Platsannonsen i tiden. Den orubricerade platsannonsen 1955 - 2005

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyse potential changes in the genre of recruitment advertisement during the period 1955 to 2005, and investigate if changes in society can explain these changes in the genre. The study shows that some conventions regarding content, laoyut and style develops during the period. An important change is that information about the employer becomes an almost compulsory part of the advertisement by the end of the period. It also gets a salient place in the advertisement. The language/style is more conservative in some regards in the recruitment advertisements than in other genres. In the advertisement, an ideal applicant is constructed through the personal qualitaties asked for, the kind of benefits promised and information about preferred age and sex. During the whole period, one of the personal qualities most sought after is the ability to co-operate. This could be seen as a sign of the stability in Swedish working life. In the year of 2000, however, personal drive becomes the most desirable qualification instead of ability to co-operate. As the ideal candidate is constructed in the advertisement, so is the employer constructed as an attractive employer. The most common way of describing the employer during the whole period is as large, leading and expansive. At the end of the period there is a small but increasing amount of advertisements, which construct a new kind of employer identity more focused on advantages for the employee. During a period of fifty years, conventions for content, visual design and style develop in the recruitment advertisement. Some of these conventions are no longer in use when Internet becomes a competitor to the printed daily newspaper, but some are still used in recruitment advertisements on Internet. What is changing most is the view of the ideal candidate and the good employer. The way these are presented also affects the genre.