The Setup
In February, I was reached out to by a company that hires contract artists to send them out to graphic recording jobs.
I was so excited. It was cool being reached out to instead of having to do the job hunting. It felt good to be wanted. So I set up a meeting. The initial meeting was them laying out what the job would be. If hired, I would be hired as a contract artist to be sent across Texas to different conferences and conventions doing live drawings of things like keynote speeches, business meetings, panel talks and more. It also seemed to pay great ($1000 per day with it increasing in subsequent years).
I immediately saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I started making plans to go part time at my job, and then to eventually leave. I felt like I would finally be able to spend significant, meaningful time on my webcomic, Ravana’s Relics. I could have more time to spend doing the things I love. I’d be able to travel more. I’d have a flexible schedule to spend more time with my wife.’
The Test
So I jumped into the interview process. First they had me do a test. They sent me a video of a keynote speech by Neil deGrasse Tyson. They paid for supplies and they had me record the speech in a specific time frame and submit it immediately after I was done. A few days late they got back to me with feedback and asked me to do another test. This seemed a little odd, but I really wanted the job, so I did the test.
In between tests I practiced my butt off. I filled pages and pages of letters and symbols and drawings. I paused all work on my comic. I only focused on this job. And my second test turned out way better. I was super proud of myself for the work that I put in.
They set up a final meeting with me after that test. And they wanted to hire me! They laid it all out for me. They wanted me to be one of their premier artists. I would get preference for jobs. I could come to in person retreats in Atlanta and connect with their artists. The whole shebang. I was ready to take the job.
Then they told me I would have to pay $3000 for training and $1500 for supplies…
And I felt the dream slipping away. But I wasn’t ready to give it up just yet. I told myself that this cost made sense (spoiler alert, it didn’t). I told myself it would be worth it.
The Decision
I told my wife all about the meeting. And her radar went off immediately. She didn’t want me to take the job. But I held on to hope.
But I needed to do the research. I needed to first determine if this was a straight up scam. I reached out to a former employee of theirs who was gracious enough to FaceTime with me and talk about the job. I determined it wasn’t a scam, but also that she never had to pay to be trained. In fact she got PAID TO GET TRAINED! What the heck!
She also reached out to people that currently work at the company, and they didn’t even know they had changed their training policy.
So now I had to make a decision. Do I basically go into debt to take this job? Or do I say no, I have to keep hunting for jobs in the hopes that I can one day make a living.
The first thing I did was make a counter offer. It was clear that I actually would have been the first person at the company to have paid to do the training instead of BE PAID for training. So I sent a professional email back saying that I would love to work for them and I was excited about the opportunity. But the only way I would be able to take the job was if they covered the cost of the training and paid me the thousand dollar bonus. The same as all their current employees received.
Then I waited for their response.
And they predictably did not go for that. So then I had to officially refuse.
But I went a step further. It didn’t sit right with me that this company would move on after me and take advantage of other artists in the future. I could see young artists, early in their career, desperate for their big break, agree to these predatory terms. They wouldn’t know any better. So I wanted to make sure I let the company know why I was refusing the offer. Here’s what I said:
Wanted to give just a little feedback on the hiring process for the perspective of the artist. This comes out of a place of me advocating for the next artist that applies for your position, with the hopes of wanting to improve their experience.
1. Because the investment was brought up after both assignments, it really felt like this was something that was being hidden intentionally. I would recommend in the future, letting people know upfront about the cost of the training and the cost of the supplies. This way people can go in and make the decision if they want to move forward with the interview process. It honestly felt very multi-level-marketing like because I was emotionally invested, and then the rug was pulled out from underneath me.
2. It is hard to imagine that a two day training could possibly give me enough information to warrant a $3000 cost. Though you are comparing it to a certification or an advanced degree, I am not actually walking away with a certification or degree that can be placed on a résumé. I’ve seen trainings that are multiple month long with a lot of face-to-face that don’t exceed $1000.
Also, talking to other creators, the consensus was, it is strange to charge someone for training, because any job that trains you runs the risk of that training being used somewhere else. It feels this decision was made from a place of fear.
3. Lastly, I understand that this is a new hiring process, but after reaching out to people that worked for your organization in the past, and seeing through LinkedIn how long people currently at your company have been there, it seems a bit odd that almost everyone else at your company would be paid $1000 to complete the training that I would be paying $3000 for. That is a $4000 swing. And there are people at your company that work for multiple graphic recording companies and they presumably were still not charged the $3000 (One of your employees currently works for four).
I will not lie, I am walking away disappointed and frustrated, but hopefully this demonstrates that there are some kinks that need to be worked out in your hiring process, and future artists benefit from the feedback. The way it is currently set up feels as though someone has to go into debt to work for you. And it also leaves out artists of a low income status. Excluding tons of great artists.
Good luck moving forward, and if you need someone in Texas down the line, feel free to reach out.
I won’t spend too much time detailing their response. But let’s just say they didn’t take the feedback well. They were extremely defensive. They compared their two day training to an advanced degree. They claimed their change in allowing people to work at other companies also played a part in their decision to change their pricing structure (though it’s extremely sketchy to prevent a contract worker from pursuing other jobs in the first place).
From their response, I knew I made the right decision. They clearly didn’t take feedback well, they didn’t value their artists, and thought too highly of their company. And that was the last time we communicated.
The Takeaway
Now why am I telling this story? What do I want you the reader to get out of it? I want you to know that you deserve to be treated with dignity. You deserve to be valued. Your work is valuable and should be treated as such. So here are a few tips when you are in the midst of contract negotiations:
1. Do your research
When you are contacted by a company, do your homework. Look them up on social media. Look up Glassdoor employee reviews. If possible, reach out to current and previous employees and ask them about their experience with the company. See if you can figure out how much they pay their employees. All this information will help you not get taken advantage of. It will give you power in negotiation.
2. Don’t say yes right away
When a company makes you an offer, it can be extremely exciting. It feels nice to be wanted. But you need to determine if what they are offering is actually in your best interest. Are you being offered enough for your work and your time? Will this job actually move you in the direction of where you want to be in the future? Or will it only distract you from your ultimate goals? Basically, just pause and think.
3. Counter Offer
If you determine that they are not offering enough, make a counter offer. At this point you need to determine what your time is worth and what your art (or whatever service you provide) is worth. Let them know you would be open to taking the role IF your conditions are met. Be specific here. List out what exactly you’re looking for. Also, expect them to make a counter offer of their own. So you’ll need to determine what the minimum you would work for is. But remember, your work has value. You have value!
4. Be willing to say no
There is freedom in being willing to say no. It frees you to advocate for yourself. It’s not easy. I didn’t want to say no. A dream had formed. But by be willing to walk away from a bad deal, hopefully we are helping companies realize bit by bit that artists deserve to be paid and treated fairly. You have a long career ahead of you. This job is just one of many!
5. Advocate for others
If you have the opportunity, let them know why you are refusing. Give them the feedback they need. Do it kindly and professionally, but be assertive. If we don’t say anything, they may never realize that they are doing anything wrong. Point out the things that are unfair, that are predatory or malicious. By pointing these things out, hopefully other artists in the future are treated with the dignity they deserve.
Conclusion
Well that’s a lot more than I anticipated writing when I sat down. But I thought it was important to give you a real life example of how an artist struggles to advocate for himself. And hopefully this encourages you to stand up for yourself in the future, because you are worth it. I am now working to find my own clients for this type of work and already have a job lined up for the end of June!
That’s all for this week! Thanks for all your support!
Raj
My buddy Matt has this awesome webcomic running right now! Check it out here!