More Fun With Craigslist

People will never get it, gentle ones. Take, for instance, the following posting your MatchGirl found on Craigslist this morning (and yes, brace yourself for another rant on people being under, nay un, paid for real work):

Fashion Professionals Wanted (Midtown)
Date: 2009-09-24, 12:00PM EDT
Reply to: jobxxxx@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

XXXXXXX is looking for intelligent and confident interns to continue its success in breaking a niche market. The [company] is changing the face of fashion by xxxx. With high and ever-increasing demands to meet, we require further sales and networking assistance. Ideal for students who are seeking an insight into business, fashion and/or sales, the position will guarantee a challenging and exciting experience.

All positions are unpaid but commission will be awarded for sales.
Immediate start required.
To apply, please e-mail resume and cover letter to the above e-mail address.


* Compensation: All positions are unpaid but commission will be awarded for sales.

As your MatchGirl would like not to be blacklisted by the fashion community in NYC, she has removed all company-specific clues in this posting, but I think the main point is the same.

The title of the posting, the reason your MatchGirl clicked on it in the first place: Fashion Professionals Wanted. Wonderful. Here's the problem, dear readers, one which we have spoken about many times - in person and via this blog - a professional is, by definition, a person who is paid for their services. A professional is not an intern! This is why hookers are referred to as "pros".

For the future, I would like to assist all employers and future job-posters with The American Heritage Dictionary's definition of the word professional:

pro·fes·sion·al (prə-fěsh'ə-nəl)
adj.

1. a. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
b. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.

2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.

3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.

4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

n.

1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession.

2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.

3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

pro·fes'sion·al·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Please refer to this before referring to unpaid college students professionals. If you require an intern, just say so and save the rest of us a lot of time!