The Naked Job Description

The Naked Job Description Ive had a dream lately that there is a new kind of job description.  Im specifically talking about the postings for hiring candidates, not the I have a job, here is my description so I know what Im supposed to do. Steve Levy wrote Pick MePick Me!  (Steve is one of my favorite recruiting bloggers)  In his post he says: Boring, generic titles that are backed up with equally boring, generic job descriptions do little to pique the curiosity of game changers:  â€œOh, a job responsibility of a software developer is to code? I didn’t know that…”  With these approaches you’re trying to sell the job based upon salary to anyone with a pulse rather than matching the needs of the role, the group, the company with the career needs of a person. As a job seeker I wasnt astute enough to pick through postings and see the boring and generic I simply saw a list of requirements and hoped to match my skills and experience to that list.  So that didnt bug me as much as it bugs people who are in-the-know. Ill tell you what did bug me.  TO NO END.  I hated, loathed, detested, abhorred (yes, I can use online synonym tools) seeing a job description that fit me to a T, but didnt have any compensation information. Many years ago hiring companies went from disclosing how much they would pay to not telling anything.  The problem is, I might see a title and description that Im well-suited for but not realize you are paying 50% of what Im expecting to make. Cant we just cut to the chase and get that out of the way? Lets say that I have to make $80,000/year.  I find three job openings that are practically identical, and somehow find out that one pays $50,000, one pays $85,000, and one pays $240,000. The problem is that the first one is simply too low, and I cant afford to live on that.  I would like the job, but it is just too far off and I dont want to get a second job to bridge the gap. The third one is three times what Im hoping to make of course, anyone would love to make three times what their need is, but if I see you are paying $240k, and Ive not made more than 100k before, Im going to wonder if you arent looking for someone with a lot more depth of experience than I have.  I can use this number to determine that Im really not the right guy (but hey, I met someone who might be a perfect fit can I introduce you?). This now-secretive number makes it so much harder for a job seeker to look at a posting and try and figure out if it is even a possibility. What if we could go back to the olden days and JUST SHARE THE SALARY RANGE! I know, I know, its really too much to ask.  But a guy can dream, cant he? The Naked Job Description Ive had a dream lately that there is a new kind of job description.  Im specifically talking about the postings for hiring candidates, not the I have a job, here is my description so I know what Im supposed to do. Steve Levy wrote Pick MePick Me!  (Steve is one of my favorite recruiting bloggers)  In his post he says: Boring, generic titles that are backed up with equally boring, generic job descriptions do little to pique the curiosity of game changers:  â€œOh, a job responsibility of a software developer is to code? I didn’t know that…”  With these approaches you’re trying to sell the job based upon salary to anyone with a pulse rather than matching the needs of the role, the group, the company with the career needs of a person. As a job seeker I wasnt astute enough to pick through postings and see the boring and generic I simply saw a list of requirements and hoped to match my skills and experience to that list.  So that didnt bug me as much as it bugs people who are in-the-know. Ill tell you what did bug me.  TO NO END.  I hated, loathed, detested, abhorred (yes, I can use online synonym tools) seeing a job description that fit me to a T, but didnt have any compensation information. Many years ago hiring companies went from disclosing how much they would pay to not telling anything.  The problem is, I might see a title and description that Im well-suited for but not realize you are paying 50% of what Im expecting to make. Cant we just cut to the chase and get that out of the way? Lets say that I have to make $80,000/year.  I find three job openings that are practically identical, and somehow find out that one pays $50,000, one pays $85,000, and one pays $240,000. The problem is that the first one is simply too low, and I cant afford to live on that.  I would like the job, but it is just too far off and I dont want to get a second job to bridge the gap. The third one is three times what Im hoping to make of course, anyone would love to make three times what their need is, but if I see you are paying $240k, and Ive not made more than 100k before, Im going to wonder if you arent looking for someone with a lot more depth of experience than I have.  I can use this number to determine that Im really not the right guy (but hey, I met someone who might be a perfect fit can I introduce you?). This now-secretive number makes it so much harder for a job seeker to look at a posting and try and figure out if it is even a possibility. What if we could go back to the olden days and JUST SHARE THE SALARY RANGE! I know, I know, its really too much to ask.  But a guy can dream, cant he?