Mystery deepens around viral executive assistant ad as overseas CEO has identical job listing

It’s the ridiculous job ad that had Aussies in disbelief. But now the ad has disappeared from the web as mystery surrounds who was behind it.

The ad on Seek says the part-time position is not for those who want to clock in and clock out.

The mystery has deepened surrounding a bizarre job listing on Australian website Seek.

The ad, revealed by news.com.au yesterday, seeks a part-time executive assistant to a CEO willing to never clock off, fulfil extensive duties ranging from content creation to cleaning and property management, and have “a desire to lead from behind”.

The ad, which went viral, has now been deleted by Seek.

The advertised position as the executive (and personal!) assistant of the unnamed company’s “type-A”, fouled mouthed CEO — a self-described “successful, fast-paced, intense, sometimes chaotic, passionate, easygoing, adventurous 28-year-old entrepreneur” — gave few details about the company, except that the position was based in Melbourne.

The ridiculous nature of the ad has led to online speculation that it is a hoax.

It has now been revealed that the vast majority of the text in the job listing is the same as another job listing — but not one from Melbourne.

An almost identical listing appeared on the Easy Pay Direct site, a company that facilitates online payments. The business appears to be based in California.

The post was written by the company’s CEO Brad Weimert and is accompanied by an explainer video.

Brad Weimert, the founder of Easy Pay Direct, who is seeking an executive assistant.

There are a number of jobs advertised on the Easy Pay Direct site all similar in tone to the ad that appeared on Seek.

Easy Pay Direct offers services in the USA, Canada and Australia, so it is possible this job listing was legitimate.

After contacting Seek for comment, news.com.au has still been unable to ascertain who posted the job listing.

Seek spokeswoman Sarah Macartney said the company carried out a background check on the business via email, as is usual practice for the job site.

“All job ads on SEEK are checked to confirm the legitimacy of the employment opportunity,” she told news.com.au.

“Background checks were carried out on this job ad, which included receiving communication via email from the advertiser.

“In response to jobseeker inquiries about the nature of the job, we have tried several times to reconnect with the advertiser to discuss the job advertisement.

“We continue to try and make contact and will keep the job ad off-site until such contact has been made.”

Before the ad appeared in Australia, some alterations were made, including the removal of Americanisms such as the inclusion of a 401k plan (the US equivalent of superannuation).

The listing on Seek also deleted references to Easy Pay Direct that were scattered throughout the original listing.

The ad on Seek said the part-time position is not for those who want to clock in and clock out.

A ridiculous job listing detailing the endless demands of a CEO has been posted on Seek.