Ben Huh

Ben Huh: We posted 2 jobs recently: 1 for an office Admin, and 1 for a Jr. Designer. Both are contract positions (no benefits and short-term) at 40 hours per week. The candidate must send in a resume and fill out a detailed questionnaire to be considered. To top it off, the postings clearly lists $8.55 to $10 per hour for these jobs.

So far, I’ve received more than 4 applications, out of more than 180, suggesting that I kiss the candidate’s derriere. One applicant wrote: “I don’t even wipe my ass for $10 an hour” and then wrote about how great he’d be for the job.

We advertise lower wages for entry-level positions because the worst candidates focus on money the most. Believe it or not, advertising lower-than-market wages actually helped us yield better candidates.

Higher advertised wages resulted in much higher level of noise from candidates who really didn’t care about the job. (FYI: Advertised pay and actual pay are two different things.)

It’s become clear to me that bad candidates focus on money like that’s the only thing they’ll get out of the job. The best candidates just want to do the job that’ll make them happy. In fact, for our entry-level positions, I believe that our biggest selling points as a company are our shared vision of making our users happy for 5 minutes a day and the huge opportunity for growth.

Every manager and CEO has a story about the lazy-ass, unqualified pisser who demanded a top salary and a raise every 3 months. But those same mangers and CEOs will also tell you about the butt-busting, entry-level employee who never complained and eventually rose to become the team lead or an executive. Guess which of the two they recruited away to their next company?

And the next… If you’re a hiring manager or CEO and you’re reading this, I encourage you to summarily reject a candidate if they bring up compensation (unless you prompt the topic) in the first interview. To me, it’s an indication of the following:

1. The candidate’s inability to control their personal expenses, which inevitably leads to drama and demands at work.

2. The candidate’s lack of belief in his or her ability to succeed and grow within the ranks.

3. The candidate’s inability control the diarrhea of the mouth, the leading symptom of the disease called poor judgment.

So what should a job seeker do? If the economy has dealt you a bad hand, I am truly sorry to hear that. I know what it’s like because I’ve been there. If you have high financial requirements in order to absolutely survive, I don’t really know what to say than go get a job at a bank (you know what I mean).

But if you really want to have a great career, don’t worry about how much you’ll be paid now. Instead, focus on finding a company you’d love to work for and a job you’ll enjoy doing, then find a way to live within your means. That’s the recipe for growth both financially and personally.

This is the advice I took when I shut down my first start-up at the age of 23 and found myself $40,000 in debt.

I went from being a CEO to minimum wage “consultant” working for another start-up. It was less than a year before I found myself back on my feet.

I am not what I earn. I am not the balance in my bank account. I am not even my title. I am what I accomplish and that makes me happy.

Ben Huh is the CEO of Cheezburger Network, a Seattle network of humor Web sites. He blogs at BenHuh!com where this post first appeared. Opinions expressed in guest posts are those of their authors, and don't necessarily reflect the views of TechFlash or its staff. Have an idea for a guest post of your own? Email us: techflashtips@bizjournals.com