Slightly Off KIlter

I had a few second thoughts about writing this entry. What if a potential future employer should read it and base a decision about me on what I say here? Then I thought, so what? If they do, and they don’t like what I have to say, that’s their problem, not mine. Better to find out sooner than later. And, perhaps the decision would be in my favor, after all.

I was reading through a job listing that came over my email today. It began as follows:

The XYZ Company is one of the Nations fastest growing e-tailers.
We have got an opportunity of a lifetime for the right individual.
Headquartered in the Silicon Valley, but with thousands of incredible
customers across the nation, XYZ.com specializes in the sale of
products which everyone needs and uses – Cleaning, Janitorial, Maintenance
& Office Supplies. With over 30,000 products, XYZ is quickly
becoming one of the leading brands within the category.

Woo hoo. So… why don’t I care?

I really don’t want (or need) to know about the company first and foremost. Give me a URL, let me do a little research. But start the job description with… the job description. Is that so difficult?

We are looking to hire a full time web engineer who can take complete
responsibility for our entire technology platform. You must have deep
experience in developing modular web applications for Apache/Linux using
Perl, OO Perl, mod_perl, and MySQL. You will be responsible for feature
development, infrastructure development, database management, and the
creation of administrative tools for use by customer service and sales
representatives.

OK. I like it better now. I can see where they’re coming from… but then, they go off the track again.

XYZ is a fun, casual, and very lively place to work, and we’re
looking for someone who works well with others and is ready to showcase
their talents & make a positive impact on the business. We are located on
beautiful 3rd Avenue in Silly Valley, CA which is packed with quaint shops and
diverse restaurants. Please Note: This position requires deeper Perl skills
than just the ability to write CGIs.

If you are the right candidate for XYZ, you can be on board with us immediately.

Required skills:

…

Of the first three paragraphs, two have nothing to do with the job. It takes four paragraphs of introductory material to get to the short list of required skills. Am I the only one who considers this to be silly and a waste of the reader’s time?

I’m not looking for a “fun, casual, and very lively place to work”. Personally, I couldn’t care less if the street the company resides on is “packed with quaint shops and diverse restaurants”. If I accept the job, it’s for the work I’d be doing, not so I can shop and eat.

I recently tried (fairly hard) to apply for a fulltime position at a company where I worked as a contractor a few years ago. The job requirements included Perl on Unix, excellent analytical & problem solving skills, minimum 3 yrs. experience supporting and/or developing production quality systems, excellent communication skills, and “experience or interest in financial data”. I have all but the last of these in great abundance. I also have 6 months of financial experience at this same company, and I have a passing interest :-). But the hiring manager is actually looking for more than “experience or interest”. He’s looking for “a passion for finance”. That, I don’t have and will never have.

Is a “passion for finance” really needed for this job (a position with the title “Data Analytics Engineer”)? I don’t personally believe so, but my opinion doesn’t count for much. I wish the hiring manager well; I think he’s making a big mistake, favoring form over function and interest over analysis.

In most situations (not all!), I have little “passion” for the work being done by the company that employs me. In many cases I frankly don’t really care, so long as the company is solvent, sane, and not uptight. My passion is for the quality of my own work — for clean code, clear documentation, and correct results.

Still, you may ask… did I apply for the job with XYZ Company? I did. I figure, if they like my background and my work, I can ignore the lively atmosphere and the quaint shops and get my job done. That’s what they’d really be hiring me to do, after all.