The Paper Chase

I started thinking about the purpose of job descriptions as I was taking a shower today. Why was I thinking of that in the shower? Beats me. I think of lots of strange things there. It's probably one of the very few times during my day when I'm not distracted by things going on around me.

Anyhoo, getting back to my first statement... I was thinking how job descriptions pigeonhole people into specific jobs according to their past job experience. I think I mentioned this before in a previous post, The Measure of Man's Worth. From reading some job requirements, it seems that employers want the world. I understand that many companies have downsized and employees are often required to take on additional responsibilities, but judging from what I've read, some of the requirements seem a bit overly ambitious. There is just so much time in the day. To be able to wear all the hats that some employers want would require a person to have lived only to work and not to live. Either that or perhaps the employer is looking for someone with years of experience, but I doubt that that is always the case. Wouldn't it be better for a company to find someone who has gotten a lot out of life by being able to experience it outside of work and contribute some of that experience to the company instead of being programed to meet job requirements? And wouldn't an employee have a more balanced, satisfying and richer life if there were less job demands on him? A happier employee might stay longer at a company and would contribute more if permitted. Leaving a job is always disruptive for both the employer and the employee and his family. I see it as a win-win situation.

Another requirement that bothers me has to do with degrees. A degree is almost always a requirement for a decent job, but not only must there be a degree, but it must be an industry-specific degree. Heaven forbid that someone without that degree should have the gall to think and learn on their own! Self motivation, one of the characteristics of an achiever, is rarely ever seen in the list of requirements.

We have become so industrialized that, in most companies, it seems that everyone needs to have a specific skill set to play a specific role. With everyone set into their tidy little niche, company hierarchies become more inflexible, which makes it frustrating for those who are qualified to advance to better, more suitable positions within an organization.