PR Firm Seeks Executive Vice President

The folks at Cone, a public relations firm in Boston, have asked me to share news of an opening for executive vice president of cause branding. Cone has a long-standing reputation for leadership in cause marketing, so anyone qualified for the position probably knows about the company already.

Here's a link to the job posting, but I have to warn you that it doesn't meet my expectations for prose written by professional communicators. There's all that random capitalization of phrases such as "corporate responsibility" and "executive leadership team" that is usually generated by those who don't write for a living and who have spent so much time in the corporate "space" (ha-ha) that they don't realize that members of the "Knowledge Leadership team" are just people like you and me. It also uses depressing buzz words and phrases like "impactful" and "market facing."

It gives the impression that this shop is more corporate than creative, so keep that in mind as you mull over whether this is a good fit for you. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, the job description was probably written by the HR guy but this is the face the company is putting out there to job-seekers, so I have to think that it's an "approved" face.)

But let's put aside my discomfort with writing that isn't straightforward or uses that kind of incorrect random capitalization found on the advertising side of the business. This is a great job for somebody who wants to help corporations become better citizens. To do that, you sometimes need to fit into the corporate environment. My point here is that I wouldn't expect a creative agency to be as corporate as the client.

With that in mind, I am now officially applying for the job of editing the agency's recruiting materials so they better reflect the company's ability to communicate effectively and clearly with all of its audiences. Cone: You know where to find me.