Remember the times when a job title described the job itself? Generally speaking, teachers would teach, farmers would farm and doctors would diagnose.
More recently, recruiters have started advertising much more complex positions, such as ‘problem solving self-starter with the ability to liaise with stakeholders in a high performing team at an upcoming boutique agency’. I’m sorry, what? The world of recruitment is flooded with clichés, buzzwords and meaningless jargon. Here, Carl Plant CEO of digital technology expert bITjAM examines how technology can help recruiters and candidates speak the same language.
The communication issues between employers and candidates are extremely evident, especially amongst younger jobseekers and university graduates. In a report by global education organisation City & Guilds, 62 percent of young people admitted that they don’t understand what employers are looking for in new recruits. Considering some of the job descriptions out there, it’s an unsurprising figure. In fact, industry jargon and complex buzzwords in job adverts can bewilder candidates of any age. Overall, 14 percent of candidates surveyed said they found this kind of recruitment industry language intimidating.
On the other hand, jobseekers who can understand and see through this kind of terminology are more likely to be put off the role entirely. 57 percent of people surveyed by a different study said industry jargon deters them from pursuing a vacancy. After all, if a recruiter has had to sugar-coat the job description to such an incomprehensible level, the role might not be that great in the first place.
Looking at it from the other perspective, 54 percent of employers surveyed stated that they are regularly irritated by the wording candidates use in job applications. Furthermore, one in five recruiters admitted that CV jargon was their biggest bugbear. So why are recruiters and jobseekers using this kind of confusing terminology? To stop this endless cycle of clichés, it’s time recruiters began defining the job and not the candidate. bITjAM are currently working towards creating an app that helps school-levers and university graduates, make the most of their skills and professional experience outside of conventional qualifications.
The Passport app is designed to reinvent the way candidates and employers communicate by recognising the skills of fresh graduates and making them easier to match to the requirements of employers. The world of recruitment needs to go back to basics and strip back the jargon, buzzwords and endless clichés that populate job adverts and CVs alike.
