Recruitment’s Bad Approach and Basic Mistakes
Hello Everyone, We have all been there – on the labor market!

I know – you are well educated, positive, energetic person … a professional who is ready for the next challenge.
Even if you are not this person you still don’t deserve the treatment you get from certain Companies. Believe me, there is a good number of Job Offers simply qualifying for – ridiculous.
So, you are unemployed and you cruise the job ads looking for a good match (at least as first impressions and based on the written).
And, oh boy! Based on the written you come to the first basic mistake the Entreprise recruitment person/team has made – way too many requirements. Here is a great example of a very bad Job Offer. Check what this Company is looking for:
- Degree in Computer Science or related fields
- Experience in two or more of the following areas:
- Network technologies and platforms (e.g. TCP/IP, routing protocols, subnet, VLAN, QoS, MPLS, access control list, firewall, router, switch, VPN, load balancer, network traffic analysis, IDS/IPS, proxy, etc.)
– server and workstation technologies and platforms (e.g., Windows, Unix, Linux, Macs, etc.) - Middleware technologies and platforms (e.g. databases, web servers, application servers, etc.)
– virtualization technologies, platforms, and services directory, identity, authentication, and access management technologies (e.g. AD, LDAP, SSO, AD FS, multi-factor authentication, TACACS+, Radius, etc.) - Application development platforms and secure application architecture/design and development
- Knowledge and/or experience in security incident management, patch management, system hardening, Identity, and access management
- Broad knowledge of security technologies, solutions, and tools (e.g. encryption technologies, SIEM, DLP, AV, port scanners, vulnerability scanners, etc.)
- Very good communication in English
- Capacity to quickly absorb new concepts and technologies and apply that knowledge to current efforts and plans
- Flexibility and capacity for creative thinking
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to work independently and in a cross-functional team
- Very good communication and presentation skills
- Preferred certifications: CISSP, CompTIA Security+, CISM
- Knowledge and/or experience with GDPR is a plus
I counted about 15 dashes with different requirements. This is absolute crap! They have only forgotten to ask their future employee to be able to do a handstand 🤸.
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You don’t do that – well I guess you can but it is wrong. What you can do is grab 5 of the most important requirements and put those in your Ad.
I hear you guys – you will say, Vess, it is better for us to know what to expect from the beginning, this way we know whether to apply or not and what salary to expect. By posting an Ad like this the Employer will discourage many honest and good employees. A true candidate will look at some of the requirements and if he finds some he has no knowledge of he simply will not apply. There is absolutely no problem when you go deep in the recruitment process to mention extra requirements – you just don’t do this in your first approach to your candidate.
Not to mention how badly the information is presented. It is much better to make it interesting, prettier, and easier to read for the candidates, there are many tools (templates if you wish) you can use to achieve this. This shows your respect for the candidates, your professionalism, and how much you like your job.
My advice – keep things simple, and shorter, and don’t overflow your Job Offer.
All right my friend you found a position you think is a good fit for your skills and most importantly for your personality – you think you are looking at your dream job, one you can do with pleasure – yes, there are such jobs! You hurry and click the Apply now button and bamm second disappointment – you are redirected to Company’s website and in order to apply you are required in many cases to:
- create a profile
- fill all kinds of information
- and in the end, eventually, apply
Cmon Vess – it is not a big deal, if you want the position you will do it happily. It is a principal question folks – they are asking something straight away and there is no guarantee you will be hired. And this something is your information and when you click I agree to the terms and conditions /which you are forced in order to send your application/ your information is in their hands. Is this fair? Is this how it should be – No.
Don’t get me wrong if I like the position I will go through this and much more – I am just saying this is not my way to get things done.
Also, it is okay to be sent to the Company’s website to apply. It is just much better when you end up there to see a simple apply form like this one:
*Name
*Email address
*Why you have decided to apply for this position?
*Attach your CV
That is all you need! This is okay.
What is not okay is to ask your candidate to fill in all kinds of information (even some inappropriate) making him/her create a profile with you in order to send one CV and apply. I have even seen worse cases where they send you a test to do right away after you apply – again this is not how it should be.
You contact your candidate and show him/her respect/interest by engaging in a friendly conversation – presenting the job/ the company and informing the candidate of the further steps of the recruitment process.
Slowly but surely we have made it to 3rd base. This means it is time that I share with you one major mistake recruitment do – the Company itself has hired the wrong people to hire you.
In many cases, those people cant seed a good from a bad candidate either because they are not smart enough or because they are following stupid procedures/models, or just because they are incompetent/unprofessional.
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Recruitment’s Bad Approach and Basic Mistakes
Final thoughts
In conclusion, if you are looking for a job I will say to you – always respect yourself, trust your capabilities, and have your eyes open. Learn to read the other side (the Company) to try to avoid mistakes. In the interviews, you can gather a lot of information that can be useful and play a decisive role. Trust your instincts and never put yourself in a desperate (no matter how hard it is) position. Of course, also have a real, down-to-earth judgment about yourself.
As for the Companies – never show muscles to the candidates. Respect them all the way in the journey, and treat them on a 50/50 relationship scale. Make the recruitment process simple, fun, and productive.
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