Rehumanizing How We Describe Work And Who We Are

As a writer, I tend to take notice more how words are used and over-used. An area where rhetoric – “the art of effective speaking or writing” and a class you likely took your freshman year at university – has some severe deficiencies is Job Descriptions. I get that most are written by Human Resources (HR) departments covering the basics and checking boxes for positions. But they seem to have fallen into either a mundane unremarkable-ness or hyperbolic dude-bro dialect...none of which present a desirable opportunity in which a person wants to commit 8+ hours a day of their life to, five days a week. 

I understand that in the digital back-and-forth most Human Resources departments work with a sourcing company that has key-wording and algorithms to hit. I get that they are inundated with resumes and applications that also are filtered to target those keywords and metrics. But has it ever occurred to anyone how dehumanizing the whole thing is and how HR will likely miss the gold for all the analytical dross thrown their way by a bot? Most of the recruiters I've interacted with all say that they are somewhat embarrassed by the job descriptions they have to send out, knowing that HR missed the mark.

So, I decided to take on the "Job Description" as if I were writing it about myself as an opportunity worth embracing. I use the royal “we” as a nod to the common company lingo self-identifiers. And it sounds more fun. (I now get why the Queen uses it) It has the same structure as your joe-schmo description but that's where the similarities end: 

Here at me, we like work that is generative, have fun, live in true balance, pursue challenges that make us and others better and are always looking for the priceless riches of authentic stories. We don’t go around saying how great we are and how we are “crushing” it, “killing” it, or any other kitschy phrases to make us look good. We are the best thing you subtly notice and drastically miss if we are gone. Kind of like salt. 

We write. We photograph. We connect dots and people and create opportunities for spectacular outcomes. Some call it strategy but that has its origins as a military term and we aren’t fighting a war. We are looking for ways to make things better, to catalyze third-way creations.

Here is some of what we’ve done:

Going on 16 years, we’ve created digital marketing solutions for small and large businesses and nonprofits; we’ve worked with C-Suites to unveil messaging and communicate it in an authentic way; we’ve photographed celebrities, bands, icons, critical and subtle moments, and helped turn these into branding, social media campaigns, and marketing design. We’ve, also, worked with completely unknown circumstances to find healthy, sustainable solutions; helped businesses who weren’t sure what they are about discover their core identity and turn it into a business plan. We look for the truest story waiting to be told by the very ones who own it.

Responsibilities include:

• Copywriting and editing across numerous varying media and platforms.
• Interviewing and speech writing for executives
• Critical analysis of marketing, design, and business approaches that create stronger, clearer plans.
• Integrated Digital Marketing transforming disjointed online presences into cohesive messaging. 
• Website creation that helps small businesses present a digital storefront that stands out among the chatter.
• Mentoring (which is more than just managing) creative, talented, fierce individuals in a variety of context from an office/agency to field operations.
• Developing new areas of business within a startup
• Animating ideas into pragmatic realities  

Some common knowledge that seems basic but ticks that box you are looking for:

• Write, design, and execute email campaigns for inbound, event, product, and fundraising marketing.
• Create editorial calendars covering key goals with flexible space to adjust for cultural and market variables.
• Dance between Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• A detailed approach to content creation.
• A general knowledge of SEO practices even as the goalposts move every few months. 
• And many more of the common sense stuff that comes with years of experience. 

We are weary of the way things have been done, the jostling and ego-inflating approach to nearly every aspect of what people call “work”. Work is a good thing that has it’s best outcomes when centered in relationships. We believe bottom-lines in a ledger do look better when they are built on generative connections. If you see something here that plucks a note, let’s talk. 

 
A little bit of irreverence and joviality about the kind of person, work, values, and skills that come with me. It may not trigger a keyword metric or match the given robots filtering system. But then who wants to work for a robot? I thought the point was for them to work for us bringing coffee and cleaning the house? (I’m looking at you, Rosie, from The Jetsons). 

Building and creating things isn't a battle to be won at the cost of others; nor does it need to be the mundane "time to make the donuts" approach that is a leftover notion from a 20th century generation. We can rethink how we talk about work and how we frame the jobs we are all so desperately attempting to either fill or find. In many ways, a job description is where the story begins, so, what if we begin the story with a little more humanity and creativity?

How would you approach your life if work was an opportunity to make the world a better place, starting with the world right before your eyes?