Read Between the Lines of a Job Posting

As I've mentioned before here, I am looking at job listings on a daily basis.

After reading a recent ad, some thoughts went through my head that I thought I would share.  So below is the ad (I'm not going to put in the company name here, but if the job still interests you at the end of this post, let me know, and I'll send it to you privately).

Production Assistant/Videographer (these are 2 very separate jobs with very different pay levels.  This implies they are trying to get a videographer to work for a production assistant rate).

About the Job

The Company seeks a Production Assistant/​Videographer to capture and produce its premier online educational program.​  The educational program will be a documentary-style production, and we are seeking a team member who can execute all aspects of the video program, including sound, lighting, camera work, editing, and graphics (note that they now need someone who can shoot, edit, light, cover audio, and do graphics.  Yeah, I can do those things, but I'd never let you consider me merely a videographer or a production assistant if you're asking me to do all these things).​   Candidates should have experience with interview-style videography and should be able to produce (um, you just said PRODUCE here.  Not ASSIST THE PRODUCER, but PRODUCE) short films from start to finish independently.​  Production Assistant/​Videographer will not be responsible for the content, but will be responsible for all other aspects of the video.​  So that means you've got a content expert on board.  Great.  That doesn't make them the producer.  That makes them the content expert.  You're making this new hire the producer; let's not kid ourselves.

Requirements:

Strong lighting, sound, and cinematography skills (Now, we've moved on from just videography to cinematography.  This person should actually be called a Director of Photography, if that's truly what you're asking for)
Strong video editing skills
Understanding of video archiving project best practices Finally- something that sounds like a production assistant
Ability to work well under pressure
Flexible with changing priorities and deadlines
Ability to work under tight deadlines
The items in green above?  They've mentioned tight deadlines, changing priorities, and pressure.  This is a red flag that this team is unorganized, and you're gonna have to put up with it, because it's now status quo for the company.
Ability to produce, film, direct, shoot, and edit a course from start to finish
Must work well with other team members and volunteers  Oh no!  This could be the kiss of death here.  What do the volunteers have to do with you?  Are they going to be doing some of this video production?  If so, no wonder there's pressure, changing priorities, and the like.  You're spending extra time you didn't plan on cleaning up the work of the volunteers.

To Apply:

Please send resume, cover letter, salary requirements, and sample of your video work.​  Please note we are flexible with respect to location.​  This implies you could work from home if necessary.  It also could mean they don't have any equipment for you to use for this job, so if you need to edit from your home office, they're okay with that.   Where ever you need to be to get the equipment they don't have.

Sometimes jobs are certainly too good to be true.  Be very careful when you read job listings.  Try to see what they're actually saying.  If you read carefully, you can avoid a bad job choice, or a wasted interview.  And for you companies out there making these postings?  Shame on you for using these tactics to justify your inability to pay a fair wage for what you need someone to do.

This job listing should have read:

Educational Video Producer

About the Job

The Company seeks a Producer to capture and produce its premier online educational program.​  The educational program will be a documentary-style production, and we are seeking a team member who can execute or supervise/direct all aspects of the video program, including sound, lighting, camera work, editing, and graphics when sub-contractors are hired for those specific roles.​   Candidates should have experience with interview-style videography and should be able to produce short video segments/productions from start to finish independently.​  A content expert will be assigned for each project.

Requirements:

Strong sound and cinematography skills (I would note the cameras they're using here, if they own any equipment)
Strong video editing skills (I would note the editing platform they're using here, if they own any equipment)
Understanding of video archiving and media management best practices
Ability to work well under pressure
Flexible with changing priorities
Experienced in all aspects of production to either perform those skills, or supervise others in specific production roles
Must work well with others 

To Apply:

Please send resume, cover letter, salary requirements, and sample of your video work.​  Please note we are flexible with respect to location, as we are not able to supply any video production equipment.

Follow up on Health Insurance posting

At the end of August, I invited you dear readers to take a health insurance survey (August Health Insurance Posting).  To jog your memory, this survey was aimed to independent artists, creatives, etc. that don't have health insurance.  Well, the results are in!  To summarize the highlights:

The survey found that:

Of the 3,402 artist respondents, 43 percent do not currently have health insurance. This is more than double the national estimate of 18 percent uninsured (ages 0-64), as calculated by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Of those respondents who do have health insurance (N=1927), 39 percent said they are paying for coverage themselves. This is over six times greater than the estimated 6 percent of the general population that pays for private, non-group insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Of uninsured respondents, the vast majority – 88% – say that the primary reason that they don’t have insurance is that they can’t afford it. 

Visit this page, or read the executive summary, full report, or slide deck for a lot more details, including specifics about levels of insurance by artistic discipline, income strata, age, and location, and respondents' feelings about the changes in the health insurance landscape.

If you are an artist who seeks information about health insurance or the Affordable Care Act, check out http://health.futureofmusic.org. This site provides links to an artist-friendly FAQ, resources, events and seminars, and a staffed hotline where artists of any type — musicians, composers, dancers, theatre actors, visual artists, filmmakers, literary artists, and more -- can call for advice and guidance.

During this time where there is so much discussion around how healthcare.gov is unable to work properly and the alleged lies told by the Obama administration, there still cannot be any denial as to the need of so many Americans to get health insurance, and the obstacle of cost that is standing in the way.   When you see these numbers of so many more people (just from the survey even!) than expected that don't have health insurance, you can see why the demand was so much more than expected.  Does that mean we need to forgive the broken website?  No.  But it does explain how they could have built something that didn't meet the demand that was truly out there.

It's not a sign that the government providing healthcare options was a bad idea.  If anything, it confirms that is was indeed something that people needed and wanted.  Now, we just need to ensure it works as well as everyone needs it to, so that our fellow creatives can get the affordable healthcare they really need and want.