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What is up with “Must be able to thrive in ambiguity” listed on so many recent job postings?

So many job descriptions I've seen in my field recently include some variant of “Must be able to thrive in ambiguity”… What's up with this? It's an immediate red flag to me. I've had some past job experiences that were made much worse by a lack of clarity on job roles, delegation of certain responsibilities, getting projects started, project review, processes, etc. and this just screams to me “It's up to you to figure out your actual job roles once you get in the building, because they will likely be more expansive than what's in the description. Also this means you will be open for evaluation on work that you shouldn't even be responsible for. And it will also be your fault if things fall through or the process gets caught up regardless if you are a senior-level employee or not.” This drives me nuts. It really should never be…


So many job descriptions I've seen in my field recently include some variant of “Must be able to thrive in ambiguity”…

What's up with this? It's an immediate red flag to me. I've had some past job experiences that were made much worse by a lack of clarity on job roles, delegation of certain responsibilities, getting projects started, project review, processes, etc. and this just screams to me “It's up to you to figure out your actual job roles once you get in the building, because they will likely be more expansive than what's in the description. Also this means you will be open for evaluation on work that you shouldn't even be responsible for. And it will also be your fault if things fall through or the process gets caught up regardless if you are a senior-level employee or not.”

This drives me nuts. It really should never be too much to ask to get clarity on projects, roles, responsibilities, especially if you are not even a member of leadership or a senior-level employee. Every employee should have a clear understanding of their roles and should really only be “thriving in ambiguity” if the description explicitly is for higher-up positions.

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