Last weeks momentary hiccup over CareerBuilder's new ad campaign had both defenders and detractors going over the edge.

 

Irreverent, silly and risque as they are, the ads not only appealed to young millennials as intended but, folks who grew up in the 60's (and haven't yet forgotten their early indescretions) also chuckled and chortled a bit.

 

The underlying problem is that this genre of advertising panders to the negative stereotype of the cohort now entering the workforce and, just like ads produced by other sites over the last few years, offers one self-serving solution to the ills of the workplace: "put your resume on my site and quit your crappy job at the first opportunity".

 

How strange it would be if CareerBuilder offered an irreverent approach to solving a dispute between a coworker that made their team stronger or, if Monster suggested a humorous way to get a supervisor to back off and become a better manager.

 

Yes, it might produce one less resume and, for that matter fewer posted positions, but it would support the notion that there are CAREER portals out there rather than simply JOB boards. Hmmmm. What a concept.

 

And, as an employer, if I conclude that your ad campaign is geared to targeting disaffected workers to sign up for their next job (as their primary method of solving workplace problems)-  well, at least I know where they all are.

 

And, finally, now that CareerBuilder is selling (or reselling)consulting services to employers on everything from recruitment process redesign to branding, their main concern should be that they've just offered an example of their best work.

 

Then again maybe I'm just thinking too hard.