A recruiter who asked an AI tool to "write a creative and engaging job description" for a senior marketing manager role got exactly what they asked for—unfortunately, the AI interpreted "creative" as "rewrite everything as Taylor Swift song lyrics." The resulting job posting included requirements like "we need someone with 5-7 years of Blank Space" and "experience with our Wildest Dreams of campaign management."

The recruiter didn't notice until three candidates applied asking if this was a joke.

When "Creative" Gets Too Creative

Reports from workplace forums indicate the recruiter was using an AI writing assistant to spice up what they felt was a boring job description. The prompt was something along the lines of "make this job description more creative and appealing to millennial candidates." The AI, apparently trained on enough pop culture to be dangerous, decided Taylor Swift references were the pinnacle of millennial appeal.

According to user discussions, the job description opened with "Are You Ready For It? We're looking for a Marketing Manager who can Shake It Off when campaigns don't work and has the Anti-Hero mindset to drive results." The qualifications section included "You Belong With Me if you have experience in digital marketing, social media strategy, and can handle our Karma (metrics and reporting)."

The benefits section promised "22 days of PTO (see what we did there?)" and "the Lavender Haze of excellent health insurance." The company culture was described as "so Enchanted you'll never want to leave" with "no Bad Blood between departments."

The AI's Lyrical Masterpiece

User reports suggest the AI worked remarkably hard to fit Taylor Swift references into every single section. Skills required included "Fearless leadership," "Lover of data-driven decision making," and "Red flag identification for underperforming campaigns." The role reported to the "Senior Director of All Too Well Strategies."

One candidate reportedly responded asking if Swifties got priority consideration. Another asked if the interview process included a karaoke round. A third applied with a cover letter entirely written as "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" parody lyrics about their previous employer.

The recruiter allegedly discovered the problem when their hiring manager forwarded the posting asking "what the hell is this?" Turns out the hiring manager is a metal fan who considers Taylor Swift "background music for dentist waiting rooms." The creative job description was not received in the spirit intended.

The Cleanup Operation

Reports indicate the recruiter spent 30 minutes frantically editing the posting to remove all Swift references while candidates continued applying with increasingly unhinged Taylor-themed cover letters. One candidate's resume was formatted as an Eras Tour setlist. Another structured their work history as album titles with "experiences that defined each era of my career."

According to sources familiar with the situation, the recruiter initially tried to blame a "posting error" before admitting they'd used AI without reviewing the output. The hiring manager reportedly asked "did you even read this before publishing?" to which the honest answer was apparently "I skimmed it and it looked fine."

The company's head of talent acquisition allegedly sent an all-hands email reminding everyone to "actually read AI-generated content before using it externally" and to "maybe use the creative writing features more sparingly." The recruiter learned an important lesson about AI prompt specificity and the dangers of asking for "creative" without defining parameters.

The Candidates Who Applied Anyway

The truly beautiful part of this story is that several candidates who applied specifically because of the Taylor Swift references were actually qualified for the role. User discussions suggest that at least two candidates said the creative posting stood out from the hundreds of generic job descriptions they'd seen and made them want to learn more about the company.

One candidate reportedly wrote in their cover letter: "Any company willing to take creative risks in their job postings is probably fun to work for. Even if this was an accident, it shows you're not taking yourselves too seriously." The hiring manager allegedly liked that candidate's attitude and brought them in for an interview.

Another candidate mentioned they'd been job searching for three months and every posting sounded identical. "This was the first job description that made me laugh in weeks," they wrote. "Whether you meant to do this or not, it got my attention."

The recruiter apparently tried to spin this as "intentional creative strategy to attract innovative candidates" rather than admitting "I didn't read what the AI wrote." Management was not fooled but appreciated the optimism.

The Lasting Impact

Reports suggest the company ultimately filled the role with someone who applied after the corrected version went live, but the Swift-ified posting achieved legendary status internally. Someone allegedly printed it out and posted it in the break room with the caption "Why we review AI content before publishing."

The recruiter's Slack nickname reportedly became "T-Swift" for several weeks. Coworkers allegedly messaged them with "How's the Cruel Summer of recruiting going?" and "Any new candidates in your Reputation era?" The recruiter reportedly took it in stride, admitting "I earned this."

According to workplace forums, the company's social media team wanted to post the original job description as a "fun recruiting fail" but legal shut it down citing "brand risk." Probably wise, given the candidate pool included people who would absolutely roast them on Twitter for clout.

The incident apparently sparked a broader conversation about AI usage policies at the company. HR created guidelines requiring human review of all AI-generated external content and specifically noting "creative does not mean meme-ified or based on pop culture references unless explicitly appropriate for the role."

The Lesson Here

AI tools will absolutely deliver what you ask for, but they have no common sense about what's actually appropriate. "Creative" to an AI trained on internet content might mean Taylor Swift references, Fortune 500 company job descriptions written as Shakespearean sonnets, or requirements framed as Reddit AITA posts.

The solution isn't avoiding AI—it's remembering that AI is a tool, not a brain. It generates content based on patterns in its training data and your prompt. It has no judgment about whether a Taylor Swift-themed job posting is professionally appropriate or hilariously inappropriate.

Read the output. Actually read it. Not skim. Not "glance and assume it's fine." Read every word before you publish it somewhere that candidates, hiring managers, or the general public can see it. This seems obvious but clearly isn't given how often these incidents happen.

And if you're going to ask AI to be "creative," maybe specify "creative within professional norms" rather than leaving it open to interpretation. Unless you genuinely want your marketing manager job description to read like an Eras Tour program. In which case, carry on. The Swifties will find you.

At least nobody asked the AI to write a creative rejection email. Can you imagine? "It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's you—you didn't get the job." Actually, that would be amazing. Someone should try that.