Job descriptions that can send candidates fleeing What a real-life nanny job posting can teach hiring managers
A mom in Edina, Minnesota, posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a nanny. The long, very demanding ad has since been taken down, and the writer has taken all her social media accounts private after the internet went wild over her outlandish requirements and clueless self-absorption.
But this sort of detailed list of expectations and demands happens elsewhere, even at some companies.
Plenty of managers want a very specific employee, and the job descriptions they write often exhibit their unrealistic expectations and silly demands. There are things that irritate job candidates and send them elsewhere, so consider what you are saying when you write a job description.
Here are a few things to avoid if you want to land great candidates.
Declaring how awesome you are
“We are definitely the coolest family ever and we live in Edina.” If that was the only bad thing in the infamous nanny ad, it would be sort of cute. But it's not. It's also demonstrative of many companies that think they are fantastic but lack self-awareness.
Including phrases like “We are hilarious,” “The founder is the coolest guy” and “We are a name in our vertical” focuses not on the duties of the job but on the greatness of the boss. Yes, in a job interview, you want to know as much about the hiring manager and the leadership as the hiring manager wants to know about you, but a job description should focus on the job, not how amazing the boss is.
It also makes you look silly and obnoxious.
Seeking a friend, not an employee
“We are going to want to be friends in real life anyway so we will be friends on social media,” read the nanny ad. Uh-oh.
Because you'll be working closely with people, it's helpful if you can all get along, but you should never hire someone to be your friend or demand that this person be your friend. Or worse, hiring someone who is already your friend.
Your company and your baby are the most important things to you ever, of course. But, to your employees, they are jobs. Sure, nannies are often attached to the children they care for, but to expect that someone you hire is “looking for a lifetime relationship” and to reject anyone who is looking to earn a “buck” puts you on the wrong path for hiring.
Employees come and go — in every business. If you want to hire people to be in your social network for the rest of your life, you're going about it the wrong way. Employees need to have lives outside of work. Your business (or your child) is your dream, but it's a job for your employees. Don't forget that.
Focusing on what you don’t want
Don't tell the job candidate what he or she shouldn't do. The nanny searcher felt the need to declare, in a very petty fashion, that someone who doesn't notice crumbs on the table need not apply.
There are ways to let candidates know what's expected without resorting to listing things that shouldn't be done. Here's an example: “You will be expected to brief management on the company's financial position and recommend solutions to improve results, and develop and implement effective accounting policies and processes.”
It's far easier to find people to do what you want if you tell them what those things are, rather than telling them what not to do. Just be upfront.
Announcing you’re a micromanager
The nanny job description screams micromanaging. Many managers don't think of themselves that way, but they may be fooling themselves. This line stands out to me: “You also need to be able to do things like ... learn the way we Tetris our dishwasher.”
There are many ways to put dishes in a dishwasher and have them come out clean. The goal is clean dishes, not stacking them in a particular way. Something like this is a big red flag to anyone reading your job description.
When you place too much emphasis on the process and not enough on the outcome, you're a micro-manager. Yes, having good processes and procedures can be extremely helpful, but employees need flexibility within their realm of responsibility.
The job description mentions driving, but again with a micromanaging and negative spin. She writes: “I have never gotten a ticket, I don't speed, I signal my turns 100 feet ahead, I come to a complete stop. If that bugs you, move on. If you're going to do anything but that with my daughter in the vehicle, don't apply, period.”
I'm all for safe driving, but the way to write that is: “A clean driving record is required, and you must follow all traffic laws.” If a new hire comes to you with a clean driving record, you can assume he or she is a safe driver until you see otherwise.
This doesn't begin to cover all the problems with this job description, but hopefully it helps to show the mistakes that even professional hiring managers make. Focus on the positive, don't confuse employees with friends, and don't micromanage.
Also, don't seek out this woman to drag her online because she wrote an awful job description. Don't search for her to mock her. Laugh a little, learn a management lesson, and then just move on.
Suzanne Lucas is a freelance writer who spent 10 years in corporate human resources.