Are you tired of job advertisements that raise your expectations and hopes only to dash them once you’ve learned more? Promises of flexible hours and a friendly work environment often fall flat once you arrive on the scene of the job, so you no longer believe the want-ad hype. Who can blame you? Certainly not Julien Viard of Australia, who is responsible for posting what might just be the worst job advertisement in all of history.
(Photo Credit: neetalparekh/Flickr)
He posted his ad on the Australian job website Seek, and he did it because he was sick of the misleading job descriptions he often saw on the site.
“…I find that a lot of ads are overselling jobs, and very few ads give you a actual insight into what the job is.” Viard told Mashable Australia in a recent interview. “So I decided to go for the complete opposite. It was instead of writing ‘the greatest job on the planet,’ ‘best money in town,’ ‘best location,’ and ‘greatest team.’ Everyone aspires to be the best company in town, but there’s always bad stuff about it.”
The Honest Trailers Version of a Job Ad
Instead of exaggerating the upsides of the job, Viard went in exactly the opposite direction. Describing this particular Senior Digital Producer job as the, “worst job in town” in a “poor location.” And, to boot he added, “paying below market.” The ad continued:
“With poor processes, a below average client folio, and a bunch of at best mediocre staff, they’re still giving it a crack and are desperate to hire a Senior Producer.”
By this point, the attention of the reader is secure and the point can really be driven home…
“They don’t value work life balance at all. It’s all about work and they’re not even paying for beers on Friday. Who would want to have a drink there anyway? The office looks terrible, there’s no natural light, it hasn’t been renovated in years and I’ve heard that some staff don’t even shower. If you’re looking for a great place to work where you’ll be valued, have a career and be looked after, please move on, this job isn’t for you.”
A Typical Day at the Worst Office Ever
The finer points are further articulated in the how your “day to day will be spent” section of the advertisement. Viard describes a typical day:
“1. Managing a bunch of lazy egotistic creatives and developers. 2. Managing clients who are constantly annoyed (I’m being polite!) 3. Delivering more with less, i.e. working with ridiculously small budgets for large projects! 4. Forget about modern software and tools, it’s all about spreadsheets, baby! 5. Asking yourself why you took this job and what’s your next move.”
The ad finally, mercilessly, ends by asking the reader, “Why are you still reading this?” before providing a contact number and the explanation, “Maybe you too are sick of reading the same overselling job ads. If you’re after an honest conversation about your next move, then give me, Julien, a call…”
Apparently, the job itself isn’t a joke though. The ad’s author says that, in fact, it’s a really good job for an actual digital producer role, and that he’s enjoyed having conversations about the ad with the people who’ve responded thus far.
One thing’s for sure, Viard certainly found a new way to get job seekers’ attention….
Tell Us What You Think
What do you think would be the worst thing an employer could say in a job advertisement? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
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