• Able to work in fast paced environment (is this code for chaotic office & overloaded staff?)
• Demonstrated (or proven) track record of ... (is a track record pretty much a given & standard expectation, would you want someone with no track record?) 
• Strong management & interpersonal skills (really, would you hire someone with "weak" management skills?)
• Sense of urgency (I love this one, would they hire someone that does not think the business is important?)
• Managing budget & setting goals
• Excellent written & verbal skills (another great one, so would they hire someone that can't spell or spoke like a teenager?)
• Exceptional and broad grasp of strategic planning 
• Manages the (blank) department (no kidding, that was a helpful nugget of information)
• Aggressive & passionate leader (what does this really mean? A screaming lunatic? Someone that pushes all the time? This could mean a lot of things good or bad)
• Exceptional business acumen (great word acumen, but how does it directly apply to the job?  What specifically does this mean? Would a MBA school prof or a PhD in business be a good candidate?)
• Hands on (love this one too, does that mean they micro manage or do they write their own proposals and do their own power points.  Maybe it's an engineering manager that can't let go and still designs.  Oh, not that hands on.  So what did you mean?)
• One of my personal favorites: computer literacy with MS Office products (this listed on executive or technology positions!  I would really expect any sharp high school or first year college student to have these skills.  Obviously written by someone that still sees MS Windows and Word as a wonder.)

These generalized bullet points don't tell the story of what the you are looking for in this position nor do they explain what you want the person to do.  How do you expect to find the "perfect" person if you don't describe what you are looking for, what you want them to do (the results you want), and the environment (culture) in your company?  Posting generic or generalized job ads is like posting a profile on a dating site with little or no information about you, what you like, and what you want in a companion and then wondering why you are getting responses from everyone from bikers to hikers, and intellectuals to idiots.  You never specified what you wanted and did not explain who you are.  Ditto for job postings.   

An Almost Great Ad...
Last week I saw what I initially thought was a great job ad.  The ad described in detail the corporate culture and environment, the size of the company, even described the daily work environment, how long the company had been in business, and even provided the name of the company.  They explained it was a small company and everyone pitched in and did a lot of different jobs.  They also explained what their goals are and what they wanted the new person in this position to do.  I thought Wow, what a great job ad, I can use this as an example in my blog.  When I went to the company website I got a real shock.  The ad read corporate, but when I went to the website I found out it that while it is a private for profit business, it is a faith based company.  Any of you that follow my Tweets, Own_Your_Future, know that I am very open and outgoing about my Christian faith.  I have no problem with faith based organizations, the only problem here is that the ad made no mention of it and this is a vital piece of information.  It is highly unlikely that someone from another faith, or agnostic, or atheist, would be comfortable working there and probably equally unlikely that they would hire them. 

Vague and generalized job ads lead to hundreds of resumes from the "wrong" people and maybe a bad hire.
So in the end it was a great example for the blog.  This is a great example of how one piece of information missing from an ad can result in hundreds of resumes and applications that are clearly not a fit.  It is a waste of time for both the employer and the job seekers.  And think about it, what if the missing information was not as clear cut as this and an otherwise well qualified candidate shows up, is a "skilled" interviewer, lands the job and then a few months later, to your surprise and theirs, the job is clearly not a fit for either of you. 

Brad Remillard and Barry Deutsch of Impact Hiring Solutions recently wrote a book, "You're NOT the Person I hired".  In their book Brad and Barry talk about their many experiences over 25 years as professional recruiters where companies made poor hiring choices that ultimately ended badly for both company and employee because the company did not really know or define exactly what they were looking for and did a poor job during the hiring process.  On their site they list the Top Ten Hiring Mistakes.   Barry and Brad strongly advise companies to clearly define what they want and expect from the person they hire, what the job and goals are (in detail), what defines success for the position/person, and they also recommend a comprehensive interviewing process (e.g. not the standard "tell me about your weaknesses" or "tell me about your successes" etc.).  Obviously this is a complex topic and to much for this blog.  For more information see their site and book. 

So what's the bottom line here? 
By now it's pretty apparent that my position is that a detailed and specific job ad is a vital first step in hiring the right person.  I firmly believe that you should share as much information as possible about the company culture, work environment (be honest), what the position entails, what you want and expect (what would success look like), and if it is a management position what management style fits with your company.

One last thought...
With so many people on the job market there is a tendency to make laser focused experience requirements demanding that candidates come from exactly the same industry.  I completely understand this as many industries like High Tech, Pharma, Medical, etc. are truly unique and it takes time to learn the industry.  But consider this, in my career as a CEO and VP I worked primarily in the High Tech industry.  With that said, I successfully switched from RF/microwave components, to semiconductors, to software, and then to industrial computers and LCDs.  While all of these were high tech electronic companies, the technology was VERY different at each, add to that the fact that some were primarily military electronics and others were commercial (conventional wisdom is that one cannot cross these lines).  I successfully led and turned around the companies I worked at, built great teams, and delivered excellent results.  My point here is that strictly speaking, I never had the exact industry or product experience for any company I went to.  What I brought was leadership and management skills and surprisingly this is seldom mentioned on job ads or position descriptions because everyone is so focused on "tangible" skills and experience. 

Hmmm, maybe a future blog on leadership and management vs. "industry" experience requirements. 

As always I wish you the best and brightest future
Bill Grunau