Rethinking Hiring Power Through a Linguistic Lens
- Madi Enis
- Sep 5, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 9, 2025
Who’s Really Doing the Choosing?
We’ve all been fed the same story: companies are the choosers. They hold the power. They post the role, we send in resumes, they evaluate, and if we’re lucky, they extend an offer. We’re supposed to feel grateful, as though being selected makes us somehow more legitimate.
But here’s the truth: they’re not the choosers. We are.
Companies like to position themselves as rarefied spaces that confer value simply by extending an invitation. Yet if we step back and look at the exchange through a linguistic lens, through the very mechanics of framing, power, and conversation, the story flips. We, the workers, the linguists, the designers, the builders of meaning, are the ones choosing.
The Myth of Being “Chosen”
Linguistics has taught me that words don’t just describe reality; they shape it. And one of the most powerful frames we’ve inherited in the labor market is this: “the company chooses you.”
Think about how job postings are written. They’re designed to sound like proclamations: We are looking for a highly qualified candidate who will join our team. They encode the employer as subject and the candidate as object. The company acts; the worker is acted upon.
And because language shapes thought, we internalize this. Candidates anxiously refresh inboxes. They contort themselves to fit corporate molds. They accept the power imbalance because the script says they should feel “chosen.”
But the script is just that — a story. And stories can be rewritten.
The Frame Shift: Candidates as Choosers
Let’s flip the grammar. Imagine a different subject-object relation: I am looking for a company worthy of my skills, my insight, my energy.
That subtle shift is everything. Suddenly, the candidate is the subject, the one with agency. The company becomes the object, the one evaluated, measured, accepted or declined.
And the truth is, this isn’t a fantasy. It’s reality. Every single day, workers choose where to lend their labor, creativity, and loyalty. Every single day, they decide which companies will benefit from their superpowers.
When linguists walk into a company, we bring with us the ability to see nuance where others see noise. We decode cultural cues, design systems that actually communicate, and build the connective tissue that makes products human-centered. That’s not a favor to the company, it’s a choice to gift them our perspective.
Linguists, Specifically, Hold This Power
People outside the field often underestimate linguists. They imagine us diagramming sentences or cataloging obscure phonemes. What they don’t see is the incredible value that comes with our training.
We spot
framing traps
Companies may think they’re evaluating, but linguists see how discourse builds power — through manipulation, unspoken rules, and subtle positioning as “dominant.”
We understand systems
Technology runs on language, from code to interfaces to AI prompts. Linguists don’t just analyze words; we design how meaning flows, breaks, and repairs.
We are
bridge-builders
In cross-disciplinary spaces, linguists translate between engineers, product teams, designers, and end users. That connective role is both rare and vital.
So when a company “chooses” a linguist, it’s not a gift, It’s survival. They’re lucky we’ve chosen to invest our talent in their ecosystem.
Companies Should Feel Grateful
Let’s be blunt, without skilled workers, companies don’t exist. Without linguists, companies struggle to build products that communicate, and everything is communication.
That app that “feels intuitive”? A linguist helped shape its interface
That AI that sounds trustworthy instead of robotic? A linguist trained its prompts
That global brand that resonates across cultures? A linguist decoded the nuance
Companies love to posture as if their logo is the prize. But the reality is flipped, because our expertise is the scarce resource. Scarcer still when it’s paired with empathy, creativity, and the ability to see connections others miss.
The real story is not “I got chosen.” It’s “I chose them.”
How to Reframe the Conversation in Your Own Career
So what does this mean in practice? How do you shift the script so you stand in your own power?
Change your language
Stop saying, “I hope they pick me.” Start saying, “I’m exploring whether this company is the right fit.” This small shift in words shifts your own mindset, and it signals to others that you know your value.
Ask evaluative questions
Instead of waiting for them to grill you, grill them back. What are your values? How do you handle disagreement? How do you support underrepresented voices? These aren’t bonus questions, they’re the heart of your evaluation.
Notice the power plays
Pay attention to how recruiters and managers frame interactions. Are they trying to position you as grateful or deferential? Flip it and reclaim the frame: I am the chooser.
Walk away when it’s wrong
The ultimate demonstration of choice is refusal. If the role, the culture, or the framing doesn’t honor your value, decline. That’s not loss — it’s power.
Reframing the conversation isn’t just about words on a page — it’s about reclaiming the lens through which you see yourself. Each shift in language, each question you ask, each boundary you hold is a reminder that your skills, perspective, and labor are the real prize. When you stand in that truth, you stop waiting to be chosen and start choosing with intention.
Flipping Gratitude
Gratitude belongs both ways, but it should never be one-sided. Companies should feel chosen when a linguist (or anyone!) decides to join their team. They should feel honored that someone trained to notice nuance, to decode culture, to design meaning has selected them as a space worthy of investment.
And as linguists, we should remember that our field gives us a particular superpower, because we see how stories position people. We see how “choosing” gets framed as something that flows one way. But we also know that stories can be rewritten.
So let’s rewrite this one: We are not the chosen. We are the choosers.
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