No Bueno

I came across a very amusing/ unfortunate Tumblr page today that highlights companies who list "he" or "him" in their job descriptions and hence, inadvertently looks like they are only hiring men for the role. #headslap (Is it kosher to add a hashtag to a blog post? Probably not, but this is my blog, so I get to make the rules.)

To protect the names of the innocent (companies), I'm not going to list that Tumblr link here... because we recruiters have to stick together! However, I do want to point out how recruiters can sidestep this pesky little landmine, and avoid looking like a big, fat discriminator. 

I have mentioned before that I'm passionate about grammar because my mother was an English teacher and beat proper language in to me growing up (and posture, but that's a different story). I think I remember her teaching me that "he" was gender-neutral and could be used to insinuate either a man or woman. Really though, it depends on the reader who is deciphering the language rather than the intention of the writer, and it's easier to control the language than it is the perception. Perhaps it's for this reason that protocol has shifted in recent years. 

NOW, it appears that the rule of thumb is to avoid gender-specific language and only to use alternatives like "he" or "she" if there is no way to rewrite the sentence without the pronouns. (This technique should be used to avoid sentences with prepositions, as well - it takes practice, though.) And for the love of Pete, "they" shouldn't be used to take the place of a gender-specific pronoun. 

Let me clarify with some examples:

Wrong: A good recruiter takes their job very seriously.

Less Wrong: A good recruiter takes his or her job very seriously.

Best: A good recruiter takes the job very seriously.

OR 

Wrong: A recruiter must communicate clearly with their candidates.

Less Wrong: A recruiter must communicate clearly with his or her candidates. 

Best: A recruiter must communicate clearly with candidates. 

See what I did there? 

Anyway, sometimes recruiters aren't even the ones writing the job descriptions that we post online, but we are still responsible for them. Take the time to review your job descriptions to make sure they're compelling, legally compliant, and grammatically correct. OR you're going to end up on some Tumblr blog and never hear the end of it for the rest of your career. Mmmkay?

Miss Recruiter