My observations as someone who's checked job boards/sites continually for almost 20 years: Through the mid-nineties, when I graduated college, the requirements

My observations as someone who's checked job boards/sites continually for almost 20 years: Through the mid-nineties, when I graduated college, the requirements were reasonable. A solid understanding of software development fundamentals and reasonable experience for the advertised position. Focus was on ability and potential. A few years later, as the .com boom was underway, requirements dropped to unreasonable levels. I saw people with embarrassing "qualifications" who were far better compensated than me. If you could grope a computer without getting slapped, you were hired to build web sites and paid top dollar. A few years later, after the bubble burst, the pendulum swung in the other direction, hard. The market was flooded with applicants, and requirements at best matched the resume of the person who left. At worst, we got "10 years of Java" in 2001. Focus was on experience in very specific (and usually broad ranging) skills. I have seen very little recovery from this point. It became the new norm. I do think it's getting better, but not a lot better, and only recently. People are hiring employees like they would consultants or contractors. For short term hires, I want very relevant experience because paying premium, short term rates to someone learning on the job is very expensive. But if I'm hiring an employee, I just want someone who can learn quickly and with whom I can happily work for the next 5 years.