Ugh. Again?

This is a topic I've covered before and I'm sure I will cover it again. It's a topic that deserves to be considered until it sinks in. Here we go.

Quit writing crappy job descriptions. You're turning off the very audience you're trying to attract!

This morning I ran across the following gem

Knowledge and Skills:

More than 6 years experience writing code using languages such as (and not limited to) COBOL, PL/1, Java, C, C , C#, VB.Net.

Add the bizarre assortment of development languages to the rest of the poorly written, highly generic, and ill conceived post it's impossible to tell what exactly I'd be doing in this job.

Certainly I'll be coding, but if I'm the best COBOL programmer on the planet & what they really need is a distributed system engineer this description doesn't apply to my skill set. Seems like C is important since it's listed twice, but I'll speculate someone missed the "++" part of C++ during their cut and paste.

I might have to "provide time / resource estimates for assigned projects" (or I might not.) Unlike the individual who wrote / approved this description I definitely need good "verbal and written communication skills."

I could go on, but you get the point.

Attention employers! Software engineers are in high demand and most job descriptions earn a collective eye roll.

If you want to attract the best you need to ATTRACT them with information that is important to them.

• Why do people like working for you?
• What technologies are in place, and what is your roadmap to stay current?
• What about the role is going to challenge them?
• Where will they grow?
• What kind of team and company culture do you cultivate?
• How much does your job pay?
• How much flexibility do you offer?

Stop dusting off old descriptions that have been on a file server since the 90's. Get answers to the questions posed and find someone to craft those answers into a compelling advertisement that would make YOU want to learn more.

We are nearing the end of the second decade of the twenty first century. Please bring your job descriptions out of the dark ages.