4 ms·

From the point of view of someone who writes job requirements then receives resumes: no matter what you write in job requirements, you will receive a stack of r

From the point of view of someone who writes job requirements then receives resumes: no matter what you write in job requirements, you will receive a stack of resumes which don't even remotely match the job requirements. So many resumes that it is impossible to sift through them in any depth. In an attempt to get a stack of hundred (or more) resumes down to a pile you can read in any depth, you are forced to look at each one very briefly and put it in the "no" pile for missing, or even not clearly fulfilling, any requirements listed. It ends up as a sort of "tragedy of the commons" situation. There might be a person in that stack, who does not literally meet the listed requirements, but who nonetheless would be a great hire. Their opportunity to be "discovered" is taken away by the large number of respondents polluting the resume stack for a job they clearly are not qualified for.

sarciszewski 12y ago
I see. It has been my tendency to go "Hmm, I match 8/9 of the ones listed, but not #7 on their list. Oh well, moving on." I had been wondering if this was foolish of me.
- byoung2 12y ago
  I had been wondering if this was foolish of me. Keep in mind that all of the other applicants might have matched at most 7/9 requirements, and you could have been the top candidate.
  - sarciszewski 12y ago
    There's the rub: What if the requirements are actually requirements? What if they're not, and only the first 1 or 2 list items are essential? I tend to play it safe so I don't waste companies' time.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      > There's the rub: What if the requirements are actually requirements? Then they won't call you back if you don't meet them. > I tend to play it safe so I don't waste companies' time. If the requirements are actually hard requirements and you don't meet them, the company isn't even a potential employer. If they aren't hard requirements, you aren't wasting their time. It seems to me the only real consideration should be whether you are wasting your time.
      - sarciszewski 12y ago
        > It seems to me the only real consideration should be whether you are wasting your time. If my time were valuable, I'd probably be getting paid better for it. :P

sarciszewski 12y ago

I see. It has been my tendency to go "Hmm, I match 8/9 of the ones listed, but not #7 on their list. Oh well, moving on." I had been wondering if this was foolish of me.

byoung2 12y ago
I had been wondering if this was foolish of me. Keep in mind that all of the other applicants might have matched at most 7/9 requirements, and you could have been the top candidate.
- sarciszewski 12y ago
  There's the rub: What if the requirements are actually requirements? What if they're not, and only the first 1 or 2 list items are essential? I tend to play it safe so I don't waste companies' time.
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    > There's the rub: What if the requirements are actually requirements? Then they won't call you back if you don't meet them. > I tend to play it safe so I don't waste companies' time. If the requirements are actually hard requirements and you don't meet them, the company isn't even a potential employer. If they aren't hard requirements, you aren't wasting their time. It seems to me the only real consideration should be whether you are wasting your time.
    - sarciszewski 12y ago
      > It seems to me the only real consideration should be whether you are wasting your time. If my time were valuable, I'd probably be getting paid better for it. :P