Geeks
There are some terms that you don't use for people you don't know, but it's acceptable to use for those you do, and in my opinion, the term 'geek' is one of those.
I often refer to myself as a 'software geek' and to others I work with as geeks, but it's all in fun. We don't really think of ourselves as pocket protected, ankle flashing individuals holding our glasses together with duct tape who can't find words within a 10 foot radius of a member of the opposite sex, but when someone asks me what I do for a living, more often than not the words 'computer geek' come out of my mouth.
Still, in my last job, where many of us referred to ourselves as geeks, I walked in one morning and the receptionist was talking to someone on the phone who was inquiring about an open position. We were a consulting company that did computer work for many small companies, so I assume this was a programmer looking for work. I overheard her say, "Oh yeah, most of the people who work here are geeks." She was a little naive and wasn't trying to be mean. After she got off the phone I had to explain to her, just because we call each other geeks doesn't mean you use that term for software engineers when you're talking to prospective employees. It's something we use amongst ourselves but most people don't consider it a compliment coming from someone they don't know.
I often refer to myself as a 'software geek' and to others I work with as geeks, but it's all in fun. We don't really think of ourselves as pocket protected, ankle flashing individuals holding our glasses together with duct tape who can't find words within a 10 foot radius of a member of the opposite sex, but when someone asks me what I do for a living, more often than not the words 'computer geek' come out of my mouth.
Still, in my last job, where many of us referred to ourselves as geeks, I walked in one morning and the receptionist was talking to someone on the phone who was inquiring about an open position. We were a consulting company that did computer work for many small companies, so I assume this was a programmer looking for work. I overheard her say, "Oh yeah, most of the people who work here are geeks." She was a little naive and wasn't trying to be mean. After she got off the phone I had to explain to her, just because we call each other geeks doesn't mean you use that term for software engineers when you're talking to prospective employees. It's something we use amongst ourselves but most people don't consider it a compliment coming from someone they don't know.
John put this out here at 11:55 AM
1 Comments:
Everyone who works in a professional insdustry should know how to project themselves to the external party. Referring to the workmate as "geeks" is a no no.
But sadly, there are a lot of people outthere who are ignorant about this. Or just simply *don't know* that their action is ruining their company's image.
This is why we get paid much more than these peope, I suppose.
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