{"id":70323,"date":"2014-04-15T17:08:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T17:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/geese-job-advert\/"},"modified":"2014-04-15T17:08:09","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T17:08:09","slug":"geese-job-advert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/geese-job-advert\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing a goose with a klaxon: the language of recruitment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An unusual job posting caught my eye recently. I love being a copywriter, but the prospect of being a \u2018Goose Scarer\u2019 was one I just had to look into.<br \/>\nRoehampton University is seeking a \u2018plucky\u2019 candidate to chase away the Canadian geese that are using the campus lawns as a bed-sit. The new recruit needs to be in good physical health, as they\u2019ll be roaming the field to try and out-honk the gaggle. Incidentally, did you know that the flock is only called a gaggle while the geese are on the ground? As soon as they take off, they become an upwardly mobile \u2018skein\u2019 of geese instead.<br \/>\nThe type of language used in recruitment can often be quite dry. Words such as \u2018experienced\u2019, \u2018challenging role\u2019, \u2018self-starter\u2019 and \u2018fast-paced environment\u2019 have come to lose all meaning. We took a brief look at some of the hundreds of general PA and admin job listings on recruitment sites, and discovered that the wording is oddly similar across the board.<br \/>\nAlmost all of the postings are seeking someone \u2018experienced\u2019, even for positions that seem fairly entry-level in their scope and requirements. In one instance, we saw \u2018experience\u2019 used five times within a job description of only 200 words. You\u2019ll need \u2018effective communication skills\u2019 or \u2018interpersonal skills\u2019, which presumably means the ability to form coherent sentences and not alienate colleagues. We have also seen some clangers: what exactly is a \u2018good telephone <strong>manor<\/strong>\u2019?<br \/>\nThis \u2018Goose Scarer\u2019 vacancy sounds far more exciting: the successful applicant will receive \u2018FULL TRAINING\u2019 in all caps. You get to use a honking great klaxon to encourage each obstinate goose to move.<br \/>\nUnfortunately for me, the very first item on the list of \u2018skills and experience\u2019 required for the position is: \u2018not afraid of geese\u2019. That takes me out of the running straight away. Although, as at least one person commented on Twitter, maybe \u2018not afraid to say boo to a goose\u2019 would have been a great alternative.<br \/>\nDoes anything irk you about recruitment copy? Does the requirement to \u2018work well independently and as part of a team\u2019 make you want to lock yourself in a darkened room? Share your thoughts and any examples you\u2019ve seen in the comments below or by tweeting <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/strattoncraig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@strattoncraig<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An unusual job posting caught my eye recently. I love being a copywriter, but the prospect of being a \u2018Goose Scarer\u2019 was one I just had to look into. Roehampton University is seeking a \u2018plucky\u2019 candidate to chase away the Canadian geese that are using the campus lawns as a bed-sit. The new recruit needs [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chasing a goose with a klaxon: the language of recruitment - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting &amp; Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/geese-job-advert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chasing a goose with a klaxon: the language of recruitment - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting &amp; Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An unusual job posting caught my eye recently. 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