It’s amazing what you can find in the newspaper when you read it carefully. In Munich’s newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung there was a job ad in which Burger King was looking for a potatoe on August 11/12, 2007. I am not kidding. You can view the ad down below in the German part of this entry.
Here is a rough translation of the ad so that you can decide for yourself whether it’s a joke (yes, we are in the middle of summer with lots of people on vacation and nothing to write about in the papers) or whom the company is looking for. The comments in [ ] are mine and not part of the original ad.
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You want to climb the career ladder with us? Then get off the field.
Burger King is one of the major Quick Service companies [I just love this euphemism] worldwide. We set new standards in our over 11,200 restaurants for quality and taste daily . Come and join our team and grow with the challenges.
We are looking for a potatoe (m / f) to start as soon as possible.
Your profile:
You are a young potatoe (m / f) of excellent heritage. You belong to the top tier of your age-group, you want to make your career in a globally acting company, and you want to profit from our trainee program “Top of the Crop Scholarship” [that’s also the name in the German ad, so no need for a translation]. You are inquisitive and strong in presentations. You do not think in categories such as soft cooking [I don’t know the correct term and couldn’t find it either] and waxy. You also enjoy working together with dynamic as well as friendly colleagues. You count yourself as one of the high potentials in our country.
What you can expect from us:
You aim for a high position with all chances for a top position. You will already be promoted to KING Pommes after a short and practical trainee time (approx. 5 minutes) and will carry the title test winner (according to “Stiftung Warentest” [Germany’s biggest consumer product testing agency]).
MS Office as well as English language skills are not necessary. A driver’s license is advantageous, but not necessary. The usage of the company car for private affairs is negotiable.
If you want to join our team as soon as possible and have the necessary prerequisites then apply for this job including a picture (please no leisure time clothes, not older than at the time of harvest) [it is very common in Germany to have a photo in the job application pack which is much thicker than for an Anglo-American application]:
Burger King
VR (Veg. Resources)
…
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So. Who are they looking for? Any ideas?
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