Even If You’re Not Hiring an Owl Trainer, There’s Still Lots to Learn from This Job Ad
Duolingo, the addictive and wildly popular (500 million users) learning app, can probably teach you how to say “tongue in cheek” in several dozen languages.
But to truly understand the meaning of “tongue in cheek,” you can’t do much better than studying the job listing Duolingo recently posted for an Owl Trainer. The raptor in question, of course, is Duo, the company’s animated green mascot.
It’s not just an unusual job, it’s an unusual job post.
Consider some of the job requirements for the Duolingo owl trainer:
“Manage his daily schedule, including coordinating luxury swimwear fittings, Nobu meals, and transcendental meditation sessions.”“Organize and clean Duo’s executive office, which may entail sanitizing the walls to remove any stains or blemishes.”
The requirements for this demanding role? Well, they include:
“A degree in avian psychology or in a bird-related field, such as ornithology, bird training, or wildlife rehabilitation.”“Crisis management expertise with a proven track record of handling situations like wardrobe malfunctions and unsavory allegations.”
“Exceptional” candidates, we’re told, will also have:
• “A passion for education, Dua Lipa, and the Duolingo mission.”
• “+30 years experience in an identical position.”
In writing a job post for a fictional role, the Duolingo team still managed to keep it very real, pointing out the inevitable downsides that most jobs come with. For example, one of the nice-to-have requirements called for the “ability to work under high pressure and extremely unrealistic deadlines.” The responsibilities included “resolving ‘creative differences’ and preventing any toxic team dynamics.”
In short, the post gets major points for having fun, for shining a positive light on the company culture, and for keeping it real, all things to keep in mind when refreshing existing posts or writing new ones.
Near the bottom of the post comes the payoff pitch, the true reason for this light-hearted job listing: “If the challenge of training our lovable green owl appeals to you, and you’d like to be contacted about other jobs at Duolingo that are actually real [their italics], fill out the general interest form below.”
So, not only is the post a clever employer branding tool, it’s an unconventional approach to finding candidates. And it’s working: The post generated hundreds of applicants on LinkedIn.
And that’s what you call success . . . in any language.
