The Challenge
As of this writing some big job boards have become gigantic global marketplaces that require much more marketing effort than only a few years ago to get a job. Check out these numbers.
Linkedin.com – 1 Billion + members 1
Indeed.com – 580 Million job seeker profiles 2
Ziprecruiter.com – 157 Million job seekers have used this site 3And for the 2024 indeed.com US jobs hiring trends report it shows several large industry sector job postings down 30-50% in year over year percentage changes. 4
The Goal
While your individual goal may be simply to get a job…
I believe the real goal here is to achieve a two way win-win for you and the employer so that it can be a good match for however long you both want it to be.
So before you get too depressed with the above, let’s look at how you can find better jobs that match what you want through a better understanding of job descriptions and some next steps.
Reading a job description may not be enough to let you know if you would say yes to any offer, but being able to pull out useful nuggets of information that may be make or break is a great first step to help you to know IF you even want to go down the application path with a potential employer.
Watch Out for Job Fraud
Before we get started with job descriptions please be aware that fraud in the job market is currently very present, and can take many different forms. This posting is not intended to be comprehensive of all the conniving and mischievious ways those intending harm and hassle may attempt. But here are a few fraud topics to consider for safer job searching.
• Be aware if you are solicited out of the blue to submit your information to apply for a job. And if they ask for your social security number and other personal information at the front end of the application… be very suspicious. I’ve been able to talk legitimate recruiters into me providing info I’m more comfortable sharing, at least initially.
• Pay attention when the same job posting is reposted time and time again, sometimes already with thousands of applicants. Posters may just be fishing for personal information.
• Be cautious of over inflated promises of money, flexibility in hours, or location. If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
• Be cautious of requests for quick deadlines to apply, submit personal information, and make acceptance decisions.
• Watch closely for mis-matched email domain addresses from the recruiter email and organization website.
When I was searching for a position I initially fell for a scam from someone mimicking a real company that seemed legitimate at first. But with some research and more requests from the mimicker, I was able to recognize the scam from the bullet points above. I dodged a bullet there.
A more obvious item to watch out for is for those pressing you for an up-front fee. While there are recruitment spin masters out there who can sell ice to eskimos, unless you are in an industry that does require up-front fees, such as being your own franchise owner, which is a different conversation, for a “job” you should NOT be pre-paying any fees to get employment.
Job Description Observations
Finally, here are a few job description extracts for project related positions that may lead to questions for you to ask the employer… or simply may be a clear warning sign to avoid applying altogether.
• “PMP or SCRUM certification is required” – In this case does the organization really know what they want or need? If you work in waterfall, agile, or some hybrid in-between this should certainly point to a discussion topic with the hiring manager on what method they use and what they are really after.
• “Responsible for compliance with all federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations affecting the Company.” – Is this a position for a lawyer or are they looking for a scapegoat? Broad responsibilities that may seem outside of the normal realm of a project practitioner role should be analyzed with the job poster to determine what the level of responsibility really is, whether joint with someone else, or your sole responsibility.
• “And And And” postings – When added up you can’t really think of anything else the company does that you are not charged with doing. – Perhaps it is a small company and they do need you to wear multiple hats as needed. This could also point to a manager just wanting you to do anything they ask or need. It’s your choice on how defined and perhaps predictable or broad (doing anything and everything) you want your job role to be.
• Re-postings – These can be legitimate when the company doesn’t get qualified applicants to apply. Be cautious of fraud however, when there are a very large number of applicants, 500 to thousands. In this case I have to ask myself if they are looking for THE ideal unicorn for the perfect fit. Or another possibility is that the organization may be using an AI resume filter, known as an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that may not be properly tuned to provide them the candidates they are really looking for.
• VERY specific requirements – There are organizations that hire (usually younger workers) and then train them in the way that fits the organization’s needs. And at the other end of the spectrum there are organizations that prefer not to train and just rely on other previous employers to train their job applicants to be ready to be productive day one. Highly specific requirements in a job description signal the latter. And if you get interviews at these places it may be well worth it to better understand the organization’s plans for investment or lack of investment in you going forward.
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), the AI application that filters applicant resumes can have all kinds of logic in it for matching key words, job requirements, titles, work history, and dates. This article cites a Harvard Business Review study on how ineffective these ATS systems have been “88-94% qualified candidates vetted out of the process by ATS” 5 as of a couple of years ago… yet they are still in use to “save time?” Check out the next steps below for how to deal with the ATS.
• “Ability to multitask” – Multitasking is not possible according to an MIT professor. “You don’t actually multitask, you task-switch.” 6 I can understand the sentiment and need to find a project practitioner who can task switch. From multiple team exercises I have conducted with my project teams over the years there are some interesting nuances of how this works for different people. That is for another post. Nevertheless, for this to be in a job description it is worth probing to see what the real need is. Is this “multi-tasking” within 1-2 large projects, or running all the details on 10-15 medium size projects… Make sure it sounds feasible to you.
• Staffing Agent / Recruiter representing you – Make sure the person you first talk with can represent you well. This is commonly the job poster. You are after someone who can clearly communicate who you are. And secondly, you are looking for people who have some presence and enthusiasm to get other people excited about you. In cases of a contract position I sometimes get multiple pings from different agencies for the same position. I go with the recruiter who I think can best represent me.
Considerations
In addition to the notes in the above section, please consider the associated manager perspective articles for a fuller understanding of the other side so that you can know how to tailor your approach and verbiage to appeal to the management need, while getting what you need as well.
Assess your market and what kind of competition there is in your job area and geographic location. If you are not finding traction in a specific job board, include others in your searches. In regard to job postings you may want to look at other marketplaces for contracts or gigs. There seems to be a preferred niche for each person. Consider the marketplace and the amount of self marketing you need to do to stand out and succeed.
Next Steps
You know what your strengths and weaknesses are, what you think you can handle, and what would engage you. Use the above tips to help navigate your job search to find your next best job.
For ATS systems, check out Jobscan 7 for how your resume may stack up to specific job descriptions for a better chance. Or, some companies allow you to opt out of the ATS process in favor of human reviews.
Consider other marketplaces or criteria that you could leverage to make your resume stand out.
And the point of this post… take a closer look at the job descriptions you are interested in and read between the lines. And when you get interviews, take just a minute to think about what you found out in the interview and map those relevant points to what they posted in the job description so that you can become better at reading between the job description lines.
I wish you the best in your job search!
1 LinkedIn. “About LinkedIn.” Linkedin, LinkedIn, 2024, about.linkedin.com/.
2 Indeed. “About Indeed.” Indeed.com, 2018, www.indeed.com/about.
3 “About Us.” ZipRecruiter, www.ziprecruiter.com/about.
4 https://www.hiringlab.org/2023/11/15/indeeds-2024-us-jobs-hiring-trends-report/
5 https://www.cio.com/article/284414/applicant-tracking-system.html
6 Bunker, Nick. “Indeed’s 2024 US Jobs & Hiring Trends Report.” Indeed Hiring Lab, 15 Nov. 2023, www.hiringlab.org/2023/11/15/indeeds-2024-us-jobs-hiring-trends-report/.
7 Jobscan. “Optimize Your Resume and Boost Interview Chances – Jobscan.” Jobscan, 2019, www.jobscan.co/.
