generic job ads
Tania, 49, is considering returning to work after raising a family and after checking out the job ads she is amazed at the incredible amount of waffle and political correctness that's out there.
"I see nothing discriminatory in wording job advertisements towards the exact type of person a company wants for the job," says Tania. "They aren't paying any extra for space on the Net -- like they do for an advertisement in a newspaper -- so they should put as much effort into writing a job ad as job hunters put into answering it."
"The job ads of my day were very clearly designed to deter unsuitable people from wasting their time applying for the job," explains Tania, "and that makes good sense to me."
"I don't want to waste my time applying for a job that's suitable for a 20 year old male -- not a 49 year old married woman with kids," adds Tania, "and I'm sure a young male doesn't want to waste his time applying for a job that's more suited for a mature woman."
"In that employers are bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of applications for every job advertised online," says Tania, "it makes sense for them to be as specific as they can be in their job advertisements -- and they should be able to do this without breaching legal guidelines regarding discrimination."
"I've seen some job advertisements that get their message across quite nicely," says Tania, "so it's not impossible to do. They don't have to cover all angles with a stupid generic ad."
"If employers don't want to hire smokers or older people or fatties -- as most don't these days -- they simply state in their ads that employees enjoy a smoke-free working environment, a vibrant young working team or a junkfood-free canteen. Sure it's discriminatory, but it's legal and truthful."
"If an employer specifically wants a male employee, the advertisement will use a lot of strong male words or company perks such as company football or golf teams -- which may or may not deter females -- and the same goes for an employer specifically wanting a female employee, only perks such as child-minding facilities and afternoons off for shopping will be emphasized."
"Except for single fathers," muses Tania, "I think that few red-blooded males would want to respond to a job advertisement offering such obviously female slanted perks. So it can be done and I want to know why it's not done more often."
"The online job advertisements I really hate -- because there are so many of them -- are the wide open ads that do not actually say anything."
"These ads are always placed by the recruitment agencies and I can't believe that any real job exists where skills and experience are not specified."
"Instead of the usual requirements -- must be able to type 80 w.p.m. or be proficient in a particular computer package -- these advertisements rave on about character traits."
"In that just about everyone seriously looking for a job is going to be friendly, enthusiastic, or have a can-do attitude -- or imagines they do," laughs Tania, "this type of advertisement must get hundreds of thousands of applicants."
"I honestly feel that this sort of wide open advertisement is specifically designed to attract a mass of applicants for no other reason than to build up a recruiter's database of job seekers."
"Yes, it does happen," says Tania, "and so does the practice of placing bogus advertisements for jobs that do not exist."
“There is a trend these days,” says Tania, “to place an enticing job advertisement and then direct all applicants to a particular website or recruitment agency where you will be run through the mill and possibly charged for services you do not need.”
”Nobody in their right mind chooses a mate from an advertisement,” laughs Tania, “so I guess the smart thing to do in order to avoid the pitfalls of job ads, in newspapers and especially online, is to find a job the same way we go about finding a mate."
"I found my husband through friends," confides Tania, "and I'm pretty sure that family, friends, community organizations, clubs and all manner of people out there are going to be ready, willing and able to help me find a job when I am ready to get serious about looking for one."
"And the first thing serious job contacts are going to want to know is what I can do -- not how nice and enthusiastic I am," laughs Tania. "So if any return-to-work mom out there wants my opinion it's to avoid any job ad that raves on about personal character traits because it's a trick to get your personal details on a database and there's no job!"
"I see nothing discriminatory in wording job advertisements towards the exact type of person a company wants for the job," says Tania. "They aren't paying any extra for space on the Net -- like they do for an advertisement in a newspaper -- so they should put as much effort into writing a job ad as job hunters put into answering it."
"The job ads of my day were very clearly designed to deter unsuitable people from wasting their time applying for the job," explains Tania, "and that makes good sense to me."
"I don't want to waste my time applying for a job that's suitable for a 20 year old male -- not a 49 year old married woman with kids," adds Tania, "and I'm sure a young male doesn't want to waste his time applying for a job that's more suited for a mature woman."
"In that employers are bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of applications for every job advertised online," says Tania, "it makes sense for them to be as specific as they can be in their job advertisements -- and they should be able to do this without breaching legal guidelines regarding discrimination."
"I've seen some job advertisements that get their message across quite nicely," says Tania, "so it's not impossible to do. They don't have to cover all angles with a stupid generic ad."
"If employers don't want to hire smokers or older people or fatties -- as most don't these days -- they simply state in their ads that employees enjoy a smoke-free working environment, a vibrant young working team or a junkfood-free canteen. Sure it's discriminatory, but it's legal and truthful."
"If an employer specifically wants a male employee, the advertisement will use a lot of strong male words or company perks such as company football or golf teams -- which may or may not deter females -- and the same goes for an employer specifically wanting a female employee, only perks such as child-minding facilities and afternoons off for shopping will be emphasized."
"Except for single fathers," muses Tania, "I think that few red-blooded males would want to respond to a job advertisement offering such obviously female slanted perks. So it can be done and I want to know why it's not done more often."
"The online job advertisements I really hate -- because there are so many of them -- are the wide open ads that do not actually say anything."
"These ads are always placed by the recruitment agencies and I can't believe that any real job exists where skills and experience are not specified."
"Instead of the usual requirements -- must be able to type 80 w.p.m. or be proficient in a particular computer package -- these advertisements rave on about character traits."
"In that just about everyone seriously looking for a job is going to be friendly, enthusiastic, or have a can-do attitude -- or imagines they do," laughs Tania, "this type of advertisement must get hundreds of thousands of applicants."
"I honestly feel that this sort of wide open advertisement is specifically designed to attract a mass of applicants for no other reason than to build up a recruiter's database of job seekers."
"Yes, it does happen," says Tania, "and so does the practice of placing bogus advertisements for jobs that do not exist."
“There is a trend these days,” says Tania, “to place an enticing job advertisement and then direct all applicants to a particular website or recruitment agency where you will be run through the mill and possibly charged for services you do not need.”
”Nobody in their right mind chooses a mate from an advertisement,” laughs Tania, “so I guess the smart thing to do in order to avoid the pitfalls of job ads, in newspapers and especially online, is to find a job the same way we go about finding a mate."
"I found my husband through friends," confides Tania, "and I'm pretty sure that family, friends, community organizations, clubs and all manner of people out there are going to be ready, willing and able to help me find a job when I am ready to get serious about looking for one."
"And the first thing serious job contacts are going to want to know is what I can do -- not how nice and enthusiastic I am," laughs Tania. "So if any return-to-work mom out there wants my opinion it's to avoid any job ad that raves on about personal character traits because it's a trick to get your personal details on a database and there's no job!"
Labels: generic ads, job ads, job hunting, job search, moms, political correctness, return to work
<< Home