ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Writing job ads, or how to interpret the clueless

Updated on August 5, 2013
Source

The trouble with job ads for writers is that they are obviously written by people who have absolutely no idea what the job entails. The usual writing job ad is a sort of shopping list created by a committee. In between the typos and the obvious desire to fill in space with unnecessary details you'll find shining examples of total incomprehension.

In commercial writing, ads are sourced from a spectrum ranging from total illiteracy to levels of expertise. Opinions vary, but the general impression is that these ads are written by people who don't read, can't, or shouldn't. Strictly speaking, bureaucrats are not particularly good readers, fuss pot middle managers can't read at all, and the "high social IQ" brigade have absolutely no understanding of writing at all.

Symptoms

  • Words per minute: The classic symptom of somebody who has absolutely no idea what writing is all about is the words per minute syndrome in a job ad. Writers aren't typists. We create content, not commodities.
  • Word count: Good writers can say in three words what bad writers can't say in an entire book. Good writers provide perspective, bad writers provide animal fodder.
  • Content quality: Good writers produce original materials, bad writers simply quote or rehash other people. People looking for "market standard" writing are simply looking for materials to board their readers to death. Lack of emphasis on perspective and insights simply means that they have no idea what writing is all about. (Also means that they have no idea what SEO is all about, or anything else.)
  • Recruiters: Recruiters are usually given a shopping list of standardized content for their ads. This usually means that some middle manager has unearthed the job description, and hasn't bothered to check the actual requirements of the job.
  • Style guides: These dinosaurs infest the writing market like lice. It's not as though readers sit there solemnly reading with a style guide in hand looking for breaches of protocols or other cataclysmic events. Readers want information and/or entertainment; they do not want anachronisms, arcane grammar, or other basically useless content. Nor, coincidentally, do they need these things.

The most likely situation with most job ads for writers is that any relevant creative content person is simply not involved in the process. The result is that the employer will receive the usual 98% of absolutely useless submissions and everyone will appreciate how hard they worked to find a writer. As a matter of fact, hard work is usually created by people doing things the wrong way.

The real problem is that most of these job ads are a total waste of time for writers. The amount of actual information provided is pathetic. A simple link would tell writers whether or not they can work on that site or not. It would also tell writers a lot about the advertiser. I was just looking at a job ad for "very high quality writers" to discover that the site itself was a start-up, with no content and therefore no credibility. There are variations on this theme, but if you research advertisers, you can save yourself a lot of time by simply editing out the rubbish.

When looking at job ads, discard the ads you can't research, office worker-like shopping lists, anything that looks like clerical/admin work, and anything obviously written by a psychotic cretin. It will save you a lot of time, frustration, and you're not missing much by not getting jobs like those. Be fussy, be cynical, and take your time assessing the job ads. You'll be very glad that you did.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)