[Nykc]

So recently I have been approach with a few job opportunities. After countless hours of shuffling through classified after classified ad - a tech recruiter presented this opportunity to me.

Quote

TITLE: Front-end Web Developer, Internet


POSITION DESCRIPTION: Bridges the creative and technical aspects of
website creation and delivery. Responsible for all aspects of
Presentation
Layer development, including all front-end technologies.

Primary responsibilities include coding and QA of page templates and
special features, managing global styles/HTML build, plus staging
content
for site updates and special features.



RESPONSIBILITIES:

Build and manage pages & templates

Develop cross-browser/platform HTML, CSS, and Javascript to match design specs for complex page layouts while adhering to code standards


Manage and extend codebase for javascript/dHTML


Develop and evolve code standards as site and market mature

Unit test completed pages for rendering on target platforms

QA rendering and functionality on defined target platforms

Extend CSS as needed to accommodate new data and display types

Stage site update content

Upload, manage and configure content assets

Manage links and redirects in featured content areas per site launch

Develop and stage special projects of varying complexity

Work with creative team to develop concepts for media and interactivity

Code, stage, and deploy custom non-template and/or rich media content as needed


Coordinate with outside resources on larger projects


Explore opportunities for incorporating AJAX/FLEX and other technologies to enhance the shopping experience

Support [company name here] growth and strategic direction

Support project or enhancement planning and scoping

Draft technical/functional specifications

Rapidly produce other interim deliverables (e.g. style guide components, browser analysis, prototypes, proofs of concept, etc.)


Keep up to date on emerging trends, technologies, and market developments;
help develop strategy to address opportunities and issues


Ensure absolute accuracy and high standards for detail throughout the production process



QUALIFICATIONS:


Strong site-build background with both technical and visual
expertise:


Ability to write validating code for xHTML, CSS Level 2, and
Javascript


Ability to write pixel-accurate code that accurately replicates a
designed
layout across a range of primary target platforms


Broad Javascript experience: interactivity, forms, plug-in detects,
etc.


Working familiarity with current frameworks for Web 2.0 front-end
development


Rich media experience (Flash, video, etc)


Primary Requirements:


Deep knowledge and discipline around Web development best practices:

Write clean, well documented, modular and validating code


Leverage Web standards


Use CSS-P for Layout (not tables)


Knowledge of DOM programming


Experience with Cookies


Hands-on experience integrating flash into HTML; communication
between flash and html/Javascript

Flash timeline experience required


XML fluency


Secondary Requirements:

Some working knowledge of JSP and CFML
Basic understanding or better of Java, Java Beans, EJBs and tag libraries

Action Script programming a plus

OOP experience ideal


Characteristics:

Collaborative, inclusive and flexible team member

Resourceful self-starter who gets things done

Highly organized with extreme attention to detail and strong brand sensitivity


Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment

Creative problem-solver

Strong communication skills required

Good writing skills a plus


EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:


Minimum 4 years hands-on site-building experience, with a focus on high-end brands or other
environment with very high standards for build


Experience integrating presentation layer to middleware via templating languages


Bachelors Degree preferred


Ecommerce experience a plus


REPORTS TO: Creative Director, Internet

Amazingly this job is all over the board in regards to web development. I mean I don't think they have excluded a single language or technology here.

Another company contacted me in regards to an IT position and that description (Which is for a city job) was also all over the board in regards to every possible job known to man in the IT field.

So for discussion and to have fun ragging on the dim witted HR departments who don't even know what any of these acronyms stand for or why they want someone to posses these abilities in the first place. I thought I would open up for discussion these types of job descriptions and what we as programmers can do to explain to HR you do not need to be an experienced Assembly language programmer to create a web page.

[supersloth]

i've found they tend to use the same job descriptions for all the computer positions within the organization. then after hr gets your resume and finds interest they hand you off to someone on the team/project who usually knows what they are actually looking for.

[KYA]

There's a serious disconnect between the HR people and the tech people. You can't really get a good gauge of a devloper/programmer by the resume alone; you have to bring them in for an interview. If the HR people are the ones doing the interview, then the team is S.O.L.


My favorite part of that description:

Nykc said:

Develop cross-browser/platform HTML, CSS, and Javascript to match design specs for
complex page layouts while adhering to code standards


Develop and evolve code standards as site and market mature

That is ridiculous. Buzzwords are going to be the death of us.

[Nykc]

I completely agree with that, but the trick is getting past the HR department in the first place. I have actually applied for jobs that I exceeded the expectations in regards to job descriptions and they told me I was not qualified for the position. Ironic.

[P4L]

I think the best part of requirements are the education requirements. I ran across one where the requirements were the applicant had to have one of 3 to be considered for the position. NOTE: This was for an ENTRY LEVEL help desk technician. The requirements were:

1) BS in Information Technology, or related field, with 1 year professional experience

or

2) 2 to 5 years professional experience with no degree

or

3) Masters degree in Information Technology, or related field, with no prior work experience. Still considered learning.


WTF, for that particular job posting, I have 14 years experience, and I was passed over for some green horn straight out of college with a Masters degree.

[Sethro117]

I had a contract opportunity with a company in Springdale not to long ago. They wanting a POS application for a kiosk they were deploying. Me and the HR guy had an interview for 2 hours and he asked if I wanted to meet the Project Manager. I accepted and I sat in a room for about 15 minutes. The Project Manager came in and we started talking for 30 minutes.

He said the HR guy had said I didnt seem to know what I was talking about and advised I not be taken on for this. The Project Manager gave me the position and the HR guy was let go 2 weeks later.

[NickDMax]

Most of that is non-sense and could be summarized as: Experience in Web Development.

Sending out a Job listing is much like using a really bad version of google. You put the job out there and get a ton of resumes... except most of the resumes are a crappy as that job listing that you posted.

I did some vetting of resumes recently and was really shocked at many of them. It turned out to be easier than I thought it was going to be. About 30-40% of them contained non-sense that made me question if the person had any clue what they were talking about. Honestly looked like they pasted portions of job requirements like the one above into a resume.

The worst part was that HR folks had already been though these resumes and had already taken out the ones they felt had poor grammar or whatever the hell it is they look for. (note I did this for a head-hunter company so they were probably just sending me every resume with the words "Java" and "HTML" on them.)

So I don't know, maybe HR has a method to their madness -- either trying to attract more resumes or perhaps find some magic "filter".

[TriggaMike]

Maybe they use these extravagant, impossible requirements to weed-out script kiddies from professionals. A script kiddie may be inclined to tell the person that they actually have these requirements, while the professional would go ahead and tell someone along the chain they have their head up their ass.

What about your Job posting requiring:

"C++, Java, and Fortran"

The person with these requirements says:

"Yeah I can program those languages, but the incorporation of those three together screams 'I'm a retard'."

Script Kiddie:

"I've written enterprise level middleware in all those languages that was deployed on a cloud based AJAX system."
^Uses as many buzz words as possible

It's hard for computards to differentiate between the first one and the second one though without this.

[supersloth]

P4L, on 24 February 2010 - 11:57 AM, said:

WTF, for that particular job posting, I have 14 years experience, and I was passed over for some green horn straight out of college with a Masters degree.

some companies just value the education part more. sorry, that's not necessarily the way it SHOULD be, but it is what it is. and it's not like it's some sort of secret. they pretty much bash it into every high schoolers head that those with higher education on average make much more than those without. they weren't lying.

[coden4fun]

Nykc, on 24 February 2010 - 11:50 AM, said:

I completely agree with that, but the trick is getting past the HR department in the first place. I have actually applied for jobs that I exceeded the expectations in regards to job descriptions and they told me I was not qualified for the position. Ironic.

Then deceive the HR people until you get your foot in the door. After that and you've lined up your first interview by blowing sunshine up their ass; it'll be easy to impress the real engineers who knows what they're talking about.

This post has been edited by coden4fun: 24 February 2010 - 05:01 PM

[neptunusmaris]

I got lost in those job requirements...

Why don't they just put "You must know everything about making software." ...What it sums up to be...

BOOM! done...

LOL ... really some of the job postings get ridiculous with the requirements and often make/state redundant qualifications (say the same thing within the same section of "requirements")

supersloth is right:

Quote

i've found they tend to use the same job descriptions for all the computer positions within the organization. then after hr gets your resume and finds interest they hand you off to someone on the team/project who usually knows what they are actually looking for.

I have been a witness to this from my HR dept. I saw two jobs in the technical field posted pretty much the same content ...NONE of them had anything to do with 90%of what the posting's requirements said after they got hired.

[neptunusmaris]

And hold on

At the end it says...

Quote

REPORTS TO: Creative Director, Internet

WTF? Do they mean Creative Director, Internet as in "Creative Director of the Internet/Web Development Dept."

Or lol... they mean reports the Creative Director and the Internet.

Or is there a Creative Director of the Internet ...that I have yet to discover ..Al Gore maybe? (kidding)

[Programmist]

Another problem with overly-broad requirements like that is that the technical staff get way too many resumes from people who are probably not qualified. I recently sifted through loads of resumes, filtering about 95% of them into the round file because they were little more than laundry lists of buzzwords with no substance. I was about to get irritated at the recruiter and then it occurred to me to ask what the job description was. I just assumed it was something sensible, but it was not. It was way too general, so I asked that it be made more concise. It was a huge waste of time. I mean - hey, I bill the same rate whether I'm coding, looking at resumes, or conducting interviews, but I'd rather be coding.

[Nykc]

Well to shed a little more light on the particular job in question, it is for a very large and sucessful retailer whom everyone (especially ladies) are familiar with. Basically all this position would require is working with a team of developers and updating web content.

Overkill with the description? IMHO yes.

[xTorvos]

Another downside of overly complicated descriptions is that it turns away many whom would be completely qualified to do the job. I have a lot of friends who have had nothing but jobs in high school which are the typical fast-food/retail jobs. They see descriptions like this and think that there is no way in hell that they would ever get the job; so why would they submit a resume? These people could easily do the job that was being posted for, but they don't think that they will get accepted because they don't match each and every qualification on the description.

What this turns into is the people that would be willing to do the job for a lesser amount of money aren't applying, but people who are only willing to work for larger amounts of money are. This amounts to wasted time on everyone's part because the real professionals aren't going to work for what the job is willing to pay.