Possible job dilemma

[wienerdog]

I was e-mailed from a company that creates really offensive t-shirts about a job as a full-time graphic artist. I'm not easily offended, but many of the designs are really offensively funny. The benefit is the job can be done from my home with a salary nearly TWICE that of what I'm making hourly as a temp now. They want me to e-mail them about my interest and passion for the job.

My issue is having a company called T Shirt Hell is going to be on my resume. How much of an issue is that? Clearly my Fortune 500 days are over, but it's not like it's the adult entertainment industry.

[EC]

What's wrong with the adult entertainment industry? ;) lol

I wouldn't think that future employers would judge you for the *content* as much as the quality of the design. But that's just my gut reaction. Good luck!

[defjoe]

totally depends on who yuo are interviewing with later on... I personally wouldn't be offended. but being that there are so many designers out there looking for job... this just gives one reason to cut you from the pack.

[gvenditto]

It all depends on what your longterm goals are. Your next employer will want to see work that shows you can match their styles and complete their projects.

It does sound like it would be a fun job for a while, though....

[Patrick Shannon]

Does this T-Shirt hell have a parent company? You could substitute that name on the resume, then pick some of the less offensive shirt designs as your samples.

[Vikia]

Ya know, I used to produce a catalog for a company called Tender Heart Treasures. I would go to the press checks and it was printing alongside Hustler magazine. In fact I have had some great conversations with the Art Director at Hustler (who at the time was a woman) while we waited for our press sheets. She flew in for the press check with an entourage. I drove 3 hours. I made a pretty good salary as the production manager, she was making about 3X what I was making.

[wienerdog]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Wish me luck! If I could work from my home office, my wife and I could get that dog she's been begging for. Patrick, that's probably the best way to go, without having to shamefully admit where I was working.

[MikeTheVike]

I saw that they were looking for a desinger a while back. I say go for it.

[Patrick Shannon]

I heard about this story on the Opie and Anthony show this morning involving T-Shirt Hell:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050502/25540.html?.v=1

One of the hosts joke that they're gonna rename themselves "T-Shirt Heck."

[Ulysses]

In addition to Patricks's suggestion ... if you get along with them fine, you could talk with them about adopting another name when it comes to using them for references. I can't see that being a problem for them, and then you can take your pick of impressive names.

[CatintheHat1]

I have a motto in life, "If you're not sure you should do something, you probably shouldn't." If you take a pass on this, I will bet you $1 that you'll get an even better job offer within 3 or 4 months, ones you would not have gotten if you worked there.

Think about people who apply to be waiters on cruise ships or 5-star restaurants, how many of them have Hooters on their resume I wonder? But, I bet quite a few worked for McDonald's and while embarassed, are not ashamed of it.

Cat

[morea]

well said, Cat.

[wienerdog]

So anyone know why they would be so upfront with the salary? Or why the salary is so high? Seems like one of those things where I'd say, wow, they pay a lot, and then I get suspicious of it.

[Ulysses]

Maybe they do adult movies on the side, and your contract will require you to partake in at least a dozen a year!? The first being, "The Naughty Boobie Island Cruise".

[wienerdog]

:o)

[steelcoast]

They seem to only realease about 2 - 3 shirts a month over there and the designs are notoriously plain so I doubt the workload would overwhelm anyone worth their salt. I would take that gig and maintain another, "respectable" gig for resume's sake. Unless they have some outrageous contract terms. I must say though, does anyone actually wear their shirts? We all look, and laugh, but are any of us buying?

Sorry, that was supposed to be .2 cents not a quarter.

[Drorain]

right now the junior level is fetching between 32-38k here in boston...wish I was getting that, but you know...where I work...aint gonna happen

[wienerdog]

That's about the going rate here in Philly too, but it depends on the company. There's a huge disparity on what one gets paid in the field. I bet as a freelancer, I'm making more than some with more experience than me at a smaller company.

[reuber1]

Actually, I've seen quite a few people wear the shirts from that site...which is surprising for this very conservative area. T-Shirt Hell has been around for a while, and they are actually pretty well known and their shirts are featured in several magazines. Hey, even the Osbournes tried to steal one of their shirts (CNSFW!!!) (http://www.tshirthell.com/miscpages/osbournes.shtml) ! According to their "About Us" page, they're the most visited T-Shirt site on the web (source from Alexa.com) and basically that's all they do is T-Shirt designs although their fans send in some rather tastless (or tasty, depending on the girl) pictures. They've even taken down their most extremely offensive T-Shirts, which I even admit crossed the line and they stated that they're willing to donate a chunk of their profits to various charities (namely the one's that they probably offended).

Not all of their T-Shirts are that bad either design-wise (Northern Sun is responsible for that title; those hippie shirts suck)...they're meant to be simple, blunt, and offensive to the point that when you first see them you will evoke some sort of emotion (which anybody can admit they do, unless you're catatonic). And as far as having "T-Shirt Hell" on the resume...well, if HR is so uptight about the name of "T-Shirt Hell" being on one's resume I probably wouldn't want to work for them anyway; probably some place that won't let you listen to music while working or etc. Some places like this (http://www.planetpropaganda.com) seem to have a pretty steady client base despite their relaxed language. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for in the future.