…you might get just what you asked for.
Before you go looking for new employees, before you even write your next job posting, take a minute to dig deeper and consider who and what you really want. If you write the perfect job posting for the wrong person, you might just get a perfect candidate for that job posting…but not for your business!
Today’s post comes from my personal experience. I’ve let it sit on the shelf in draft form for six years, and figure now is the time to dust it off.
Back in 2018, I applied for (and got) a role in a new division of a Fortune-100 company. The department anticipated rapid growth, were developing some industry-first multi-platform quoting technology, and promised fast promotions within the division. They advertised their operations in terms of a “start-up” existing within the larger company. I actually contributed a lot to their operations and that industry-first system, and my developer friends tell me they’re still referring to my advanced-feature backlog to this day (some five years later).
Here are a few of the phrases used in the job posting:
- Comfortable operating “in the grey”
- Able to think on your feet, transition rapidly
- Able to make your own decisions, not rely on guidance
- Confident, decisive
- Excels in a rapidly-changing environment
- Interested in rapid advancement & growth
These checked all the boxes I needed to see at that time. I applied at once, got the job, and dove in. I told my supervisor on day one that my goal was to excel in the job itself with the goal of immediately transitioning to a coaching role (the standard next step in the leadership hierarchy).
My experience did not live up to the hype. I found out that they actually wanted to hire an entirely different type of employee. In order of appearance (and in contrast to) the job posting, here is the type of employee behavior they actually wanted to see:
- Willing to take blame for mistakes caused by a lack of clear guidelines.
- Willing to operate with vague, inaccurate, incomplete resources without demanding better quality.
- Able to adhere to redundant and illogical processes without questioning, relying solely on the incomplete guidelines provided.
- Unquestioning of management’s decisions: doesn’t raise a fuss or ask inconvenient questions.
- Able to adjust to rapid, ill-explained changes in job requirements or resources, without asking supervisors too many questions or demanding appropriate resources for success.
- Willing to quietly watch as every promotion and leadership opportunity went to external candidates with zero experience nor specialized knowledge.
- Willingness to train said external hires.
I thought I made a mistake. “This is probably my fault. I did this to myself.”
Except…I wasn’t to blame. The managers wrote the perfect pitch to hire me. But they didn’t know what they wanted. And they certainly didn’t like what they got.
I quickly discovered that I had made a mistake. Rather, the hiring team had made a mistake. I raised Cain there. I asked questions, thinking that the company’s Core Values would protect me and that my concerns would be addressed. (Spoiler alert: they didn’t, they weren’t, and I was the recipient of textbook retaliation and slander across the broader call center leadership department.)
So. How do we avoid this situation in the first place? How do we make sure we hire the right people for the right job, and provide the right environment while we’re at it?
It’s simple. Go deeper. Spend more time considering what all these great terms mean. Consider who you’re attracting. Consider whether that type of person will help your culture and serve your needs.
It’s not rocket science.
However, it does take time and a bit of practice.
Consider the job requirements: what will your ideal candidate logically expect of you and the role? Does the job itself match those expectations? Would my current employees in this position agree with my description? What terms would my current employees use to describe the role? If there’s a major gap between what we’re advertising for and what my employees think, what might that mean?
What type of person would I attract with this terminology, with the words on their own? Will that person fit into and enjoy and thrive in the culture that awaits them? Will the culture itself survive if I hire them? What changes might happen to the culture as it stands now? Is that good, or bad? Do I want that? Can I start influencing the culture now to fit it?
If that job posting years ago had matched the hiring manager’s actual expectations, I wouldn’t have gone through two bouts of work-environment-induced depression. They wouldn’t have had to deal with me as a thorn in their side. I would have gone elsewhere and enjoyed myself more. However, I would not have had the opportunity to learn from it and develop the insights I have…so despite it being a massive loss at the time which left me scars that still hurt, overall it’s a win in my book.