WotC WotC is hiring Senior Manager for Diversity, equity and inclusion.

[FrogReaver]

I agree with most of what you are saying - and 100% believe that clear non jargon filled language is much better for communication.

But - I think a person filling a position like this needs to understand the jargon involved, regardless. WoTC is, in theory, hiring someone to make an impact on their corporate culture (for the better). That's a hugely uphill battle. For someone to hope to change it, they need to understand it - and that means understanding the jargon involved; while also maybe using less (or none) of it themselves to further clear communication.

I don’t think anyone really understands that level of jargon. Not the people hiring for the job and not the person applying. What happens is smart candidates tie their experiences and expertise to a potential interpretation of that jargon and whoever sounds good to the hiring manager (with solid experience and education) then getS the job.

kind of like how Agile development and associates jargon became a big thing for companies where the people hiring for that position could use the jargon but were clueless on how it really worked.

 

[Mort]

I don’t think anyone really understands that level of jargon. Not the people hiring for the job and not the person applying. What happens is smart candidates tie their experiences and expertise to a potential interpretation of that jargon and whoever sounds good to the hiring manager (with solid experience and education) then getS the job.

kind of like how Agile development and associates jargon became a big thing for companies where the people hiring for that position could use the jargon but were clueless on how it really worked.

It's amazing how much jargon someone living in corporate culture has to take in and figure out.

But the point is, for this position, the person would certainly have to be able to cut through all the BS, jargon and otherwise.- If a small thing like a jargon filled job posting was enough to turn them away or if they couldn't push through at least the entry interview and cut through all the corporate speak - they probably are not the right person for the job anyway.

 

[Oofta]

Every time I've ever looked at job postings (I'm in IT) a handful of phrases almost always show up. It's just a fact of life that certain postings are going to have certain key words*. It has nothing to do with the company doing the hiring.

On the other hand, if WOTC has an issue what do you expect? They need an expert to help them write things like this job posting to be more inclusive. It's a chicken and the egg problem.

*One funny example is that they always want 5 years of experience in whatever specific technology they're looking for. Even if that technology has only been out for 2 years.

 

[FrogReaver]

Are you Orion? Or just their spokesperson?

Morrus, I’m sure you understand this so don’t take it the wrong way, it’s just an example:

The kind of dismissiveness exhibited here and in posts like this are the direct cause of posters retailiating with rudeness.

 

[Mistwell]

Do you feel like this is an intentional gateway--you know, they want someone who will add diversity but not really rock the corporate boat? Or is this simply the tin ear of whomever writes the the copy on these postings? I could see it go either way.

People tend to hire those who think and look like themselves. I don't think it's done with intent, just out of comfort with familiarity. They're hiring a job with the intent to change corporate culture, but using their current standard corporate culture (which has failed them) to try and do that. I think it's a mistake because it's more likely to attract the same thing they have right now.

 

[Horwath]

While this job could add something more to WotC, it could also detract from it. Who knows...

But, as they say in sports, do not change the team that is winning.

And 5E is winning! Big time.

Let them be until they start to lose track.

 

[Mort]

kind of like how Agile development and associates jargon became a big thing for companies where the people hiring for that position could use the jargon but were clueless on how it really worked.

This is certainly a thing.

I had a friend who, years ago, was trying to transition from being a contractor to a full time employee at a (very) big health and medical device company.

During the interview the HR person asked him if there were any issues he (my friend) would like to bring up. My friend began to state how there were serious inadequacies in the VP and how they needed addressing in various ways - The VP was jargon for one of their biggest and most used testing machines, the one my friend worked with most often.

The HR person got very quiet and very serious and proceeded to ask my friend if he was willing to further discuss these issues about the Vice President of the company (because that's who/what the HR person thought he was talking about as apposed to the machine actually being referred to). It was a very awkward conversation after that.

 

[FrogReaver]

While this job could add something more to WotC, it could also detract from it. Who knows...

But, as they say in sports, do not change the team that is winning.

And 5E is winning! Big time.

Let them be until they start to lose track.

some might say they already have started losing track. I see 6e or a 5.5e as a lot more likely much sooner than I have in the past.

 

[Mistwell]

This is a senior level position that requires a minimum of seven years of experience in HR, business, marketing, or some other people focused job. Someone who doesn't understand the language used in the job description is not ready for a senior level position though they may be well suited for an associate level position. And all job postings are exclusionary by nature. You want to discourage people who aren't qualified from applying.

And I think that's baloney. Someone with senior HR experience at, for example, Aftermath Entertainment Records very likely (at least in my little experience) does not use that language despite possibly being a good candidate for this kind of position. Instead they chose the same language used to recruit all the other people at their company, who also happen to be upper middle class white guys with similar backgrounds and experiences.

I know from brief experience that the Los Angeles Clippers senior executives don't speak that way, and don't recruit that way for senior positions, despite working for a white billionaire. And they have managed to recruit some of the top African American executive talent in that industry.

This kind of ad will pull in someone from a video game company who also hired all upper middle class white guys with similar backgrounds and experiences at their video game company. But it won't likely pull someone who would be actually both innovative in creating change at the company and also good at that job.

If you want to change the company, you start by changing the type of people you recruit at the top. I just saw DC Comics do this. They hired someone for a top marketing position who does not fit the standard mold. They don't even have a college degree, and come from the comics reporting industry and not the insider marketing industry. And it's helping. That recruit is turning things around.

All I am seeing here is, "We want someone like us for this position to hire people who will be like us."

 

[Gradine]

While this job could add something more to WotC, it could also detract from it. Who knows...

But, as they say in sports, do not change the team that is winning.

And 5E is winning! Big time.

Let them be until they start to lose track.

Reading the wind and being proactive is a hell of a lot better than waiting for a downturn and being reactive. See: Essentials

In this case the change is both long overdue (see: Tomb of Annihilation, writing team) and obviously reactive (see: Black, Orion)