Eulogy for Job Descriptions

Ok, not all of them. Just the ones that ask for characteristics that don’t co-exist in normal human beings.

I spoke at a career development group last week and one question, from a man who hires sales people, still has my attention. He wanted to know if he really needed job descriptions. Not if they keep you from hiring good people and treating them well is the only answer I have.

Job descriptions that call for sales people to be *highly organized* should be shot on sight. No mercy, since they have none for the people they hurt. Read my lips: you get great sales or you get great organization. Not both (unless the individual also happens to have wings and halo.) Making sales people get trained in organizational skills makes no sense. Get a good sales admin person and let them do the organizing.

Remember this: