess we're doing this!
"The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members." (Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups, Michael D. Langone, International Cultic Studies Association)
But, if you’re looking for a cushy job with tons of time off, healthcare benefits, ping pong tables, and the ability to “switch off” when you leave the office, this isn’t for you. — "Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities."
Although we encourage setting boundaries and creating space to relax and recharge, when you love what you do, you don’t need to escape from work. Doing work you love feels like a vacation. And when you do have some time off, you’re still thinking about your work because you’re obsessed with it (in a healthy way). — "The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion."
For us, freedom means being able to live life on your terms and contribute in meaningful ways through work that inspires and lights you up, while enjoying life along the way (not when you retire). — "The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group."
Ensure that all clients are up to date with their payments and any conversations about “early exit” (without fulfilling full contract value) are handled with tact so that clients recommit (instead of wanting to bail) — “The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before they joined the group.”
You are compassionate and a great listener and also have the ability to challenge clients to a higher standard and ensure they move forward in spite of fear (or themselves). You believe that the best love is tough love and that by letting people go you let them down. Knowing this, you are comfortable having difficult conversations to hold clients to a higher standard than they might have for themselves — "Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished."
I could go on, but then this review would be as long as this cultic bullshit is. I'm searching for a witty way to end this, but I am – for the first time in a long time – speechless.
Also, the BJB card for this job might as well be the Red Sea – in fact, it might be easier to list the Bad Job Bingo entries this company didn't trip than the ones it did.
Seriously, maybe don't fucking work here.
1 This is an obligatory link because being a writer / creator now requires it, but god, why be on LinkedIn if you don’t have to be? Flee, my friends! Be free! Remember me fondly!
2 Which I’m also laughably terrible at.
3 Yep. I did that.
4 It’s okay. This, too, is a metaphor for change.
5 Yes, we’re on a different metaphor now. Where’s the bear? No one knows.
6 For now, I’m just promoting other newsletters because running ads for other businesses when I might then have to review their jobs in Bad Job Bingo still feels sticky.
7 If I sound defensive about this, it’s because I am. I hate ads. I hate subjecting you to ads. Alas, I have not discovered the secret to overnight success. When I do, I promise to get rid of the damned ads. (And, you know, share the secret with you.)
8 I have Ashley Hayslett to thank for many things, but this is a big one. She’s saved me a lot of time and effort! 💜
9 Support Human has an app now! Just go to the newsletter home page and follow the steps when prompted, or open the hamburger menu on mobile and click Add App to Home Screen. You can get notifications when I publish (or not) and easily read my work whenever you want. Go wild!
10 The Brief is very easy and quick to put together (because at that point all the real work is already done), so there’s no reason not to keep doing it.
11 As long as it’s not “stop doing the newsletter!” I see you, troublemakers.
That's it for this week! If you have items for the Roundup you'd like to submit, you can do so at [email protected], but be sure to check out the Roundup FAQs first.
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