Ask HN: What info do you wish every job posting included?

I'm in academia and I wish job ads would be more honest and straightforward. They are usually full of boilerplate about how great their college is and diversity statements and you have to read between the lines to find out what they really want.

I wish they could just say, "we already have someone we want to hire but the dean is making us do an formal search." I know they can't really say that but it would be nice if they could say something like "we want someone to teach X, Y, and Z," "we have listed a bunch of specialties but we really want someone who researches X," "this is a new position," or "the person that had this job retired."

I'm sure they are, so asking this question is useless... I won't believe the answer.

I know that’s too much, but:

- A link to senior executives explaining their worst mistake and what they learned from it;

- The same, but their actual reaction to: “What are your corporate values? -- Those are the same corporate values as Enron.”

- Noise curve in the office;

- what the interviews are testing for.

Office environment!

I recently interviewed at a lunch meeting, and then second interview in a coffee shop (very casual interviews). By the end of the second interview they wanted me to make a suggestion for their offer. I said I needed to see their offices and look at their product before I'd consider moving from my current position.

I was rather taken aback that they didn't really consider I might want to see the environment I'd be spending a lot of my time, nor want to see what I was going to be working on.

Eventually I got to see the offices and the product, I loved the product but just couldn't jive with their office. It wasn't terrible or anything, but compared to where I work now I wasn't prepared to make the switch.

I feel extremely fortunate to be able to be picky about where I work. Every day I come to work I think about how fortunate I am to be happy with my work.

I'm an EE with RF design and antenna chops, but I've been hired into a few jobs where I had only the vaguest idea of what the work actually is. One was a configuration management role, and the other was a software test engineer (and I've coded maybe 150 lines in my lifetime).

Neither of them had any mention of these activities in the postings, and both of them were specifically for EE's with requirements to understand antenna and radio systems. The interview started to shed light that it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but certainly there would be the opportunity, so I was told.

To me, a disclaimer that mentions you may not be doing anything actually related to this posting would be nice.

Generally speaking:

1) what is the actual, physical, tangible, product?

2.) What is my actual, specific, day-to-day role for this product? Or how will I fit into the creation of this product?