Job Descriptions Should Be Better • Hacker News Board

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#61

Post by maxxxxx » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 7:24 PM UTC

cs02rm0 wrote: post #34

systemtest wrote: post #32

I want to know more about what I am going to do on a day-to-day basis. The last job I quit was because I spent about three days a months writing uptime reports and incident descriptions in Microsoft Excel and Word. And about five days per month on manual testing (clicking through the web-interface to see if everything was still in place). I'm a specialized back-end developer, hire a (way cheaper) document writer and…

> I'm a specialized back-end developer, hire a (way cheaper) document writer and tester for that. I'd suggest, even if you think a document writer and tester is way cheaper, you're probably not charging enough for your time. I've always found an inflated rate a very effective way of avoiding tedious work.

"I've always found an inflated rate a very effective way of avoiding tedious "

That's something I have found too. The more you make the less inclined they are to waste your time.

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#62

Post by maxxxxx » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 11:59 PM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #18

beekums wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a pretty basic piece of info that companies like to exclude. They tend to just post "competitive salary" when in fact a lot of the ones that state that pay well below market.

Most companies that actually pay a competitive salary should have no issues posting that in their job advertisements.

I remember a company I had a contract with sometimes (not always) posted jobs and advertised a pretty high salary. These salaries were actually competitive and not just in line with the competition. You can't imagine how easy it is to find high quality people that way. Go figure...

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#63

Post by flukus » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 12:11 AM UTC

selectron wrote: post #2

The main thing I want from job descriptions is a salary range. The fact that companies don't post salaries is a strong counter-point to how companies complain about how hard it is to hire software engineers.

What's worse in when they post a salary range but then go through the whole "what are your salary expectations" thing. Half the time the posted salary was all that interested me but I can't say that because I can't remember what it was listed as.

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#64

Post by frobozz » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 8:05 AM UTC

olavgg wrote: post #59

selectron wrote: post #2

The main thing I want from job descriptions is a salary range. The fact that companies don't post salaries is a strong counter-point to how companies complain about how hard it is to hire software engineers.

In Norway, positions from public departments like the tax department usually includes salary range in the job description. They often pay very well too, while at the same time they have a very good description of what expertize they need. In fact most developers here in Norway should read those job descriptions, take notes and be ready fight for better salary for their next job interview. The tax department here in N…

What currency are you quoting in? I wouldn't get out of bed for 130k in Norway. I probably couldn't even afford to.

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#65

Post by olavgg » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 9:54 PM UTC

frobozz wrote: post #64

olavgg wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Norway, positions from public departments like the tax department usually includes salary range in the job description. They often pay very well too, while at the same time they have a very good description of what expertize they need. In fact most developers here in Norway should read those job descriptions, take notes and be ready fight for better salary for their next job interview. The tax department here in N…

What currency are you quoting in? I wouldn't get out of bed for 130k in Norway. I probably couldn't even afford to.

USD

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#66

Post by beekums » Sat, Sep 03, 2016, 3:32 AM UTC

divanvisagie wrote: post #33

Great article but bright purple background was so intolerable I had to switch to safari and use the reader. I actually wanted to share it to someone but decided not to assault their retina.

Yikes! I just got a new monitor and realized what everyone else in the world was seeing. That WAS terrible. I hope you find the new color scheme less painful.

Re: Job Descriptions Should Be Better

#67

Post by Sophistifunk » Sun, Sep 04, 2016, 11:55 PM UTC

zanchey wrote: post #35

Sophistifunk wrote: post #23

It's far worse here in Australia. Almost every job ad is written by a slimey salesman in a recruitment company, so: a) The ads are deliberately vague so you can't go direct to the client b) A single job / employer will be listed in several vaguely-worded ads from competing rent-seeking-middlemen c) For the invaluable work of obfuscating the description and wasting everybody's time, these people will take 10-20% of yo…

Somewhat tangentially, do you remember how you described your job in the Australian census? I always really struggle with distilling my job into half a dozen words (but more than a simple job title).

I didn't. I got the paper form, filled in relevant demographic-level information honestly, and simply ignored all the invasive BS.