Or should be!
TheHackerCIO gets Job Descriptions (JDs) all the time that list a huge laundry list of skills, qualifications, desired experience, and job responsibilities. Many times no one in the world could possibly be a master of all these. Often, it is physically impossible to meet these supposed "requirements," because the technology hasn't been in existence that long. It specially irks me when I see the desire for a "Rockstar," such as you can see here (excerpt following, but the link has the details):
A word about titles: we are calling this job opening "Full-Stack PHP Web Developer", but we welcome applications from those who consider themselves any of the following: software engineer, software architect, web developer, programmer, hacker, coder, computer scientist, devops, "ninja", "rockstar", "wizard"... etc. We had to choose one title.Here's what TheHackerCIO tells recruiters looking for a "Rockstar."
"So you want a rockstar, it says? Now Rockstars are few in number. They aren't everywhere. And they get paid huge amounts of money for what they alone can do, right? So, what kind of unusual, eye-catching, exceptional compensation is this company offering to acquire such an extraordinary individual?
The pause is real ...
But an answer never comes ...
Usually, they say they are offering a "competitive" salary. But I don't know what that means. How about if I make a resume for you like that? I can say, for instance:
- has a competitive understanding of a competitive number of technologies.
- assumed a competitive level of responsibility and leadership.
- competitive communications ability.
- has a competitive level of interest in "working together as a team player."
That's what someone should expect if they want to offer a "competitive salary."
Then the phone screening can happen, we can imagine it...
Q: On a scale of 1-10, what is your skill with Java?
A: Competitive, like your salary.
Q: How many years of experience do you have with Cassandra?
A: a competitive number of years, like your salary.
Why do you think you can get a Rockstar at bargain basement prices? I don't think working for your company will be like doing a charity event, will it?!!!
You see, reciprocity is (or should be) mandatory. If companies can't hire people without demanding specific, concrete, numerical measures of experience, why do they think they can evade telling how many dollars they are willing to pay to get this experience?
Shouldn't they clearly offer a range of money? "In order to get the best candidates, and as an indicator of how serious we are about seeing truely Senior, hard-working, high quality applicants, who are in high-demand from other purchasers of their services ... we are offering in the range of $160,000 - $170,000 p.a. plus insurance, 4 weeks of paid vacation, etc."
A little reciprocity please, companies. A little reciprocity, please, recruiters!
I Remain,
TheHackerCIO
