Corporations stuck in the past

I had a fun experience the other day that I thought I wanted to share as a grueling example of how many corporations are stuck in the past.

A good friend of mine forwarded me a job ad for a job, which he thought might be interesting to me. I’m not in the job market - the corporate one that is - as such, but I gave it a look, and it did seem somewhat interesting.

Not intend on becoming a part of corporate culture at this point in time, I decided to write an email to the hiring manager. I wrote that I did find the job interesting, but that I could only make myself available on a freelance basis, as my freedom as self-employed is rather important to me. I moved quickly to note that it shouldn’t cost the company any extra money (don’t want to be seen as a greedy consultant), and that I would bring my extensive experience to bear. Somewhat idealistic I sent the mail.

Today I got a mail back saying that they are indeed looking for a permanent position, so they don’t see themselves working with me. Period.

Of course its ok, and I wished them luck getting a great hire on board. And then I thought to myself how stuck they are in the past: It’s obviously still more important to get someone that fits into an ancient corporate architecture than getting someone with the right expertise (of course I know they will aim to combine the two, but really this is the message that they are sending).

It may be what we’re talking about changing times in the market place and jobs being a takers market. But some corporations obviously haven’t got that yet.