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That's the thing -- it's an entirely different ballgame on the ambiguity front when they've contacted you first (versus the other way around). In that case, at

That's the thing -- it's an entirely different ballgame on the ambiguity front when they've contacted you first (versus the other way around). In that case, at least presumably they've already mulled over the potential skill gap, and (again, at least presumably) saw something in you that significantly outweighs that gap. OTOH, if they have a big sign on the front door that says "requires 5-8 years of X,Y,Z" -- in addition to all the other randomness one has to deal with when initiating contact (Will they ever respond? And will they ask me do some silly exercise requiring 5-20 hours before proceeding pass the initial contact?) -- then of course my answer is "Meh, I think I'll pass." And if they genuinely expect candidates to be "bold" and second-guess their stated, bold-font "must-have" requirements, then they've definitely entrusted the wrong person to edit the final copy of their job reqs -- or they're playing (some really quite silly) head games with themselves.

oddlyaromatic 9y ago
I think writing job descriptions for ads is crappy work that nobody wants to do and they are often rushed or out of date. Granted, selling idea that your 8-week bootcamp puts you up there with 8 years of somebody else's experience is not really possible. But turning 3 years into 8 years can be if you can show maturity in your working practices and maybe some passion for the subject. You don't have to be exact person in the requirements. You DO have to convince somebody that you are on that same level of knowledge/capability, just for different reasons.
- kafkaesq 9y ago
  But do you really want to spend your precious time talking to people who can't get something as simple as a job req right? If they can't communicate coherently at that stage in the process (and/or just as likely, don't really know what they went from the person they're hiring) then they're probably confused and/or uncommunicative about a whole lot of other things internally, is my general take.
  - oddlyaromatic 9y ago
    >don't really know what they went from the person they're hiring I think this is spot on in terms of those incredibly long lists of skills you sometimes see. If they don't know what is important, they just ask for a Swiss Army knife. And that intimidates people who take the reqs seriously. Maybe your right that it's a signal of a potentially bad environment too.

oddlyaromatic 9y ago

I think writing job descriptions for ads is crappy work that nobody wants to do and they are often rushed or out of date. Granted, selling idea that your 8-week bootcamp puts you up there with 8 years of somebody else's experience is not really possible. But turning 3 years into 8 years can be if you can show maturity in your working practices and maybe some passion for the subject. You don't have to be exact person in the requirements. You DO have to convince somebody that you are on that same level of knowledge/capability, just for different reasons.

kafkaesq 9y ago
But do you really want to spend your precious time talking to people who can't get something as simple as a job req right? If they can't communicate coherently at that stage in the process (and/or just as likely, don't really know what they went from the person they're hiring) then they're probably confused and/or uncommunicative about a whole lot of other things internally, is my general take.
- oddlyaromatic 9y ago
  >don't really know what they went from the person they're hiring I think this is spot on in terms of those incredibly long lists of skills you sometimes see. If they don't know what is important, they just ask for a Swiss Army knife. And that intimidates people who take the reqs seriously. Maybe your right that it's a signal of a potentially bad environment too.