HR WATER COOLER: Buzzwords in corporate culture have become quite the norm.
From “doing deep dives” to “joining the rocket ship”, this shorthand has created equally motivating and cringe worthy moments. And for HR teams, job descriptions (JDs) have not been untouched.
Social media recently had a few thoughts of their own, interpreting some pretty common JD phrases. So we took the liberty of rewriting them to better represent what we’re all (hopefully) really trying to say:
1.) Social Media: “You’ll wear many hats = We’re understaffed”
Our Edit: “You’ll be exposed to a variety of opportunities”
The word “opportunities” immediately sounds more promising to a prospect’s career growth than the idea of wearing a ton of hats and feeling overwhelmed everyday.
2.) Social Media: “We offer a competitive salary = We’ll underpay you”
Our Edit: “We offer a negotiable, market rate salary”
With pay transparency, this may be a thing of the past. But a “competitive salary” is subjective. Whereas “market rate” is backed by data and “negotiable” means there is room for discussion.
3.) Social Media: “We need you to be flexible = You’ll 100% be working overtime”
Our Edit: “We’re a growing company. The ideal candidate is adaptable and able to work up to 20 additional hours a week.
Be clear with your expectations. The difference of 5 hours overtime vs 20 hours overtime will make a huge difference to a candidate.
4.) Social Media: “We’re like a family = RUN”
Our Edit: We’re a group of talented individuals who enjoy spending time together, and are committed to the company’s mission, vision and values
Very often “family” can be misinterpreted for a toxic culture where leaders are the parents and employees are the children. This can lead to employees not feeling trusted when they actually want to feel empowered. Also, be mindful that not every person has a positive real life family dynamic. So that could be a triggering reference.
What do you think of our rewrites? We love feedback and you can always drop us a note here. 💌 
