This post originally appeared on LinkedIn

Yesterday I wrote a bit about “employer brand,” and how the content a company puts out into the world can influence who wants to come work with you. Today I'm going to rant about the opposite. 😬

While cruising the job listings here on LI, I came across one that turned me off instantly. Like, I didn’t even get past the intro.

Right at the top, this company brags that “we have dominated the US market for {industry},” followed by a product vision that’s probably supposed to be inspiring but reads as pure arrogance. Really? That’s how you talk about yourselves? How you see yourselves? How you introduce yourselves? As a dominating force? One that’s going to “make people better humans in every aspect of life”?!

Ew. Gross.

First impressions matter. How you frame your job description tells me not only about the job, but about who you are, what you value, and what you prioritize.

So the message I got was that this company has delusions of godhood and prioritizes domination (jeez, what an aggressive, ugly word) over being a great place to work.

Nope. Absolutely not. Buh-bye.

I’m not interested in dominating anything or “making people better” (sound of whip-cracks and moans of agony). I want to help people, and to work with a company that cares more about adding value than pumping itself up. Sure, leading a market segment (if true, but I kinda doubt it) is something to be proud of. But “WE RULE ALL” is probably not the very first thing you should say to someone who’s never heard of you. That just makes you sound like the muscle-bound jerk in those old comic book fitness ads, kicking sand in everyone else’s face.

Perhaps I’m being unfair to this company. Maybe they just chose their words poorly (and really, really need someone like me to put a stop to that). But I will not waste my time trying to find out. Let them play at being king of the sandbox. I’ll take my talents to a friendlier place.

End of rant. 😄