What scares away top applicants from job opportunities?


1

What are the worst things that you can do to scare away highly qualified people when they come across your job listings online?

Conversely, how do you entice someone to become interested and submit their resume?

Recruiting Hiring Jobs

asked Mar 17 '14 at 21:10
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Glen Sepe
10 points

1 Answer


3

As usual this depends on the type of job listing :)

As a designer:

  • I cringe when I see postings asking for "Rock Star Designers" or variants thereof. At this point it's a trend and shows little respect for the profession. If I was really a rock star designer, I'd be snorting coke and coming to work drunk. I doubt that's the type of designer they really want.
  • I also steer clear of posts that want extensive credentials with little pay. This happens more often than people realize. i.e. "Must have MFA, 12 years experience in a Industry Specific Field, Pay is $12/hr, Must provide own equipment"
  • Aggressive posts that show the company is really strict come across as combative and inflexible. These type of posts show that whoever is in charge of hiring likely has no understanding of my profession and doesn't value it. i.e. "If you don't have a portfolio don't waste our time or yours, we'll throw it in the trash." I have a portfolio but would never reply to this ad.
  • Posts that require you to be an expert in all fields of design (UI/UX, Illustration, Animation, Print etc etc). You can be a jack of all trades but not a master of all of them.
  • Posts that are written by someone who is not a designer or has no understanding of design. In these instances, it takes too long to educate the person in charge of hiring and they usually go with a designer who is all surface and no substance.
  • Posts that want you to submit a custom sample on spec. This is free work and again devalues the profession. People who request this usually never reply and as a designer, it's a waste of my time.

Conversely, I'm attracted to posts

  • That show the company culture
  • That give me a glimpse of the type of challenges I'll be facing
  • That show me they're open to my ideas
  • That give me autonomy but also make me feel like I will be a valuable member of the team
answered Mar 17 '14 at 21:38
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Lindsey Wilson
565 points

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