Why not ask if we can run 100meters in under 10secs too?
October 22nd, 2009 admin Location: Raleigh, North CarolinaHi guys. This is a very quick post about a topic that I am sure interests most for-hire web designers. Job postings. Places like monster.com and Career Builder often send all these emails trying to catch the right candidate for the right position. The companies get high quality talent and the people get jobs. It is great, isn’t it?
Well, kind of. One thing I have noticed as a trend is that companies using this services are coming up with an outrageous number of requirements to hire. You may think that is because of the bad economy, but I don’t think so. I think is more a matter of not wanting the job listing to look empty or un-professional.
In any case, the reason behind is not so important. The real problem is what they are causing in the minds of talented web designers and developers out there.
Take a quick look at this snippet:
- 4 Year Degree in IT
Required Skills and Experience
- .Net
- C#, C++
- Drupal
- Photoshop
- Flash
- Illustrator
- HTML
- PHP
- JavaScript
- Linux
- MySQL
All I have to say is wow. First of all: .Net is a Microsoft based platform (which is not free). PHP is a similar platform (which is open source, in other words is free). C# and C++ are two separate high level derivatives of C which use compiling and runtime. Drupal is an Open Source content management system based on php. Drupal is primarily seen as a CMS of preference for social-type websites. Photoshop is obviously the weapon of choice for website design, color correction image manipulation and Raster-based content. Flash is the world of interactivity and animation for both the desktop (AIR) and online. Illustrator is the most powerful vector-based application there is (as opposed to raster). HTML is full online markup language. PHP is the most well known server scripting language for building dynamic websites. Javascript is a client-based scripting language as opposed to the server-side of PHP. Linux is the operating system that runs in most web servers in the world, however it doesn’t run Photoshop, Illustrator or Flash as applications. Finally MYSQL for database storage.
In the notes section they state this:
At least 3 years of interactive (front-end and back-end) experience.
HTML; JavaScript; Linux; mySQL; PHP; XHTML; XML
On top of all this please make sure that you completed a 4 year degree in IT.
And finally, they top it with this sentence:
Experience with 3D apps, video editing and/or sound design, a PLUS!!!!
A Plus? Are you kidding? Getting an expert in half of the requirements is a plus. Getting an expert in all these things and on top of that having video and sound design experience is not a PLUS.
Why am I fired up? Well, I take this as an insult to our profession. Imagine what would happen if a hospital wanted to hire only doctors that are experts in oncology, brain surgery, heart surgery, microsurgery and if you can also do Eye surgery then is a PLUS!
The moral of this post is this: As a designer, don’t feel bad about this kind of job postings. Believe me, I have spend much of my life learning on a PC, LINUX and a MAC how to design in Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign, Fireworks and others, how to code in TextMate, Dreamweaver, Coda and others. How to Build in XHTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, Jquery, Mootols, XML and others. How to program in C, Objective-C (for the iPhone and MAC OS X). How to port to Drupal, Joomla, WordPress and others. I have plenty of experience with sound recording, mixing, editing and mastering. I have experience in Video recording in both SD and HD and I also read constantly about Digital Photography and HDR. I have my bachelors (4 year schooling) and I have a masters in business. All this time I have spent in this and when I see this kind of posting I feel the same way that people with less background do.
Don’t feel bad when you see a post like that. Feel good. Make sure that you don’t apply for a position like that. Why? Because the company that has the audacity to request that from you is also going to request more than what they can afford. They will force you into surrendering your free time, the one they don’t pay for. They will take away your self-esteem as a designer and they will take your creative kid away.
When you see a job posting like that, look at it and then walk away knowing that thankfully you saw their true colors before you stepped into their office. I don’t really know why they don’t ask you to run 100meters under 10seconds too. They probably should.
Be happy and creative, until next time…
Alex_ @ merkados