Pub landlord's brutally honest call-out for staff branded 'best job advert ever'

11 February 2024 , 16:00

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Craig Harker was praised for his no-nonsense job adverts (Image: Evening Gazette)

We all wish we could be brutally honest while job hunting.

You might have a burning desire to tell a potential employer that you only want the job because it pays well, but you know you have to act like it's your ultimate dream and you'd be honoured to work for their company. Similarly, those posting job listings often embellish descriptions a little to make them seem more appealing than they actually are.

But one pub landlord has gone viral for his no-nonsense job advert. Craig Harker was open and honest with people looking to work at The George Pub and Grill in Stockton, and told them that although he is an "a***hole", he's a "fair one".

Some said Craig sounded like "a great boss" (Craig Harker /SWNS.COM)

Craig posted five job listings for three pubs in 2020, hoping to fill the positions when bars and restaurants were permitted to open after the first coronavirus lockdown. At the time, he was hiring bar staff, a kitchen chef, a pot washer, and an apprentice front-of-house staff, Teesside Live reported.

The man began the advert by stating: "Yes you'll be working for an a***hole but who isn't these days lol but I'm a fair one and everyone who works for me enjoys being at work."

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He advised anyone hopeful of landing a role to show up smart and presentable, adding: "Don't come to an interview with your chipped fingernails, scraggly hair and just been on a session red eye. Come looking to impress me. If you come and your clothes are creased to bits then I won't be having your lazy a*** anywhere behind my bar. Before you come down if you feel your breath is a little tangy then it probably is, get yourself a tic tac before your burn my eyes."

In the description for a bar person, it states anyone with banter like a 'wet flannel' should look elsewhere because "I don't have the time or patience to teach someone how to be sociable just because you've played Call of Duty for the last 10 years instead of having proper mates."

The advert went viral on Facebook (Facebook)

For the same role in another pub, applicants are told professional experience is essential, "not home bar experience or the fact you made everyone a jager bomb in the park using crisp packets. Although that's creative it's not what I'm after."

The advert for a pot washer reads: "Yep it's one of those grubby jobs but you get good pot washers and s**** ones. I'm after a good one. Pot wash athletes only."

The post has had more than 500 shares and 600 comments, so it looks like the brutally honest advert successfully got the word out there - but not everyone was impressed. One wrote: "I find the way you have approached it to be completely unprofessional and if that's what you're like before you employ, I dread to think what it would be like once employed!"

However, most people loved the no-nonsense approach, with another commenting: "Fantastic advert, tell it how it is, no BS, good luck finding your future stars." A second replied: "Best job ad ever, you sound like a great boss."

A third said: "F***in love this! A guy who knows exactly what he wants and isn't afraid to speak his mind, be brutally honest and show it!!"

Click here to read the full advert.

Zahna Eklund