I’m finally doing the damn thing. I’m writing a book about the 100-year research study I’ve done on job postings. Honestly, all this took way too long. I had to convince myself this book was worth writing. That it’s worth reading. I’ve started several times before and just thought, “This is a training, not a book.” I turned it into a training and then as I watched all these stupid headlines about “quiet quitting DEI,” I knew it was about time to start the book again.

Here’s why. It’s hard to look forward on equity without looking back. You can’t get deep into a problem and potential solutions without ever pointing to the history and contexts that showcase why we need the work so badly today. That’s why I want to write this book. We have entire libraries of examples (job posts in newspapers). We can find trends that will teach us how to make a better system, not just a post.

While I find the research fascinating, it’s also heartbreaking. It really sucks to see just how systemic these biases can be. It sucks to know how bias is wrapped around every little detail like a vine that’s growing out of control.

Researching The History Of Job Postings

I’m currently in the phase of my research where my team and I are collecting samples. There are spreadsheets. It’s nerd gold. We’re collecting random samples from each geographical region during specific periods of time to see how they are different, the same, and when new tactics (for example, way too many bullets) appear. What’s really scary to me as I start to dig deeper is just how little job postings have changed since the very first one.

The first Help Wanted ad, at least according to general records, was around the 1700s for a sailor. It actually answered the questions of what they were doing and why you might not want the job. It said, “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in event of success.”

I mean, you have to give them a little credit. There are no buzzwords, it’s concise, and honest about the benefits. That means it’s already 3x better than most of the job posts you’ll read today. From the 1700s until the internet throughout the history of job postings, very little changed about the posts. I hypothesize that’s at least partially due to the fact that people were paying per word. You’re a lot more thoughtful about what you write when each word is worth a dollar. Oh, and when you’re not stealing labor from people. That’s a chapter, too.

How Much Have Job Postings Really Changed?

When job posts went online, people weren’t paying by the word and let’s just say that’s very obvious. Posts went from 50 words to 500 almost overnight. The value of those extra words? It was limited to say the least. Job posts have been long and full of unnecessary words ever since with a few best in class outliers.

A lot has changed since the 90s when it comes to how people work, so why hasn’t anything changed about the job posting? If we want to transform how we hire, shouldn’t the way we ask change? Those are just a few of the questions we need to answer. Even more so, I want to take a look forward to understand how this center spoke could influence every AI roadmap item you have.

I’d argue that the job posting is the center spoke of a lot of the changes. You want more accurate performance reviews? Make sure they are actually reviewed on the list of tasks they were signed up to do. Need to assess skills? Identify the skills you actually want up front. Tired of hiring people only to have them quit in a few months because it’s not a good fit? A better job posting is a start simply because we are setting better expectations.

Audit Your Job Posts To Look Forward

But first, even inside an organization without the context of the history of job postings, we each need to look back on the job postings we have already used. It’s time for a team to audit their job posts and build a project plan for doing better. If you made it this far, I think you’ll love my upcoming workshop. It’s for people who want to create amazing candidate experiences that are inclusive. Job posts, too.

In this live workshop, we will audit your candidate experience – the job post, careers site, and your application process. I’ll teach you what good means and then, together, we’ll complete an audit of your site. Bonus: you get a copy of my audit to use for life. There are limited seats for this DIY, hands-on, tactical workshop and I won’t be sharing this audit in this format again any time soon. You can register here to join me or email help@threeearsmedia.com to ask questions.

Job Postings history of job postings job postings