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“Follow”? “Block”? “Accept”? Anthropologist Ilana Gershon joins us to reflect on breakups in both our intimate and working lives. She tells Alexis and Rosie how hearing her students' surprising stories of using new media – supposedly a tool for connection – to end romantic entanglements led to her 2010 book “The Breakup 2.0”. She also shares insights from studying hiring in corporate America and describes how, in the febrile “new economy”, the very nature of networking and how we understand our careers have been transformed.Ilana also celebrates Marilyn Strathern's influential article “Cutting the Network” for challenging our assumptions about endless and easy connection. She responds to the work of sociologists Richard Sennett and Mark Granovetter, and highlights Teri Silvio's theory of “animation” as a fruitful way of thinking about our online selves.Plus: Rosie, Alexis and Ilana share their pop culture picks on this month's theme, from the hit TV show “Severance” to the phenomenon of “shitposting” on Linkedin.Guest: Ilana GershonHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon Sense at The Sociological Review.Episode ResourcesIlana, Rosie, Alexis and our producer Alice recommendedDan Erickson's TV series “Severance”“shitposting” on Linkedin, as discussed by Bethan Kapur for VICEThe Quebec reality TV show “Occupation Double”Halle Butler's novel “The New Me”From The Sociological Review“A Sociological Playlist” – Meg-John Barker and Justin Hancock“The Sociology of Love” – Julia Carter“Becoming Ourselves Online: Disabled Transgender Existence In/Through Digital Social Life” – Christian J. Harrison“The Politics of Digital Peace, Play, and Privacy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Between Digital Engagement, Enclaves, and Entitlement” – Francesca SobandeFrom Uncommon Sense: “Intimacy, with Katherine Twamley”By Ilana Gershon“The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over New Media”“The Breakup 2.1: The ten-year update”“Un-Friend My Heart: Facebook, Promiscuity, and Heartbreak in a Neoliberal Age”“Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don't Find) Work Today”“Neoliberal Agency”Further reading“Puppets, Gods, and Brands: Theorizing the Age of Animation from Taiwan” – Teri Silvio“Forms of Talk” – Erving Goffman“The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism” – Richard Sennett“The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain” – Francesca Sobande“The Strength of Weak Ties” – Mark S. Granovetter“Cutting the Network” – Marilyn StrathernAnd have a look at the basics of Actor–Network Theory.
In this episode, Kelly chats with Ilana Gershon about unemployment and the post-pandemic workplace in the United States' knowledge economy. Nearly five years after the publication of Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don't Find) Work Today, Gershon revisits the genesis of that project, reflects on the endurance of the neoliberal conception of the self, and shares that her post-pandemic project points toward a rethinking of the American social contract. Ilana Gershon is Ruth N. Halls Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. Her research on neoliberalism and new media has been published in the discipline's leading journals, including Current Anthropology, American Anthropologist, and American Ethnologist. She is also the author of the three monographs, including most recently, Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don't Find) Work Today (2017).
You might be surprised to learn that the ‘Your Next Avenue’ podcast about work after 50 interviewed an associate professor of anthropology for Season 1: Episode 7. That’s because Indiana University’s Ilana Gershon decided to treat the job-search process as an anthropology research project and share her findings in her excellent, enlightening, sometimes maddening new book, Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today. In the podcast interview, Gershon talks about: what’s wrong with the job-hunting process; the frustrations of job applicants over 50; the “black hole” syndrome of job applications; dealing with those despicable applicant tracking systems (ATS) that weed out resumés; age discrimination in the job search process; effective and ineffective ways to network to get hired; the fallacy of the “personal brand” that so many career “experts” push and using LinkedIn to get a job.
Ilana Gershon visited Cambridge University this summer, and after her Senior Research seminar at the department, Oliver Balch caught up with her to talk about her research on new media and the contemporary world of work, and her latest book Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don't Find) Work Today. Ilana is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. Her intellectual interests range from linguistic anthropology, science studies, media studies, legal anthropology, anthropology of democracy, and anthropology of work.
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Labor markets are not what they used to be, as Ilana Gershon argues in Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today (University of Chicago Press, 2017). Job seekers are increasingly being taught that they need to sell themselves as if they were their own business, and what will set them apart from other applicants is not their skills or their experience, but the distinctiveness of their brand. Join us for a provocative discussion about how workers are being taught to position themselves to employers, and how modern labor markets, as a consequence, differ from those in the past — and why that matters. Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A People’s History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford University Press, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job
Your resume is probably the most important document you use when looking for a job. It offers a great opportunity to tell your story and demonstrate what you can offer an employer. Guest expert Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter shares her top 6 list of what’s hot and what’s not in creating a great resume for today’s job market. What’s Hot in Resumes Focus — Make your resume format quick and easy to read and keep it employer focused. What's in it for the Employer — Research pain points the employer has and integrate your strategic insights about the issue. Creative Problem Solving Skills — Use specifics from your background to show how your critical thinking has solved problems. Leadership — Display your ability to help other push forward. Have a Career Portfolio — Have a skimmable resume, a meatier resume, and professional profiles. Value-Focused Resume — Showcase the core values you would bring to an organization. What’s Not - And How to Fix It Brain Dump — Unless it directly benefits the employer, leave out the wordy details. Me, Me, Me — Instead of focusing on yourself, look for ways to demonstrate that you work well on a team without minimizing your own accomplishments. Followership — Demonstrate your ability to take on the role of a leader when necessary. One and Done — It’s important to have multiple ways an employer can access desired information about your career. Just the Facts — Instead of listing your history, use storytelling to paint a more interesting picture of your professional career. Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter Bio Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter owns and operates CareerTrend.net. She is one of just 50 master resume writers in the United States. Jacqui has crafted more than 1,500 career stories. She uses her bachelor’s degree in writing and journalism to apply a reporter’s eye to careers. Follow her on Twitter @ValueIntoWords. Jacqui is also in the process of rolling out a do-it-yourself resume starter kit. Ben’s Job Search Resource: Modern Career Economy Ben’s resource this week is Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today, by Ilana Gershon, an anthropologist at the University of Indiana. Thanks to Find Your Dream Job listener, Russell Terry. Find Your Dream Job Listener Question: Modern Job Search Strategies Becky, Ben, Jessica, and Mac offer advice to Marcia Callahan from Portland, Oregon. Marcia asks, “Is it worthwhile to drop off your resume at an office where you would like to work, or is there a more modern strategy to get in front of a hiring manager?” These segments are sponsored by Mac’s new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere. The book offers practical, actionable, and proven tools to help you get clear about your career goals, find hidden jobs, and ace your next interview. Get the first chapter of this useful resource free. Be a part of the Find Your Dream Job podcast! Ask your job-related question! Email it to becky@macslist.org, or leave us a message at 716-JOB-TALK, or tweet us @macs_list. If we use your question on the air, you will receive a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere. Share your best job resource with our listeners! Send your resource to ben@macslist.org, and tell him how it has helped you find your dream job. What do you think of our show? Rate and review our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support! Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, FreddyTrujillo.com.