A Poorly Written Want Ad Is Like an Ill-Fitting Suit

If reading want ads and job descriptions leaves you confused about whether a job will be a good fit for you, it's probably because the recruitment material was poorly written, which can result in job dissatisfaction and high turnover.

Fortunately, as noted recently in CareerJournal.com, employers are waking up to the fact that want ads laced with buzzwords and jargon don't bring in the best people to do the job on a sustained basis. An ad filled with breezy words and promise may bring in plenty of applicants. It may not, though, bring in the right person to deal with late-paying customers, night and weekend work, and pinch hitting for no-show underlings.

Let's dissect a poorly written want ad together. This was posted online for an Assistant to the CFO:

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in business or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Two-plus years of administrative experience
• Microsoft Office Suite knowledge expected
• Self starter, high attention to detail, able to juggle multiple priorities and handle confidential communications

First off, these requirements tell us very little. Is it because the person who wrote the ad is not more capable of providing a clear description? As noted in the Journal article, many companies are aware of their poorly written job descriptions, but they are reluctant to take the time to write a great one.

Also, companies may post such ads to cast their net far and wide and see what comes in. It doesn't really hold them to any level of fairness in terms of hiring based on qualifications. For a job seeker, this is not a good sign about a company's transparency. Or, the ad may be vague because they are posting for a new position, and benchmarks for the skill and talent  haven't yet been established. It's impossible to say if any of these scenarios are true, but it's helpful to be aware of them.

Unfortunately, with this ad, you don't really have a sense of the job's most routine, and often most time-consuming tasks. Wanting a working knowledge of Microsoft Office and two years of administrative experience does not explain the depth of knowledge or skill you'll need to handle particular tasks. The job could involve a lot of accounting work or it could demand a lot of web work if the company is highly web based. It could involve writing the CFO's letters or intensive editing. What one would need to know, if the job is to be a good match, is how much of each is done on a routine basis.

The ad's mention of wanting a self-starter who can juggle multiple priorities and handle confidential communications is just window dressing. Does the employer really think this will effectively weed out slow pokes and big mouths?

If you are called for an interview after responding to a similarly vague ad, you will want to ask about the job's daily priorities, which Office programs are most heavily used, which employees and/or departments will require the most interface, and whether there are upcoming changes that will affect the job's responsibilities. This will not only yield important information, it will also provide you with a platform to discuss your qualifications. Also, if you are given the chance to talk with others at the company, ask them their view of the job's function and required skills. To learn more about posing questions during interviews, see Interview Questions.

back to August blog