November 19, 2009
Subtle Morons…I Mean Oxymorons
I have seen versions of this statement appearing in quite a few sales ads:
The ability to work well independently and within a collaborative environment
I think I understand what they are saying, but it is a poorly constructed bullet point. Independent salespeople tend not to work well in collaborative cultures. The same is true of collaborative salespeople, they tend to struggle in an independent role.
For me, this type of writing is either lazy, unfocused and/or wishful. The better approach here is to define what a typical sale looks like in your company. Use that information to determine if you need a salesperson with an independent mindset or a collaborative disposition. This simple adjustment will relieve some of the qualifying that is surely occurring with this unclear ad.
