Do we want Clones?

I saw a job posting today that I think was a new form of typo or misguided thinking. The heading was for a “Clone of Media Supervisor.” I can only imagine the meeting in the recruiting or manager’s office when they were trying to come up with the requirements of the position to include. Finally, someone, sounding rather exasperated, blurted out, “Can’t we just clone the Media Supervisor we just lost?” And, boom, a new title was born.

Nowhere in the posting did the word “clone” ever appear. What did appear was a vague, generic description of the requirements of the position. Things like, “Become actively involved in projects”, “Serve as the main point of contact for vendors”, “Present recommendations”, “prepare reports, day-to-day administration,” and other terms that conveyed nothing about the true expectations of the position. This same organization will wonder why they’re having trouble filling the position. They’ll likely be swamped with inappropriate resumes. Or they will fill it quickly with a completely unprepared or soon-to-be bewildered applicant.

Too many organizations still think of recruiting as “entry level HR”  and fail to recognize the importance of carefully reviewing every vacancy before trying to fill it.

Do we need to replace this person? How has the position changed? What new skills are required to be successful in the role? These and many other questions must be asked each and every time we have an opportunity to add a new team member. We can’t just clone the previous incumbent because then we doom the organization to “same old, same old.” And the acronym for that is So-So and that’s something no organization can afford to be.

One thought on “Do we want Clones?

  1. I recall talking to a recruiter who was looking for someone who had previous experience that seemed totally unrelated to the position. I had all the requirements and skills needed for the job, but not this unrelated prior experience. The recruiter told me that even though she thought I’d be perfect for the job, they wanted someone with this unrelated background. Why? Because the hiring manager and two of his cohorts had the same unrelated prior experience. The interview went great, but they wanted a clone.

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