3 hours ago
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Name: Storyteller
Age: Since Once Upon a Time, in a land far, far away.
Ooh, I love a good story. My dad used to read us CS Lewis and Roald Dahl books on the sofa, in front of a crackling fire. Never too old though. I’m ready, go on! “We play an integral role in driving customer acquisition and long-term growth …”
Long-term growth? A bit like Jack and the Beanstalk? Fairytales are good too. Sorry, please continue. “You’ll uncover and develop powerful stories of cloud adoption – cases where cutting-edge AI, data, security and modern infrastructure solutions delivered a step-change in agility, efficiency and innovation …”
This is a rubbish story! Actually, it’s not a story.
Plot twist! What is it? A job advert.
For? A storyteller. More specifically, a customer storytelling manager.
For? Google. More specifically, Google Cloud’s storytelling team. Other companies/positions/stories are also available.
Go on. The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft’s security organisation is also recruiting a senior director overseeing narrative and storytelling. Compliance technology firm Vanta is searching for a head of storytelling …
I don’t even know what compliance technology is? … with a salary of up to $274,000 (about £204,000).
… I can find out, quickly! And write stories about it! So the short story is that a lot of companies are looking for storytellers? That’s right. You might think it’s the oldest job in the world, but it is now the hottest new corporate job title. LinkedIn reports that the term “storyteller” appeared in twice as many US job listings in the 12 months to 26 November compared with the previous year.
What about in the UK, any storytelling vacancies? Marks & Spencer is looking for a food brand storyteller.
I know what food is, I could tell stories about it? It’s more about producing “standout concepts across various media and collaborating with teams to bring ideas to life”.
Hmph, not really storytelling then. The Microsoft job is described as part cybersecurity technologist, part communicator and part marketeer.
Marketing, that’s what we’re talking about right? And copywriting? And so much more. The productivity app Notion has just merged its internal comms, external comms, social and influencer teams into …
I’m guessing the storytelling team? Correct. It’s about taking control of a corporate narrative. And it’s good for the environment too, because there’s no need to gather round and light the fire.
Do say: “Did you know Salman Rushdie started off as a copywriter?”
Don’t say: “And they all lived happily ever after, eating M&S prawn sandwiches.”
