Rhetorical Analysis of Fast-Growth Businesses’ Job Advertisements: Implications for Job Search

Abstract

This article presents findings from a rhetorical analysis of job advertisements posted by the fastest growing companies in the United States (Inc.5000 rankings). The analysis suggests that companies rely on standard rhetorical figures and share similar rhetorical visions of novelty that likely effect their organizational culture, paradoxically make them homogeneous, and potentially oversell positions that require prosaic job duties. Suggestions to authors of job advertisements include writing with fewer clichés and metaphors, since they tend to reify ageist stereotypes. Suggestions for job seekers include doing rhetorical analyses of advertisements and writing résumés so they comply with job advertisements’ creative rhetorical styles.