Before you guys start shouting, this post doesn’t directly concern advertising and we are aware of that. It’s about a Toronto web design firm called Vestra Inet (cool name) which is looking to hire a Content Writer and SEO specialist. Here’s the listing.
It’s a pretty standard gig, really–one that will require the eventual job holder to edit stuff for clients’ websites to make them more search engine friendly while also handling their social media and basically being a functional writer of copy that would almost certainly never be described as “creative.”
There are a few more qualifiers, like top applicants being adept at “Conversing with clientele in regards to their desired website content” and speaking Russian and possessing those superior organizational skills that should really never appear in a job description ever again.
But wait. Here’s the key line from the bottom of the listing:
“Please note that the Position requires filling in the responsibilities of a receptionist, so female candidates are preferred.”
…and a screenshot just in case.
The listing went live a couple of weeks ago, but we saw it today when content strategist Kristina Halvorson shared it and someone brought it to the attention of Cindy Gallop, who also shared it. And then some helpful anonymous tipster also sent it our way just to make sure it passed before our eyes at some point today.
After Halvorson’s tweet, a bunch of LinkedIn users let Vestra Inet know how they felt about this listing.
We personally like strategist Daniel Gericther’s entry:
“I applied and I was told that for my interview I have to wash the CEO’s Ferrari in a bikini. I would much rather discuss my portfolio.”
We think it goes without saying that no major creative agency would write a job description like this one in 2015. But take this post as proof that such things do still exist!
Thankfully, we enlightened bros in media never have to deal with such regressive sexism. For example, Gawker is currently hiring, and that organization has never had any problem with women according to its former employees.