Be Careful What You Advertise For – Part 1: Ninja
Lift Your Language
You have a vacancy to fill. You’re looking for a ‘ninja’.
Are you sure?
If you (or your hip and trendy recruitment manager) advertise for a ‘ninja’ marketer, PR assistant (or, heaven help us, a ‘ninja’ editor), then beware.
This bizarre descriptor has been a favourite in job ads for a while, as well as a few others I’ll look at later. Leave it in the ad if you must, but be warned.
Here's what you can expect....
Ninja risk factors
Personally, I can’t think of anything worse than a ninja as an employee or work colleague.
Traditionally, ninjas are nefarious undercover agents – spies, basically – who are experts in dissimulation, disguise and trickery
They have ruthless singularity of purpose, a preference for isolation and few friends
Worse still, they tend to whizz sharp objects at you and practise parkour around the office
Although they are extremely agile, they tend to take huge, unexpected backward leaps.
Is that really what you're looking for in an employee?
Perhaps it’s the 'agile’ bit that seems attractive to 21st century job advertisers, but that’s an extremely boring buzzword for another day.
Advice:
Explain what you really want. The best potential applicants will probably steer clear of ‘ninja' vacancies and take their skills elsewhere.
More Be Careful What You Advertise For soon.