Could anyone explain why it seems that job descriptions have nothing to do with the actual job?

Every day, I see jobs that require a skill with 2 to 5 years experience. Unfortunately, this is usually in a program or language that wasn’t even popular to use 2 to 5 years ago. Sometimes, it hasn’t even been around for that long. So why post these time requirements? Is it to scare off less qualified applicants? If so, you may be turning your back on some of the best employees. Do you want someone that has learned to play the game or do you want qualified employees? People with a higher intelligence usually don’t bother lying and since this practice has been adopted, company turn over is common.

Why are you using ATS (Application Tracking System)? I sent in my application for a sample reading by an ATS system and was told that I seemed to have an interest in sales. I was also told that I had eleven years experience in software development. Eleven years ago, I was cooking in the army and getting ready to deploy to Iraq. Sales had nothing to do with my resume. The featured image for this article is a word cloud that is based off of the resume I had used for the ATS in question. Where do you see sales? If anything, I should be a database development manager.

So, while my livelihood seems to rest in your hands, I implore you to do your job better.

Don’t trust a program that you seem to not understand.  Double check job descriptions for accuracy.  Write new job descriptions from the ground up instead of copying a pasting from other job descriptions (Most reputable recruiters actually admit that some job descriptions have been used for over 20 years with some keyword changed).

Remember recruiters, you are an important job in America and America is counting on you.