Friday, January 19, 2024

A New Type of Recruitment Announcement

Job recruitment announcements are one of the most common forms of fiction in the world today. They are way too wordy and mention all sorts of things you'll rarely if ever encounter on the job. They discourage good people from applying and harm HR's reputation because one would hope HR would have the guts to tell the departments to trim the fat and keep the lean.

How's this for a different approach?

  1. Here's the job title and here's what the job really requires. 
  2. If you think you will be a good fit for that job, then send us a clear and candid description of your background and abilities. We'll decide whether to call you in for an interview. 
  3. You'll be told if you were not selected for an interview.  We believe in basic courtesy. 
  4. If you are selected for an interview, here's what you can expect: We will listen carefully and we will respect your time. The interview will focus on whether you know the difference between average and very good/excellent performance; whether you can produce the latter; whether we can trust you; whether you'll embarrass us; and whether you'll be able to fit in with our team and not drive people nuts. Satisfy us on all of those areas and you will be a serious contender. 
  5. We will always strive to select the best person for the job. We don't dawdle about on hiring decisions but hiring a team member is an important decision, so we don't rush. 
  6. If we discriminate at all, it will be on the basis of merit. Remember, when we hire, it is not for a generic job title. It is for that specific job at our specific organization at that specific time. What we need three or four months later may be different. We don't use cookie-cutters as selection devices.
  7. If you think this opening might be a good fit, then by all means apply. We will take every application seriously.
  8. Thank you for your time.


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