I am interested in how cabinet members describe their Local Authority and what better place to look than their recruitment adverts for senior posts. I thought it might fun to characterise the description of place in estate agent speak and add a dash of brutal honesty.
After describing the type of person they are looking for the next step is to say what sort of organisation the successful candidate will be working for. However selling the place for some means presenting it as a challenge, one befitting your talents and experience, somewhere you can enhance your reputation. In estate agent speak it is a , “doer upper“ with bags of potential. Others are, “ much sort after desirable locations”. And then there are the up and coming areas, get in now and see your stock rise with the area/organisation. A brutally honest characterisation might read like these one liners.
Now a little bit about us
We our poor and deprived but we will try any thing -ideas is our Unique Selling Point
We have had our problems in the past -but we have tuned the corner
We know the size of the challenge we face but we are up for it
We our no longer a basket case come and do something sensible here.
You are a big hitter in the little league now come and join the big boys
If you think you’re good enough join us
This is a lovely part of the world
We are ambitious
We have character
An advert is intended to attract strong candidates, it also tells you what’s different about a place and therefore why it is not just a bog standard post that’s being advertised. Increasingly as leading members have more say in the phraseology it revels their thinking , how they see the organisation and how they see the role.
Blair Mcpherson former Director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
