On Job Postings

A Public Service Announcement.

A recurring problem has come to my attention: employers posting job openings prematurely.

In a world of type-and-click bulletin boards such as Craigslist, it has become common to list openings on a whim. As a result, people who are actually looking for real jobs, that exist for real put on shiny shoes and spend an hour or two in strange offices on their best behavior, only to find that the company isn't looking for someone after all. I've heard from a number of irritated job applicants facing similar issues.

Employers, when you consider posting about a job, do your preparations first. Check with the budget. Ask the company owner. Please, please, PLEASE do not waste the time of people who are already irritated because their cable is about to be shut off because they're so broke. Though you think saying, "We'd really like to hire you, but it turns out we don't have the budget" is a compliment, what we hear is, "I am a massive tool, and there's no way you're going to pay your phone bill before it gets turned off."

Back to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress. (Cue NBC "The More You Know" music.)