--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had had no experience in asking for a…" description: "\"“He had had no experience in asking for a job with a big organization, and Mr. Dilling was making him aware of what a fine art it was--if you couldn't ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/kurt-vonnegut-41_art_he-had-had-no-experience-in-asking-for-a_2992621.jpg" --- # He had had no experience in asking for a job with a big… ![“He had had no experience in asking for a job with a big organization, and Mr. Dilling was making him aware of what a fine art it was--if you couldn't run a machine. A duel was under way.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/kurt-vonnegut-41_art_he-had-had-no-experience-in-asking-for-a_2992621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/kurt-vonnegut-41_art_he-had-had-no-experience-in-asking-for-a_2992621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/kurt-vonnegut-41_art_he-had-had-no-experience-in-asking-for-a_2992621.jpg) > ““He had had no experience in asking for a job with a big organization, and Mr. Dilling was making him aware of what a fine art it was--if you couldn't run a machine. A duel was under way.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The protagonist’s lack of experience in corporate job hunting highlights the absurdity of bureaucratic rituals and power dynamics. **In simple terms:** Corporate job hunting feels absurd. Key Takeaway Question bureaucratic norms. Themes career bureaucracy power absurdity learning Mood skeptical reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - job interviews - career transitions - management training - personal development Key Concepts Organizational behavior social critique Questions to Reflect On - What skills are truly valued? - How do rituals affect hiring? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex job markets. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Asking Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-job-2814790/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Dilling Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilling-making-4711219/) [Duel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duel/) [Experience Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-asking-4711221/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fine art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-art/) [Machine Duel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine-duel-4711220/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm not asking you to do your best. I'm asking you to do your job." -Dagny Taggart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-m-not-asking-you-to-do-your-best-i-m-asking-you-to-do-your-job/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [If you're always waiting for a producer to hire you... your chances are really, really small. I've been knocking on doors and asking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenio-derbez/if-you-re-always-waiting-for-a-producer-to-hire-you-your-chances-are/) [Eugenio Derbez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenio-derbez/) > [To be the equal of one's opponent-this is the first condition of an honourable duel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-be-the-equal-of-one-s-opponent-this-is-the-first-condition-of-an/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“it was a duel in which two participants got up at crack of dawn, one armed with a rapier, the other with a blunderbuss,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-gordon-rupp/it-was-a-duel-in-which-two-participants-got-up-at-crack-of-dawn-one/) [E. Gordon Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-gordon-rupp/) > [In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-the-duel-of-sex-woman-fights-from-a-dreadnought-and-man-from-an/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-nothing-but-a-duel-on-a-larger-scale/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [“Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person who renounced on principle the possibility of transcendental morality, she thought, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/some-young-man-has-wronged-you-hasn-t-he-from-a-person-who-renounced/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honour should decline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-is-a-duel-to-the-death-which-no-man-of-honour-should-decline/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What do you want, MacGuffin, a duel?” “No.” Julian held out both hands, one palm flat, the other held over it in a fist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/what-do-you-want-macguffin-a-duel-no-julian-held-out-both-hands-one/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [I'm not going to accept your challenge. There will be no duel." "Why not? Because I'm a woman?" "No, because I've seen the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/i-m-not-going-to-accept-your-challenge-there-will-be-no-duel-why-not/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [“Today I have come for a duel. Let's see which is greater - your depth or the depth of my sorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-shirsat/today-i-have-come-for-a-duel-let-s-see-which-is-greater-your-depth-or/) [Akshay Shirsat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-shirsat/) > [Even a bad shot is dignified when he accepts a duel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-a-bad-shot-is-dignified-when-he-accepts-a-duel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I formed, in early life, two purposes to which I have inflexibly adhered, under some very strong pressure from warm personal friends. They were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/i-formed-in-early-life-two-purposes-to-which-i-have-inflexibly/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zell-miller/i-wish-we-lived-in-the-day-where-you-could-challenge-a-person-to-a/) [Zell Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zell-miller/) > [“The time of testing, and of playing, was over. This was the final duel for one of them. Now they were fighting for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/the-time-of-testing-and-of-playing-was-over-this-was-the-final-duel/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had had no experience in asking for a job with a big organization, and Mr. Dilling was making him aware of what a fine art it was--if you couldn't run a machine. 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