Imagine searching for a job application and seeing an advertisement: "Willing to train: an extroverted person who is willing to spend time alone, is highly imaginative but traditional in their approach, focuses on the value of things while placing importance on logic, who is highly structured but is also able to go with the flow." While it is important for an employer to know what they are looking for in a candidate, this particular job description is asking for an impossible combination of personality traits. Extroverts are typically not comfortable spending extended periods of time alone, and those who are highly imaginative tend to be less traditional in their approach. People either first consider values or first consider logic, not both equally well. It is also rare for someone to be highly structured but still able to go with the flow. While you should 100% hire anyone with all these qualifications, the employer is looking for someone who, in actuality, cannot exist. The employer lacks the wisdom to lead. A wise job seeker would not apply for this position unless the employer was willing to change their expectations. Ideally, a wise employer understands people's designs and will use their employees' strengths to build a well-rounded team of professionals.
If you'd like to learn what a wise job description should look like, comment below, and we can have a discussion here in the comments to help anyone interested.
Thanks for reading!
~ Cathy Heavner