Looking for an employee able to work in a team and work independently?

It is not unusual to find these kind of requirements in a job offer, but what is the real meaning behind them?

We were looking for some job offers and we found this one asking for someone to be able to work in a team environment and work independently. At first we didn’t pay much attention because we are so used to have these words in every job related ad. But then we asked ourselves, aren’t we all able to do that?

In fact we are. Even if you prefer to work independently everyone is able to work in a team environment and vice-versa. Actually most jobs have a combination of both environments. If you are applying for a freelancing position for example, we are going to assume you like to work independently. And if we are talking about an offer for joining a specific team, you have to be able to work in that team environment. But you’ll also have to be able to work independently. There is no such thing as a 100% job working in a team environment.

We wrote this article to tell you about the vices of the HR world. We are so used to the bla bla bla world that sometimes we write things without question the obvious. Recently most jobs offers I looked at are searching for people (or should we say super-heros) with:

– Communication skills (It’s so overrated that it has no meaning at all. Evaluate this in an interview, so don’t bother write it on your resume or select someone who is able to write that)

– Able to work in a team environment but also work independently (Guess what?! You just shorted down your list from 100% to 99%!)

– It’s an internship but you have to have 2 years of experience (Companies are looking for the impossible. They want the best for the smallest price. In the long term it’s not sustainable and you’ll not attract the best people with that kind of offer.)

– Graduates with knowledge in a specific software (Are you aware of most universities’ study program? They are vague and not that much focused on the practical side of the work environment. Instead of looking for someone with that specific knowledge, choose someone who fits the company and position and invest one week to train that person.)

And the list can go on….Now we want to hear from you:

Recruiters: Do you agree? How do you define your job offers’ requirements?

Job Hunters: How many of these do you find and what do you think about them?

http://www.impressiveresumes.net