Answer #4: What did you expect from employees who drink the Corporate Kool-Aid and are true believers?! This is Corporate Cheerleading in Print! The ads are going to display tremendous pride and enthusiasm. Chances are the person who wrote it really believes the stuff in print. Poor thing - he or she is the "Frank Luntz" of the company. Here's some fun corporate-speak standard descriptors and what I think about when I see them:
"Competitive Salary" = We, too, are paying as poorly as our competitors.
"Outstanding Corporate Leader in XYZ Field" = We haven't been investigated for something...yet.
"Growth Opportunity " = We'll give you a title and a shit-load of responsibilities and keep your rate of pay pretty much the same; a token promotion and raise to you is still cheaper than hiring another person
"Flexible Work Schedule" = You will flex your life schedule around our needs; notsomuch the other way around - unless we "have to" per FMLA...
"We Pay for Performance" = We only budget a tiny amount of money for raises, so either you are the cream of the crop (and put your tasteful pump heel onto the forehead of your coworkers while climbing the corporate ladder) or you will not "merit" an increase. Corporate Darwinism at the Employee Level - what a concept!
"Award-Winning Corporate Culture" = We paid a LOT of money for some "flavor-of-the-day" new and improved program or somebody on our Executive Team got a hair brained idea that didn't cost a dime...kinda like "It's a Great Day in South Carolina."
Anyway...back to the point at hand...
Right now people are grateful to get an interview; rate of pay is secondary on applicants’ minds and companies know it.
HOWEVER if you ARE interviewing and you are thinking of money in the first interview, shame on you. Why? You need to tune in to whether this is a good fit for you, or whether, if you accept, you’ll be editing your resume in a month and praying each an every day to be hit by a taxi en route to work.
Whether you answer an ad or get a referral from a friend, salary is going to be lower than it "should be" - or was during the dot com era - and that’s because of the overall employment market, not because an ad has “psyched you out.” Right now, people with 20 years of leadership experience and expertise are tripping over each other for entry-level jobs with decent benefits. Sad, but true.
On a happy note, though, no ad - even one written with the magic poison pen of a Koch Brother's evil minion - can "magically remove" your negotiating skills when it comes time to discuss such things.
You are correct in believing some ads do have a “higher purpose.” Recruiters and hiring managers look for people who have customized their cover letters and resumes to fit the corporate-speak of the organization. We also look to see whether applicants have included key "skills and experience" words and phrases from the ad, thus proving they were actually paying attention.
Attention to detail is a highly employable trait; a great cover letter and tailored resume is the first opportunity a would-be new employee has to demonstrate this skill. As a hiring manager, when I received a generic cover letter and a resume that did not speak specifically to points listed in the job description my thought was that the applicant wanted A job, but wasn’t too excited about THIS job, at least not excited enough to take an extra few minutes and customize it.
If an ad offers your dream job, you are going to do everything in your power to make a good first impression. Your are going to go a step beyond the “standard resume and cover letter."
Also, kids...spelling counts...and if you're editing a resume or cover letter do a "search" to ensure you've changed all the previous...tailoring. Nothing will get your application in the circular file faster than sending your "Pepsi" resume to "Coke."
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