How to be evil, earn lots of money and make a difference

What organisations out there would you downright, outright, refuse to work for? Which companies do you consider ‘too’ evil to ever associate yourself with?

Tobacco companies perhaps? They’re pretty evil aren’t they? Your job is to help people kill themselves. Maybe oil companies too? Your job is to pollute the planet and begin wars. How about McDonalds? Run fat boy run!

Beneath that then, are slightly greyer positions, companies perhaps not evil by industry but by past mistakes. How about PR for Labour? Or working for Microsoft? Maybe a company with an image problem, dying market and the brunt of constant criticism, cue Royal Mail.

So who should you work for? Well the brands everyone loves. Google? Yup! Innocent Drinks? Of course! Who wouldn’t want to work for those fruit-lovin’ (premium charging) critters? Maybe a charity too, Cancer Research UK perhaps? When you do a good job you save lives. Hell yeah!

I think to a great extent this is backwards. Working for a beloved brand is lazy, and possibly quite foolish. Your job is to keep doing a great job. What can you really accomplish at Google or Innocent Drinks? There’s only so much people can love smoothies. As for Cancer Research UK, if you don’t do an absolutely brilliant job, and give 150% every day, people might die. Can you live with that? Perhaps, it might be better to work for an evil empire?

Your friends and families might not approve, but what other job offers the opportunity to make such a difference? Imagine what you might be able to achieve as you progress up the level of the company. Take BP, where else is there such an opportunity to begin doing things right? As you progress up the ladder your opportunities to make a change grow.

Do you have any companies you would refuse to work for?

Comments

[Ben Matthews]

Hi Richard,

Personally, I think working in Charity PR would be highly rewarding and you shouldn't worry about something as extreme as people dying as a result of your work - PR is changeas things alot, but not to that extreme. You might say that you shouldn't be a doctor in case you might kill a patient, though I'm sure any doctor would tell you that this is not a good reason not to be one.

How about taking another angle - if you work for a PR agency and one of your clients is 'evil', how comfortable are you handling that account? Is it better than working in house because your agency has a 'good' reputation?

Thanks,

Ben

[Richard Millington]

I was too negative about Charity PR - I actually applied to work for Cancer Research UK a few months ago. I think it is a really rewarding career, and some of the graduate schemes are brilliant.

I think it's more about motives and balance, you can only do so much, but what you're not doing might haunt you. e.g. Choosing not to stay late and finish some work.

Probably a bad example.

I think this post applies almost equally to agencies as it does the individual. If you look hard enough anything can be evil. However, can you change that? Not the evil image, i'm not implying any sort of trickery here, but really work within the company to start doing things that change the image.

[Ben Matthews]

I think that point - "really work within the company to start doing things that change the image" - would be good for any energy company, especially BP. Now that they are repositioning themselves as a renewable energy provider, meaning that in the future, if they really do see renewable energy through and reduce the world's dependency on oil, they may become one of the top companies that PROs want to work for - a Google or Innocent Drinks as you put it.

Have a look at my blog for a response to your own post!

[Jack Adlam]

Hello Richard

I would like to get your view on whether working for British Airways would be classed as an "evil" company as recent protests have stated?

[Richard Millington]

Hi Jack,

Would it affect your placement if you thought they were evil? British Airways is an interesting one, I think the the efforts of protestors are misguided. Once a company gets big enough there are always going to be protestors.

British Airways does have a duty to the planet though, and the commitment to doing something about it is the big challenge.

[Jack Adlam]

Hey Richard,

No it wouldnt have an effect on my placement because i believe these protests are as you say "misguided".

I think your roght that when a company is big enough protests are natural. B.A does have a duty to the environment and they are acting upon this. Personally i dont think B.A are an evil company, i was just interested to get your opinion!

[Sarah Stimson]

If I had a pound for every PR person that tells me they want to work for Innocent Drinks I'd be living on a nice hot island somewhere instead of a two bedroomed flat in west London! For the record, Innocent have a very small PR department of 1, maybe 2, people - and they know which side their bread is buttered. The three industries that are on the top of the "worst" list of the people I interview are fur, tobacco and gambling. Some people also have an issue with fast food companies.

[jeff paul internet marketing]

hey sarah thanks for sharing such a cool tip

[jeff paul internet business]

I like very much the writings and pictures and explanations in your adress so I look forward to see your next writings. I congratulate you.

[Jeff Paul Internet Millions]

Thanks for posting such vital information. I am new to the blogging scene. Any and all pointers are helpful.

[Buy Kamagra]

wow.. great post!!!! thanks

[jeff paul forum]

Experience difference through diverse means of Internet Earning, its the chance to avail financial success through quick sources .

[Konnie33]

Some research paper writing services offer information just about this topic, thus buy custom essay papers or pre written essays to see more just about this topic.