IMHO the biggest problem is the recruiters do not understand tech enough. If they did then they would not be recruiters, they would be techies. How to fix? O

IMHO the biggest problem is the recruiters do not understand tech enough. If they did then they would not be recruiters, they would be techies. How to fix? One of the big problems, and others have mentioned it. Employers with unrealistic expectations. I had a boss once create a laundry list of skills for a position, 3 years of each, that no one would have: Java, C, C++, C#, Ada, Java Script, and 2 different assembly languages, as well as a host of other techs. I complained it was a stupid list, as half of the languages listed we never used. Response: "Oh but wouldn't it be nice to have someone who could!" WTF, all they were doing was encouraging liars to apply. So I believe they should be allowed to list 3 maybe 4 primary skills / experience. Then 3 or 4 'Would set you apart skills' (i.e. tie breakers). If you list more then you do not understand what your team does. If you are thinking of making something, I would start by looking at Joel Spolsky https://www.joelonsoftware.com/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/ he has written a ton on the topic (click recruiter to see his articles). He also had a site for recruiting where he vetted the recruiters for a bunch of topics. I cannot find the site or I would put it here.