Here is a new title from a sales employment ad:
Accont Exceutive
Honestly, if I could spike my coffee right now I would. Whatever price this medical company paid for the ad has been wasted before a single click.
From a sales ad I just read (my editing):
Experience in building, hiring from scratching, coaching, training and developing the RAMs in the sale of _________ products.
Perhaps this is some new interviewing technique – “If you could scratch one place on your body, what would that place be?”
I read a sales ad today that started with this line:
Are you a career-minded salesperson…
What does that mean? I bet if I asked 10 people I would get 10 different answers. I call sentences like this “throw away lines” because they do nothing for the ad. It is vitally important when writing ads to only include sentences that describe the position and the type of person who will excel within it.
Anything else is wasted space.
I just read an ad for a mid-level sales position. Interesting part was the location listed in the ad:
Milwaukie, WI
The hiring company is based in Fresno, CA which is, I suppose, in relative proximity to Milwaukie, OR. However, the Wisconsin town of the same name is spelled “Milwaukee.”
In hiring, details matter.
(And wouldn’t you think Monster would have a checker of some form for these errors?)
From a sales employment ad I read this morning:
Proven, world-class technology with plenty of sizzle
I can’t decide if I like that last turn of phrase in an ad or not. For software sales, it sounds positive. For slick-talking salespeople, it sounds like a negative stereotype. I would recommend leaving the “sizzle” for steak.
Here is an ad item I have not seen before:
**** is A Forecast Positing for Minneapolis, MN area ***
Do you get the feeling that line was an internal communication? With a spelling error? Whatever the reason, it single-handedly derails the ad…and wastes the money spent on it. Any sales candidate who sees “forecast” for the position instantly knows that it is unqualified. My guess is that the funding for the position is not approved yet.
The fact that I can make that assumption neutralizes the ad.
From a sales ad I read this morning:
Blackberry device is needed, but optional.
Apparently coherent writing is needed, but optional.
This is an advice column from the Selling Power archives:
E. Kinds of ads. Classified ads are found in the help wanted section of the newspaper, organized on the basis of occupation or industry and often alphabetized by the first word of the ad. Display ads have special borders with the company logo and sometimes artwork, drawings or photos. Open ads identify the name of the company. All inquiries from such ads must be answered, usually by mail or phone. Blind ads do not reveal the name of the company; the reader is asked to respond, by letter or resume, to a box number. In this case, you can respond to those applicants in whom you have an interest. Blind ads can be used in both classified and display ads.
Remember those days? They weren’t that long ago. Most hiring managers would cringe at reading this type of advice today. However, I am fearless in sharing such antiquated material!
I wonder how long it will be before we start viewing the mega job boards as antiquated mediums? The industry-specific boards are far more interesting for our company in terms of sourcing. And even at that, the social media channel is truly becoming the rising star. We just haven’t properly harnessed it’s full potential in our company yet.
I still browse through the printed newspaper sales employment section which is a bit of a misnomer in itself. Our Sunday newspaper presented a whopping 10 sales ads recently. The positions ranged from auto sales to debt collections to kiosk sales. It was brutal…and foretelling.
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