The headline immediately caught my attention -- but not in a good way. "President Of Staff, Powerful Company Posistion" set off red flags before I could read the body of the posting. It reads like an email from a Nigerian Prince who wants "kind and gracious help in the name of Jesus Christ" to move $137,549,011.95 out of his Country, of which he'll give half for your help.
We'll never know if this is a legitimate job posting because no self-respecting executive is going to allow this company to have their personal information. The title President of Staff is not in the current business lexicon of which I am aware. What "Powerful Company" and are they driven by good intentions? Don't want to get half way through an interview to find the position is the president of the League of Doom or ISIS. Unless you're Lex Luthor, it would not look good on your resume.
So, if assumptions are made this is a legitimate offer, where did the staff err? This wasn't posted on Craigslist, but on a site I have not heard of, "www.postjobfree.com" -- which itself sounds like it was not created by someone for whom English is their first language. Unfortunately, postings on this site are being picked up by legitimate job listing aggregators like ZipRecruiter.
But are legitimate companies suffering from similar errors in their job postings?
The note above comes from a legitimate company advertising on Monster for a VP of Sales and Marketing.
Did the company's HR department misunderstand the hiring manager's request for references prior to a job offer?
". . . you may be required to arrange an interview with your previous bosses, peers and subordinates."
The wording is clunky and open to misinterpretation. Does the hiring manager want to check references, or interview the references to see if they're a better fit for the position. And the prospective employee may be responsible for setting up the interview? Phone or in person?
"Hey Bob, it's me, Jack. Jack Taggert, I was the Director of Marketing up until two weeks ago when the SEC came in and you had to layoff 90% of the staff. Okay, now you remember. Well, I have a pending job offer that looks good, but they want to interview you first. I don't know, they just told me to set it up. No. In person. Come on Buddy, can you do me a solid? No? Home confinement? Damn! Sorry to hear about the indictment, Bob. Sure. Maybe we can get together in a few weeks."
Then there's the second paragraph:
- Send a resume. To this: duh. The job hunter is applying for a position with the company. Of course they are going to send my resume.
- Recent salary history. According to Nick Corcodilos, a veteran Silicon Valley headhunter, "Politely but firmly decline to disclose your salary history. Substitute this: 'I’d be glad to help you assess what I’d be worth to your business by showing you what I can do for you but my salary is personal and confidential, just as the salaries of your own employees are.'"
- A short write up describing a time when you managed a team that grew revenue substantially. Does the HR department or the hiring manager even intend to read the resume of the applicant? As a serious professional would have this information as a highlighted item in their resume.
My advice, proofread job postings as carefully as you will judge an applicant. A company doesn't want to damage its reputation by reading like a scam email. Even in a tight economy, prospective employees are interviewing employers as well.
If you have questions regarding your business' marketing strategy, feel free to contact me at darren@darrensomsen.com.
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