Magic of a creatively written Job Description!
In the age when ‘job descriptions’ have become laundry-list of tasks and sucking jargon, when a smart company
weaves a crisp story in the job description, it springs urge to explore the invitation.
As a whiff of fresh breeze, a poetical job description sets your pulse racing; it
intrigues curiosity with blend of challenges and excitement, subtly introducing
you to the organisation culture and people. The art of story-telling is the ‘creativity’
that sets companies apart by appealing to the ‘right’ candidates from among the best!
I have been spending some time on LinkedIn to review some
jobs. I simply can say, around 70 percent of the job descriptions (JDs) written
are very close to the euphemistic, laundry-list. HR JDs are even worse. Pathetic grammar and
syntax, spelling errors, repetitive rendition of same tasks in the name of Key
Responsibilities, Functional Responsibilities, Key Skills Required, etc. Worst
is HR rep who is posting these JDs are not even reviewing it to check if it
will fit and external audience. JDs are loaded with company’s internal and
exclusive terminologies that are Greek and Latin to an external candidate. It
just not only confuses the candidate but reflects very poorly on the lackluster and casual attitude of the HR department. Interestingly, now the department
that advertises for hiring is called “Talent Acquisition.” The acquisition of
talent by people who have diluted the meaning and sense of talent. Unfortunate
fact is that the million dollar HR bosses, Corporate Communication department
and the top bosses in business seem completely oblivious of this deterioration
in the job advertisement.
This is the time to clean up and turnaround the tainted
‘Talent Acquisition’ departments in such poor companies.
Larry Bossidy and Jack Welch and many industry leaders made
it very clear that, “nothing that they do is more important than hiring and
developing talent.” It seems in India; at least the talent acquisition piece is
in wrong hands in many companies. Though this may be a global disease!
Even when we know we have such a mess to clear in the talent
acquisition departments, we cannot afford to lose!
Let’s bring the change with being creative in writing the
JDs. This shall change the focus and perspective and will automatically invite
better people in Talent Acquisition functions and we will see the positive
change. Also as, Socrates said, “The secret of Change is to focus all of your Energy, Not on
fighting thee Old but on Building the New.”
Just read below, how some companies are making ripples with
the art of story-telling or creativity in writing JDs.
Test Automation
Engineer
Medium is seeking an
inquisitive, tenacious and thorough engineer who loves to break things in order
to keep us honest about what we're shipping.
An outstanding Test
Automation Engineer believes testing is a collaborative process rather than
confrontation. You get involved with feature development on day one and follow
it through release.
You have the team's trust
and power to say "we can't ship that."
Great
example of a jargon-free writing, “who loves to break things in order to keep
us honest about what we’re shipping.”
How often
do you see the word “trust” in a technical job description? In any job
description?
They
should find a better verb to replace “seek,” but that’s a quibble.
Compare
the Medium (www.medium.com) approach to the typical, which in this case comes
compliments of Intel:
Title: Sr. Test
Automation Engineer
Location: USA-California,
Santa Clara
Job Number: 704967
We are in search of Sr.
Quality Engineer with 5-8 years of experience working in the mobility domain
with Android or Windows platform. The candidate will be responsible for
defining test strategy, test methodology as well as leading, testing and
managing the test execution and results on Intel products.
He/she should be
experienced in development and implementation of test automation and tools for
validating various interfaces across each of the components. Responsibilities
will also include analyzing HW/SW quality, identifying potential problems early
in the product life cycle and ensure that the product quality issues are
resolved in a timely manner.
Instead
of the standard rhetoric on collaboration, Medium’s description for the front
end engineer job shares:
You’ll be working with
and supported by a world class team of designers and engineers. Your teammates
on the front end will include @fat, @dpup, @dhg,@dustin and more.
What a
cool technique.
Clicking on one of your
future mates springs you to his/her personal Medium page.
That’s
what I’m talking about.
That’s
how job descriptions should be done.
Take a
look at the example below-
Job Title: Senior
Communications Consultant
What most accurately
describes you, PR person or storyteller? If the latter, keep reading.
We’re retooling our
consultancy to take a holistic approach to communication campaigns. Think earned
media + owned media. Our programs increasingly blend traditional PR with
thought leadership, digital properties, social media, SEO, etc. – all
underlined with the type of storytelling that has relevance to the target
audience as well as influencers.
Regardless of the
assignment, clients come to us for a combination of brainpower and passion.
Naturally, this
particular role calls for smarts, op-ed grade writing and a track record in
triggering client reactions ranging from “Well done” to “I’m naming my first
born after you.”
Here are a few specifics
that start to dig below the surface of the type of person we’re after:
·
In a world where anyone
can access a digital megaphone, we believe content based on storytelling
techniques is the answer to sustaining thought leadership campaigns. Are you
the type of person who flags anecdotes during evening reading?
·
It’s not exactly enduring
or endearing if you only reach out to someone when you need something. Yet,
most communicators only contact influencers when a client has a news
announcement. Do your interactions with influencers deviate from the norm,
reflecting more of an industry source?
·
We don’t expect you to be
a SEO guru (or live on Mt. Sinai), but ideally you know how to scrutinize a
title tag in the source code.
·
Are you a brave soul?
While everyone seems to “zag,” do you know how to a) develop thinking that
“zigs,” and b) counsel clients with strength of conviction on the benefits of
going the “zig” route?
We suspect these
qualities call for at least eight years of experience.
If our thinking
resonates, we’d love to hear from you.
Here’s
how the description for a corporate communications manager kicks off:
Facebook seeks an
experienced Corporate
Communications Manager to support its global
monetization efforts and programs. The successful candidate has strong
experience in developing and executing high-profile communications initiatives,
is an excellent writer, and has knowledge and interest in the concepts and
technologies for online and interactive advertising. This is a full-time
position based in our main office in Palo Alto, CA.
Now
there’s a phrase that sets the heart of a communication professional racing –
“… to
support its global monetization efforts and programs.”
And
what’s with the cold verb “seek”?
I’m
guessing that 90+ percent of companies use the verb “seek” in their job
descriptions which doesn’t exactly humanize the communication or differentiate
the gig. From there, the Facebook job description erodes into the standard
bullets that could be used by any XYZ company.
References-
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