Corporate Recruiting
Post
Benefits also include 30 days’ vacation and free water in the office toilet.
Job advertisement:
Entrepreneurial thinking & action desired.
Translation:
Sending high-level reports and not stealing printer cartridges from the office.
Background
The majority of job advertisements on popular job portals now contain requirements that demand some variation of “entrepreneurial thinking and action” from the applicant. You’ve probably read phrases such as “start-up mentality”, “entrepreneurial DNA” or “doer personality”. Experience has shown that these are particularly popular with large companies, even though the job title itself suggests that you work at least five levels below management and have to report to at least two direct superiors.
The problem with the use of the phrase “entrepreneurial thinking & action desired” is its inflationary use in job postings and the associated change in meaning. While “entrepreneurial thinking and action” should actually be associated with:
- Freedom to decide on specific areas of responsibility and budget sovereignty
- Autonomous prioritization of projects and tasks
- A certain liability for successful and failed projects alike
Instead, department and division heads have now linked the phrase to new expectations:
- Employee does not come every 20 minutes and ask how a task should be completed
- Employee does not act contrary to the interests of the general public
- Employee understands that I don’t have 20 minutes to listen to all the details of a problem to fully understand it
Today, however, the term “entrepreneurial thinking & acting” is no longer associated with freedom of decision and autonomy.
Remember: Be transparent in job advertisements towards potential applicants and decide beforehand:
a) Is it a position that offers autonomy and decision-making freedom or
b) primarily serves to operationalize predetermined corporate goals.