Don’t call us…
Dr Mumbo was delighted to hear that Mumbrella had a satisfied customer after Liquid Ideas used the site’s free job board to advertise a vacancy to join the PR agency’s team in Alexandria.
But agency boss Stuart Gregor was slightly surprised to get this response from one applicant:
Good morning,
Actually i was looking to apply for this position but it sounds like a company that want your blood and don’t want to pay for it.
As if I am gonna get off on wanky media meetings and clients.
Of course their is no mention of money and what bonuses their is for acheiving staff apart from “being loved”.
I will stick to my 9-5 job in healthcare. How dare you put us down. We turn over more $ than you wankers.”
Regards, a non-Eastern suburbs job seeker
Showing admirable restraint, Gregor replied: “Thanks for your email, it was a revelation, I am still reeling – I am sure you will have a long and successful career in public relations and wish you well on your journey.”
God bless Gen Y Should I!
User ID not verified.
are their bonuses for riting rl gud inglish?
User ID not verified.
I have to agree with the person who emailed. I saw the advertisement as well and laughed my ar$e off. It has nothing to do with being Generation Y. I am Generation X and I know how to work long hours.
You can tell a lot about a company by the way they act in an interview because they are often quite unguarded. I understand that this is an employer’s market and we’re in a financial crisis but employees also have a right to interview employers as well. It works both ways.
I can tell a lot about the company culture by your advertisement alone and it’s certainly not a company that I would be comfortable working for. You sounded like a bunch of tossers who are constantly patting yourself on the backs and telling yourselves how brilliant you are. Meanwhile, when you finally get home after your 7am to 10pm day, you are miserable and drowning your sorrows, telling everyone in sight how much you hate your colleagues and wondering how you ever got in this mess. The only bonus is that you would get a discount on alcohol!
I got shivers reading this advertisement thinking about the office politics, the b*tchiness and the nasty office culture. No doubtedly someone who worked in health would be able to recognise a toxic workplace when the saw one. I’m quite positive they would get paid more money and get better benefits as well.
“Work your butt off late at night, early in the morning and at weekends” – thanks but no thanks.
User ID not verified.
This is the full advertisement that still appears on Seek if you’re interested. It’s very tame compared to the link Mumbrella supplied.
Please don’t apply if you are just looking for a job.
Only apply if you are looking for a lifestyle, a role of complete immersion. We only work on the best lifestyle, leisure and luxury brands in the business and we only expect complete passion, bordering on obsession for our business and our clients.
You have to want to live the Liquid Ideas lifestyle.
If you want a 9-5 PR job, look elsewhere – maybe healthcare or IT . . .
Liquid Ideas is a specialist marketing and public relations business based in Alexandria, Sydney. We have a staff of 15. Our clients are the best in their field – drinks, food, travel, sport, hospitality.
If you are a discerning consumer you’ve drunk our wine, played our sports, eaten at our restaurants, stayed in our hotels and been to our parties.
If you haven’t heard of our clients then we really don’t want to hear from you.
Reporting to one of our Account Directors, the main focus of the Account Manager role is to lead and assure the retention of long term quality client relationships. You will need to:
Be creative
Be pro-active
Be a great time manager
Work your butt off late at night, early in the morning and at weekends
Be obsessed by the media in all its forms
Be loved by your clients, the media, your co-workers and your boss
Be a brilliant, fast and incredibly accurate writer
Be great at meetings knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em
Have at least three to five years experience in a similar role
Have experience in or a keen interest in our areas of work
The benefits and opportunity that this position offers:
Are countless, believe us. Ask someone who has worked for or with us – they’ll explain.
User ID not verified.
I assume then that the employment contract would set out the hours involved in the role and provide a salary that was at least minimum wage given the hours worked. Chortle. I think this ad is actually a good thing as it details exactly the sort of person they want. I see it as someone obsessed with imagine, the trappings of success and general vacuousness. It’s also a clever way of saying don’t apply if you have kids in school. I think the person who fits their description would be great at doing the p.r for Gardening Australia Magazine.
User ID not verified.
I like this ad a lot. It may not be the ideal job for a lot of people, but at least it’s refreshing and honest. I think Liquid Ideas been very upfront about what sort of person they are after, to whittle it down. They may well want blood from their employees; but they’re not trying to trick people into believing otherwise. After all – no one’s being forced to apply!
Companies who make promises they can’t or won’t deliver, like ‘a highly autonomous role’ and then micro-manage to the hilt, or ‘good work/life balance’ – and expect you to be there on weekends and late at night are far worse, in my opinion.
User ID not verified.
Good point Charlie because as soon I saw this advertisement, my immediate thought was there is no way in hell I’m going to work at a place like that. It may be better the devil you know but remember it’s still the devil.
Companies should be offering their employees a work/life balance and not expecting them to work back nights, early in the morning and in the weekends.
I can see how this would attract young, single people but those people grow up, get married and have babies and their priorities change. Are their jobs expected to change with this? The answer to that question by the way Charlie is a ‘no’ in case you were wondering.
And if you want blood from your employees, then don’t be surprised if someone turns around and writes you an email like that and tells you where you can stick your job.
User ID not verified.
.. and some eople wonder why PR struggles to be accepted as a ‘profession’ ..
User ID not verified.
Probably Stuart thought he was pretty creative in his ad. But then again the recession will not last forever and the employers trying to squeeze blood will have theirs curdled very soon.
User ID not verified.
It’s actually a great ad now I see it in full. The copy and the tone tell you exactly what sort of place it is and what’s expected.
I’d hate to work there; most normal people would. But they don’t want a normal person. They want a person who really buys into their ‘lifestyle’.
Hundreds of job seekers will be spared the bother of writing cover letters and massaging the CV. It’s refreshingly honest.
User ID not verified.
Here’s another effective job ad. Very funny.
http://www.seek.co.nz/users/ap.....d=15765549
User ID not verified.
I’ll tell you one thing Stuart has done. He’s managed to get all of you talking about it. That’s PR I guess. He must know what he’s doing. If I was interested in PR I’d certainly consider the role. And Rebecca…you fail to recognise the responsibility of the employee in managing their own life. The choice is theirs alone, both in applying for the role or a few years down the track when their life changes and the role no longer suits. Will Liquid Ideas be flexible enough to support that lifestyle change? Depends on how valuable they’ve become. That too is their choice entirely. Just because someone pays your wages it doesn’t make them accountable for every inch of your life. Make a decision! Make a commitment! Be accountable for yourself. Stuart has.
User ID not verified.