Interpret hidden phrases
Not only job references are peppered with hidden messages, but job advertisements can also turn out to be sham packs. We have long since learned to check the fine details in linguistic usage in job references and thus track down the secret messages. Interestingly enough, such fints can also be found in job advertisements. That is why job seekers should carefully examine the wording in the adverts.
Job advertisements are an employer’s calling card. Ideally, you will reflect on what speaks for the job and the company and provide insights into everyday working life. Although it is up to each employer how they formulate their job advertisement, a few essential pieces of information are always included. As a rule, the structure of a job advertisement is based on the rule of thumb: Who we are … Who we are looking for … What we offer … How you apply … Just because of how much effort the company has put, all understandably formulating this information reveals a lot about the corporate culture. All of these clues then result in an overall impression that you should allow yourself to take effect.
What does this mean for us in recruitment? It is one of our services to write appealing advertisement texts. In the advanced training courses, I attended for this, one or the other illustrious formulation was of course targeted. We are warned! Nevertheless, we are not immune from occasionally using one or the other phrase.
This case shows that one can sometimes be thoroughly misunderstood: We recently presented an interested candidate with a position as a project manager – with “lateral management responsibility” …
I don’t want to withhold the recipient’s answer from you.
In his e-mail he wrote to us: “To be honest, I first had to look up what lateral actually means in the Duden (Duden: sideways, concerning the page, starting from the page). To be frank: I have had my experiences with personnel consultants over the last few years – the expression ‘lateral management position’ now rounds off this experience. I do not intend to deteriorate professionally and the position offered is a step backward in terms of career technology. ”
Baff! We had to laugh out loud. The candidate found the term “lateral management position” chosen so obliquely that he thought we were kidding him. For him, it was clear: These cunning personnel consultants want to talk him into something, even devalue him.
Not at all! He had just stumbled upon, I admit, a weak phrase. The job, however, would have brought about a professional improvement for the candidate and would have been accompanied by a marked increase in wages. Conclusion? We are working on the advertisements even more carefully. With the best will in the world, the real scope of a position cannot always be summed up in a few lines.
If in doubt, it is therefore worth asking and talking to one another. It is better to take a look twice than to drop a potential position too soon. I think it is similar to the job references and the people behind them.