Reverse Job Post Got Her a Job
I saw this wanted ad on Craigslist:
Coffee is for Closers!
Wanted:
Personnel/Sales Manager to offer NO BULLSHIT job opportunity. No smoke and mirrors. No false claims and promises for “motivated team players”. No inflated salary outlook for “go-getters” that never pay off. Give it to me straight. Don’t think I’ll be in the six-figure range in the next two years, regardless of my toil? Tell me! I’ve lowered my pay standards but certainly not the value I can bring to your company. Have something to sell? Give me something to believe in and I will blow so much sunshine on your product that it will be seen from space. True professional prepared to offer real, honest-to-goodness foot to the pavement effort to the right company. Serious inquiries will get my resume in response.
Apparently she got a tasty job offer very soon after posting.
This went out to subscribers yesterday morning.
The daily issue lands at 6am with one story like this and one thing to do about it. Free.
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Another testimate to the power of honesty in social media.
She is also branding herself. I think “strait shooter”, “hard worker” “painfully honest”.
What is your personal brand? If you had to write a reverse job post like this one, what would it be like?
Joshua Waldman wrote Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies after being laid off twice in six months (2008–2009). He’s changed careers five times and learned firsthand that technology is the job seeker’s biggest advantage. At CareerEnlightenment he shares what actually works.
Loved it, absolutely loved it…IT WORKED for crying-out-loud!!!
I don't care if it got him a job…you don't use fowl language in a resume. and this was a resume. I agree with Genn. I wonder what kind of people this ad attracted. People who use fowl language. Non-professionals.
Autumn wrote:
I used the language because I was anonymous. I knew some of the people that read it might be turned off from the language, but they weren’t necessarily my target audience. People that read it and understood where I was coming from – THAT’s who I wanted to respond. And really, is “Bullshit” that awful of a word anymore? Doesn’t Campbell Brown have a show on CNN with that in the title? I guess it may have been changed to “BS” by now, but we all know what it means, don’t we? That’s the whole point. Cut through the crap and just tell me what you have to offer. It’s about the bottom-line, not the fluff.
The line “Coffee is for closers” actually did come from Glen Gary, Glen Ross as one of your readers pointed out.
Ok everyone. I got a reply from the author of the ad. Her name is Autumn.
“Yes, I did find a job through the ad and received several other inquiries about it. Most were sales positions, which is what I was seeking. The position that I took offered a lot of flexibility and perks (car, blackberry, laptop, etc.) and though it is with a small business, it’s partnered with powerhouse companies that everyone has heard of. Plus, it is in a green industry, which gives me a personal sense of satisfaction.
I wrote the ad after being unemployed for eleven months. I was sick and tired of seeing the same ads posted on the job boards (even careerbuilder and monster and the like are just filled with scams or “non-traditional” job offers. I was frustrated and really posted the ad for the benefit of the rest of the folks that were out there like me, thinking maybe it would give them a laugh.
But then, it worked. :)”
Ok everyone. I got a reply from the author of the ad. Her name is Autumn.
“Yes, I did find a job through the ad and received several other inquiries about it. Most were sales positions, which is what I was seeking. The position that I took offered a lot of flexibility and perks (car, blackberry, laptop, etc.) and though it is with a small business, it’s partnered with powerhouse companies that everyone has heard of. Plus, it is in a green industry, which gives me a personal sense of satisfaction.
I wrote the ad after being unemployed for eleven months. I was sick and tired of seeing the same ads posted on the job boards (even careerbuilder and monster and the like are just filled with scams or “non-traditional” job offers. I was frustrated and really posted the ad for the benefit of the rest of the folks that were out there like me, thinking maybe it would give them a laugh.
But then, it worked. :)”
I don’t know about fowl language, but the foul language would certainly turn some people off. I wouldn’t do it, but since it go thim a job, who are we to complain about how he did it?
.-= Joan Schramm´s last blog ..Do You Want to Be Right, or Do You Want to Be Happy? =-.
I don’t know about fowl language, but the foul language would certainly turn some people off. I wouldn’t do it, but since it go thim a job, who are we to complain about how he did it?
.-= Joan Schramm´s last blog ..Do You Want to Be Right, or Do You Want to Be Happy? =-.
I didn’t see any fowl language. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t anything avian about that job posting at all. 🙂
Oh, and that is exactly the right kind of language to use for real sales managers. Salespeople only act ‘professional’ when they’re in front of non-salespeople. Every seen Boiler Room or Glen Gary, Glen Ross? There’s a reason those movies are the way they are – that’s how hard-core closers talk.
.-= cory huff´s last blog ..test =-.
Some people might find the word “bullshit” offensive. It’s in the very first line of the ad.
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Forgiveness for My Bitter Soul =-.
I didn’t see any fowl language. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t anything avian about that job posting at all. 🙂
Oh, and that is exactly the right kind of language to use for real sales managers. Salespeople only act ‘professional’ when they’re in front of non-salespeople. Every seen Boiler Room or Glen Gary, Glen Ross? There’s a reason those movies are the way they are – that’s how hard-core closers talk.
.-= cory huff´s last blog ..test =-.
Some people might find the word “bullshit” offensive. It’s in the very first line of the ad.
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Forgiveness for My Bitter Soul =-.
I am going to email him and ask. Should have more information for you in a day or so. Remember though, it’s the concept that I’m trying to illustrate, not his bad manners. If there is something to learn from the approach, let’s learn it and leave the other stuff behind.
Joshua, let me ask you something: do you think that without the provocative language that a personal ad like this would have been as successful? Or was the way he talked an important factor in getting noticed?
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Gain Readers For Your Blog: Blogging Communities =-.
I am going to email him and ask. Should have more information for you in a day or so. Remember though, it’s the concept that I’m trying to illustrate, not his bad manners. If there is something to learn from the approach, let’s learn it and leave the other stuff behind.
Joshua, let me ask you something: do you think that without the provocative language that a personal ad like this would have been as successful? Or was the way he talked an important factor in getting noticed?
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Gain Readers For Your Blog: Blogging Communities =-.
I don’t care if it got him a job…you don’t use fowl language in a resume. and this was a resume. I agree with Genn. I wonder what kind of people this ad attracted. People who use fowl language. Non-professionals.
Autumn wrote:
I used the language because I was anonymous. I knew some of the people that read it might be turned off from the language, but they weren’t necessarily my target audience. People that read it and understood where I was coming from – THAT’s who I wanted to respond. And really, is “Bullshit” that awful of a word anymore? Doesn’t Campbell Brown have a show on CNN with that in the title? I guess it may have been changed to “BS” by now, but we all know what it means, don’t we? That’s the whole point. Cut through the crap and just tell me what you have to offer. It’s about the bottom-line, not the fluff.
The line “Coffee is for closers” actually did come from Glen Gary, Glen Ross as one of your readers pointed out.
Wow, it definitely takes a lot of guts to write an ad like that about yourself. I wonder just how many people he turned off because of his “painfully honest” language, compared with the number of people who found it intriguing.
I also wonder if a woman could get away with talking that way, or if instead she’d be perceived as arrogant, bitchy, or too masculine. The work force still has a lot of preconceived notions about how men and women ought to talk.
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Forgiveness for My Bitter Soul =-.
Jenn,
The post was authored by a woman 🙂
(see my comments below to read her reply to my email)
Oh. Well, you called her a “he” in your article: “Apparently he got a tasty job offer very soon after posting.”
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Gain Readers For Your Blog: Blogging Communities =-.
True! And so did my original source for the link. Funny, this whole thing. And it really calls in to question our assumptions. I learned a lot 🙂
Wow, it definitely takes a lot of guts to write an ad like that about yourself. I wonder just how many people he turned off because of his “painfully honest” language, compared with the number of people who found it intriguing.
I also wonder if a woman could get away with talking that way, or if instead she’d be perceived as arrogant, bitchy, or too masculine. The work force still has a lot of preconceived notions about how men and women ought to talk.
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Forgiveness for My Bitter Soul =-.
Jenn,
The post was authored by a woman 🙂
(see my comments below to read her reply to my email)
Oh. Well, you called her a “he” in your article: “Apparently he got a tasty job offer very soon after posting.”
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Gain Readers For Your Blog: Blogging Communities =-.
True! And so did my original source for the link. Funny, this whole thing. And it really calls in to question our assumptions. I learned a lot 🙂