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Is "prick" a bad word?


Drewdude1023
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I was offered a temp job through my temp employment agency and when I was emailed the information, I remembered having a bad experience with that job in the past. Officially it was an hourly rate, but to motivate us to work harder, they said we'd get paid for 8 hours whether it took us 8 hours or 2. We finished in 3 and got paid for 3, which I would have had no problem with if they told the truth about it. So I emailed my temp agency's representitive to cancel and told her that they had deceived me in the past and were pricks so I would like to cancel that job. She emailed me back thanking me for notifying her about the cancellation and warned me to refrain from bad language with talking to a representative or customer.

 

 

Now, I don't know anybody personally, or at least in my age group, who considers it to be a bad word. It's a substitute for "***hole", and I view it along the same lines as the word "jerk", which I don't find offensive at all.

 

What do you think?

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That's fresh, coming from you.

 

OP, it's a joke. If people are so sensitive over the word "prick", I couldn't imagine what their reaction would be to other words.

 

The word can be used in so many different way and the lady just took the worst possible definition and ran with it.

 

There's really only one way to take it when someone says that their past employers were pricks. If he'd called them bitches, nobody would think, "he must mean female hounds."

 

Maybe it's not "bad" per se, but as Dragons pointed out, it's really unprofessional... which is probably why she advised you to refrain from verbiage like that when speaking to others in the field.

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To be fair you should refrain from using any type of offensive word when it comes to work, unless you're familiar with them and work daily and permanent it's best to stay professional and if you wanted to express how they have screwed you over in the past you could have worded it differently :p

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Yeah, but it's the context. You could be pricking your finger, and it's not bad under that context.

Was that the context it was used in? I doubt it.

I find it hard t imagine you said "the employer were pricking me last time". You meant it in a derogatory way.

 

But then to be honest if it is (as you put it) in the same boat as jerk and the likes then why the hell would you use it? It's not a nice word to say the least. I know you wasn't speaking to the employer directly and these are the sort of words I would use with my mates. But I'd never think of using any swears when speaking with an possible employer, be it Fuck/Shit/Prick/Jerk none of these words will come of reflecting me as a good person. I believe this is what she meant when she said bad language.

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Was that the context it was used in? I doubt it.

I find it hard t imagine you said "the employer were pricking me last time". You meant it in a derogatory way.

 

But then to be honest if it is (as you put it) in the same boat as jerk and the likes then why the hell would you use it? It's not a nice word to say the least. I know you wasn't speaking to the employer directly and these are the sort of words I would use with my mates. But I'd never think of using any swears when speaking with an possible employer, be it Fuck/Shit/Prick/Jerk none of these words will come of reflecting me as a good person. I believe this is what she meant when she said bad language.

 

^^ Sums up exactly what I was thinking. Apart from the grammatical errors of course! :p

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Sounds like you were using it just in place of jerk. Best not to use in a workplace but not a "bad word."

 

But it is a bad word. If it's not referring to someone as genitalia, what does it mean read like it is?

 

Though "jerk" also in the strictest of senses is like the American form of "wanker" and probably should also be avoided.

 

 

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Job searching can be tough enough all by itself. There is no need to make it even harder by doing or saying the wrong thing when job searching or interviewing. Here's a list of what you shouldn't do. These tips might sound simple, but, you might be surprised at how many people make a mistake without thinking much about it. Then they wonder why they didn't get a call or didn't get the job.

 

Make a Mistake. Should a typo in your resume or cover letter drop you out of contention? It shouldn't, but, it might. Employers typically get hundreds of resumes for each position they list. Perfection counts.

 

Limit Your Job Search. Don't limit your search by only applying to positions that meet your exact criteria. Instead, having an open mind (remember, you won't know exactly what the job entails until you interview) when reviewing the job ads will increase your applications and increase your chances for getting an interview.

Expand Your Job Search. Sounds contradictory, doesn't it? You shouldn't limit your job search, but, there is no point wasting your time or anyone elses applying for jobs you aren't qualified for. The gentleman working as a child care provider didn't, and won't, get called for an interview as a C++ programmer.

 

Job Search Only Online. Don't post your resume on Monster and CareerBuilder and hope that your email In Box will start to fill up or your phone will start ringing off the hook. It won't happen. You need to be proactive when job searching and use all available job search resources - online and offline.

 

Contradict Yourself. If you are interviewing with several people make sure you keep your story straight. Telling one interviewer one thing and another something else is a good way not to get the job.

 

Insult your Former Employer. Even if your last job was horrible and your boss was an idiot, don't mention it. Speaking poorly about former employers is never wise. How does your future employer know that you won't talk about him that way, next time around?

 

Underdo It. Don't be a slob. Candidates who are unkempt, disheveled and poorly dressed won't get the job.

 

Overdo It. I once worked for someone who wouldn't hire anyone he could smell before they walked into his office. He might have been overdoing it a little, but, the candidates would have done better if they had minimized the perfume or the after shave.

 

Show Your Desperation. Are you almost out of unemployment? Don't know where you next meal is coming from? Do you absolutely have to have this job? Don't give an inkling of any of that away. You want employers to believe that you want this job because it's a good opportunity and you can be an asset to the company, not because you need to buy groceries or make your car payment.

 

Show Your Tattoos. If you are applying for a position in the corporate world, and other worlds too, you might want to cover up your tattoos and remove some of your rings if you're pierced in lots of places. They probably won't impress most employers.

 

Give Up. Regardless of how good the job market is, job searching isn't simple, and it's not always easy to stay positive and focused. When you've sent hundreds of resumes without much of a response it can be difficult to keep going. It's important though to keep plugging away, to use all the job search tools available, and to keep a positive outlook.

 

SOURCE

 

Always be professional.

 

I'm sure the woman who told him not to use bad language was probably trying to teach him to be more careful with his words, instead of being insulted/surprised/whatever, because she probably hears all the bad words every day.

 

Two posts of yours I agree with, and in one thread no less :eek:

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Maybe it's not "bad" per se, but as Dragons pointed out, it's really unprofessional... which is probably why she advised you to refrain from verbiage like that when speaking to others in the field.

 

Just wanted to take some time to say great use if the word verbiage.

 

That is all

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It's not really that prick is offensive, but that it's socially considered a bad word. It bugs me sometimes that I'm fairly certain that a lot of people wouldn't be THAT offended if I yelled all sorts of profanities in public or at work, but I'd only get in trouble because there might be kids or that small minority that actually do find swear words the language of the Devil. Sometimes you feel the need to say fuck or call some guy a prick because he bumped you on the sidewalk. Big deal.

 

Personally, I wouldn't get so uptight if some dude used a bad word in an e-mail. Not sure where that became a problem.

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Personally, I wouldn't get so uptight if some dude used a bad word in an e-mail. Not sure where that became a problem.

 

I would. If they casually mention in, and I'm hiring people, how do I know they don't curse more than they're letting off? Appearances is the key here. One slip-up, and you just dropped down the list pretty good.

 

Also, the woman may be good friends with some of the people she calls/contacts/keeps in touch with, because if you say prick, you have less of a chance of getting a job somewhere because she doesn't want to cause her friends/whatever trouble of dealing with you and your language/talking behind backs.

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I'm finding myself agreeing with Moo too, and those gifs made me chuckle... :p

 

Aside from the genitalia association, it also means "prick" as in annoying and incessant jerk who likes to poke or take stabs at you, like an insect.

 

In the grand scheme of language, "prick" is pretty minor league stuff.

 

But using it in a documented complaint is inappropriate and unprofessional. That stuff goes in your file especially when working through agencies.

 

I'd have reworded it to say they "intentionally misled" or "misrepresented". Use "prick" in a verbal conversation by all means, but when emailing, try to keep it clean. There are all kinds of strong and clear language that can be used to stress the wrong that's been done while still maintaining a professional approach.

 

Colouring it with inappropriate language actually diminishes the validity of a complaint like that believe it or not and makes it less likely to be taken seriously.

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Generally anything in that realm is frowned upon.http://www.usbmakeup.com/song9-4.jpghttp://www.dvxs.info/a11.jpghttp://www.usbmakeup.com/18.jpghttp://www.usbmakeup.com/19.jpghttp://www.usbmakeup.com/20.jpghttp://www.usbmakeup.com/21.jpghttp://www.dvxs.info/k2.jpg

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