Remember job hunting? I sure try not to. But, when we used to, we may have come across a puzzling ad for a job that seemed bizarre and whimsical.
If you’ve ever worked in a white-collar professional setting, you have likely come across strange job callouts for ‘word wizards’, ‘marketing ninjas’ or ‘accounting rockstars’. You may understand the words, but they make almost zero sense together.
If so, you’ve encountered something called ‘corporate cringe’ – an attempt for corporates, usually startups staffed by a younger demographic, to appear ‘hip’ and ‘with it’ (disclaimer: I am none of these things.)
Even as a (gasp!) millennial myself, I can’t help but wince when I chance upon these – doubly so as a copywriter who prides himself on being clear in his communication. As the great theorist Ernst von Glasersfeld once said, “you can’t not communicate” – so what are these companies trying to say, and what kind of talent are they aiming to attract? If you’re a small business or startup doing the same … why?