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Quick quiz? What is wrong with the start of this job posting:

The Systems Engineer Level 1 (entry level) shall have a minimum of six (6) years of experience in ....

Question - do YOU do this? Yes, you want to hire Superman, but is is possible that you're actually want someone bigger than Superman?

Brian

jhack's picture

Yikes!

...Beware the boss who doesn't know the difference between entry level and six years of experience.

John

basking2's picture

That's just great. That gives me confidence in applying, too, that I'm going to get a clear vision on what I'll be doing. :)

Sam

AManagerTool's picture

This sounds like another manifestation of the buyers market that exists for talent. We have people with 6+ years of experience applying for positions that recent college grads used to fill. Employers are now asking for this because they can get it. This may not have been a mistake.....Happy job hunting;-)

jhbchina's picture

And in two years from now that same person will be in an another interview and he will be asked... What is your reason for leaving your current position?

Answers to that question .....

I took a entry level position to pay the bills in a buyers market, now I need something more challenging!

jhbchina's picture

And in two years from now that same person will be in an another interview and he will be asked... What is your reason for leaving your current position?

Answers to that question .....

I took a entry level position to pay the bills in a buyers market, now I need something more challenging!

stephenbooth_uk's picture

Something I see quite often (in particular where HR have written the job ad)is an advert that includes in the requirements something like "At least 10 years experience in Product A". Thing is, Product A has only been around for a couple of years. Not only do they want Superman but they also want him to travel back from the future.

Stephen

AManagerTool's picture

Superman can do anything!

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Just proves that ads are poorly written, and we ought to cast a wide net when we look for opportunities. Rather than ruling stuff OUT, we ought to rule things IN and THEN start thinking about what looks BEST.

Mark

asteriskrntt1's picture

If you only saw the dozens of job postings I share with Wendii that have parts that are totally not congruent. Much like Stephen says, they want you to time travel.

Even the ones that say you have to have 7 (or whatever number) years experience. Like, can you document or determine the difference between someone who has 5 years and 7 years or 9 years? Someone who has 48 months versus 53 months?

I just had one that was for a Marketing Director position. They spelled marketing and product incorrectly in the posting, which makes me wonder how they can screen MY resume when they can't properly screen their own work.

I also get asked for skills and experience in interviews (let's not go there about bad interviewing skills) that are not posted on the job description and were never brought up in screening interviews. (So tell me about the last time you rolled out a new IT platform - yeah, marketing people do that all the time).

Sadly, I don't think this is going to get any better in the short term.

*RNTT

stephenbooth_uk's picture

*RNTT said:I just had one that was for a Marketing Director position. They spelled marketing and product incorrectly in the posting, which makes me wonder how they can screen MY resume when they can't properly screen their own work.

This reminds me of what, I believe, was one of the best job ads ever. It was for a proof reader position during the last recession. The advert contained several spelling, grammar and other other errors. The application procedure was to proof read the ad and send the results with your name and address to the company. If you found all of the errors, and didn't flag up any non-errors then they sent you an application form.

Stephen

AManagerTool's picture

How about a job add for a programmer written in binary?...LOL

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

An update, upon re-reading:

There are plenty of job titles that are entry level for that role that are NOT for entry level jobs in a company.

Bottom line: don't put much stake in job postings.

Mark