You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements” • Hacker News Board

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#21

Post by ianai » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:30 PM UTC

scarejunba wrote: post #4

Perhaps companies over-list requirements because everyone knows requirements are not ANDed together. There is a scoring scheme that combines all of these, and the quality of the requirement. And let’s be honest having spent “5 years of Python” at a Google is a different story from having spent “5 years of Python” at an Infosys. To be honest, I’ve never seen a job description that exactly lays out what you’re going to…

Some of it is from asking the people already in or leaving that position (say, promotion to management) to write up the requirements.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#22

Post by hocuspocus » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:31 PM UTC

Recently I've seen a lot more job ads with minimal technical requirements and rather a focus on more generic skills.

That's good but please, if you aren't Google or Facebook, don't take it to the other extreme. If I have no idea about your tech stack I'm not going to apply, and the same probably holds true for a lot of experienced developers.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#23

Post by pacuna » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:31 PM UTC

Could be, but what if the requirements you're missing are supposedly essential for the job? Some jobs say you need to know X programming language. What if you're a good programmer but haven't worked with that particular language? Should you bother to apply?

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#24

Post by scarejunba » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:34 PM UTC

tazard wrote: post #13

electricslpnsld wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And let’s be honest “5 years of Python” at a Google is a different story from “5 years of Python” at an Infosys. I don't think I've ever seen an ad from Google that spells out years of experience in any given technology. Their requirements are incredibly terse, usually along the lines of 'BS/BA in Computer Science or equivalent, experience in some programming language'.

I read that a different way. I understood it as an ad from Company X which lists '5 years of Python' as the requirement. Candidate 1 has 5 years of Python at Google, and Candidate 2 has 5 years Python at InfoSys.

That's precisely what I meant. Thanks!

Edited to hopefully clarify.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#25

Post by GuB-42 » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:36 PM UTC

A recruiter once told me "we ask for God in person, hoping for a prophet, we are happy when we get the followers".

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#26

Post by crispyambulance » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:37 PM UTC

scarejunba wrote: post #4

Perhaps companies over-list requirements because everyone knows requirements are not ANDed together. There is a scoring scheme that combines all of these, and the quality of the requirement. And let’s be honest having spent “5 years of Python” at a Google is a different story from having spent “5 years of Python” at an Infosys. To be honest, I’ve never seen a job description that exactly lays out what you’re going to…

Experienced recruiters (and employees) can see through the BS of job descriptions. Once the right candidate gets an interview it often becomes very clear there's a "match" to everyone involved and folks don't even bother to look at how closely they've "checked the boxes" in the job descriptions.

Sadly, many talented tech candidates early in their careers tend to interpret job descriptions far too literally and self-select themselves out of good opportunities. These same candidates also rely too much on responding to impersonal web-based job-postings rather than working through their networks of contacts, or just putting themselves out there and reaching out to real people.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#27

Post by sureaboutthis » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

scarejunba wrote: post #4

Perhaps companies over-list requirements because everyone knows requirements are not ANDed together. There is a scoring scheme that combines all of these, and the quality of the requirement. And let’s be honest having spent “5 years of Python” at a Google is a different story from having spent “5 years of Python” at an Infosys. To be honest, I’ve never seen a job description that exactly lays out what you’re going to…

I love the "looking for experts in X" followed by "with one to two years experience". And then I see my neighbor who is an expert in X, can code rings around anybody, but can't find a job after his company shut down. His only fault is he's 60.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#28

Post by stingraycharles » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

GuB-42 wrote: post #25

A recruiter once told me "we ask for God in person, hoping for a prophet, we are happy when we get the followers".

That's a good way to get the worse part of developers divided by their Dunnin-Kruger score.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#29

Post by dexen » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

Melchizedek wrote: post #16

Wow, women have an interview rate almost double that of men, an also dismiss jobs almost twice as often. That's some serious female privilege!

Too soon.

This forum is on an intersection of progressives, who by default champion womens' causes, and entrepreneurs, who favor expanding labor pool to lower workforce costs.

HN will needs to see a lot more papers & articles on this subject to start turning around on the issue. Find more documents, post them, and hunker down for a few more years. Generation Z will get this sorted out once it starts joining the workplaces.

Point in case, most of HN is staunchly pro immigration with little to no restrictions, for what seems to be mix of ideological reasons, and labor pool expansion reasons. However there's a glaring exception: the (american) H1B visa program. A lot of HNers have learned of the magnitude of terrible abuse and wage suppression the H1B holders suffer, and thus prefer serious reform of this program. Awareness of the facts on the ground makes one question the ready-made ideological answers.

Re: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

#30

Post by gaius » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 1:47 PM UTC

dexen wrote: post #29

Melchizedek wrote: post #16

Wow, women have an interview rate almost double that of men, an also dismiss jobs almost twice as often. That's some serious female privilege!

Too soon. This forum is on an intersection of progressives , who by default champion womens' causes, and entrepreneurs , who favor expanding labor pool to lower workforce costs. HN will needs to see a lot more papers & articles on this subject to start turning around on the issue. Find more documents, post them, and hunker down for a few more years. Generation Z will get this sorted out once it starts joining the wor…

Generation Z will get this sorted out once it starts joining the workplaces.

Are they noticeably less ageist than any previous generation?