HR Insight-article
Hccadc1
6 Posts
In HR Insight there is a "Crack the Corporate Code" article that talks about what a statement in an ad means. For example:
"Competitive Pay"--We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.
The one that stuck out to me is:
Apply in person: If you're old, fat or ugly, you'll be told the position has been filled.
In my opinion, that is completely ridiculous--isn't it?? I would hope that as HR professionals we would not turn a qualified applicant away because s/he was old, fat, or ugly. If it is not ridiculous then the people who do this get the type of candidates they deserve. (again, in my humble opinion)
Any thoughts on this??
"Competitive Pay"--We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.
The one that stuck out to me is:
Apply in person: If you're old, fat or ugly, you'll be told the position has been filled.
In my opinion, that is completely ridiculous--isn't it?? I would hope that as HR professionals we would not turn a qualified applicant away because s/he was old, fat, or ugly. If it is not ridiculous then the people who do this get the type of candidates they deserve. (again, in my humble opinion)
Any thoughts on this??
Comments
fast paced environment - translation: we are always in crisis mode
self-starter needed - translation: there will be no one to help or train you
Whether or not there is a code or not is hard to say. I always start my employment ads: "Live and Work at the Beach!" and that has been pretty successful. No code needed.
This is Celeste Blackburn, managing editor of HR Insight. I wanted to chime in here and let you know that the article in question was meant to be funny.
Recently, executive editor Ralph Gaillard and I have been working on improving the newsletter. One of the changes we've made is to remove the "HR Lite" and "What Bugs You" features. We both felt those "fluff" pieces were were taking valuable space that could be used to inform and educate our readers. August was the last issue to contain either.
Personally, I feel much more comfortable finding articles that concentrate on tips, strategies, and policies that HR professionals can use than I do deciding what is funny and what isn't.
Thank you for helping to confirm that our decision to move away from attempts at humor was the correct one. I welcome any other thoughts or insights you may have about the publication. Please feel free to post them here or to write me directly at [email]cblackburn@mleesmith.com[/email].
Celeste Blackburn
Good luck!
Nae
Out of a silly article can come a grain of truth. When we interview, I often remind the staff that we may need to put our thumb on the hiring scale to balance the equation in some cases. By this, I mean that the natural human response to an attractive person is positive and likewise, negative to a homely or otherwise unattractive person. We need to factor this into our decisions by looking beyond appearance to talent skill and ability as predictors of success in the work place.
In regards to the other posts--I didn't get the humor part and I guess that was my downfall. I agree we need Humor in HR--sometimes it is way too serious (because it needs to be). That was my first post with this name, but I have been on this site for a long time. I had to change my name due to the fact that I couldn't get into my other name (HCCADC).