ADVERTISEMENT

Far from every interview is a success and a lot of us have some nightmare stories to tell. But the nightmare usually starts with the first filter—actually qualifying for the job which can have high demands and low rewards. Sometimes, it can seem like even waiting tables and brewing coffee requires a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree (talk about inflation, right?).

One of the people who posted about unrealistic expectations is Sebastián Ramírez, who created FastAPI 1.5 years ago. According to him, the job post requires 4+ years of experience in FastAPI and even he, the founder, couldn’t apply for the job. Which brings us to the main question: why do companies do this?

Inspired by Sebastián's post, we've collected examples of some of the most unrealistic criteria that recruiters have had while hiring professionals for job positions, so scroll down and upvote the ones that left an impression on you. We also know that this is something that a lot of you Pandas can relate to, so be sure to share your own job-hunting experiences in the comments. Read on for Bored Panda’s in-depth interview with Sebastián about companies setting unrealistic standards for potential employees.

#3

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At this moment this is the last item on the list and it for sure is the worst. I still hope it's only a joke.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

“I understand recruiters need to try and get the best candidates for their organizations, that's what they are trying to achieve. But they don't have a way to know beforehand who will be good at a certain job and who won't. So they have to resort to some type of proxy for that information,” Sebastián went into detail why some recruiters have very high and sometimes unrealistic expectations for potential employees.

“And probably for legacy reasons and status quo, the main proxies for that information have been a degree and ‘years of experience.’ It's simple and easy to measure, years of experience is just a number, and a degree is a specific name (or set of names).”

Sebastián then explained what the negative side effects of this type of thinking can be. “Those indicators don't really measure someone's ability to perform some tasks,” he said.

#5

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

Do you really think I'd still be in webdev if I had a time machine?

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
mandikeel avatar
MRK
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is due to the fact that HR has no real idea of what each of these jobs do. They are using a cut and paste mentality in a fast evolving tech world.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

ReallyIshaan Report

Add photo comments
POST
max_lombardi_mi avatar
brendanroberts avatar
Brendan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have friends with masters degrees, and years later, some of them are still doing unpaid internships. It turns out that work experience counts for a lot more than education.

sweetangelce04 avatar
CatWoman312
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this sh!t right here is why I work a non degree required job. I get $21 an hour and if I decide to pursue my degree I’ll have to go back down to about $15-$18 an hour. Logic someone?

adam-wassall24 avatar
claraknaub_1 avatar
Clara Knaub
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. I know someone who has a Master’s degree and makes 150 per hour.

valc avatar
Val C
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Women have had to deal with these kinds of requirements for minimum wage for DECADES.

jeepguy_tx_2000 avatar
Jason Lutz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why people are having such a hard time paying off student loans.

jamie1707 avatar
jamie1707
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, that is not illegal. Many retired seniors have advanced degrees. Many seniors want to continue to work. A lot of companies, including non profs look for retirees with degrees, take advantage of these folks, pay them next to dog poo and give them a work load a 30 yo would have trouble handling. I've been there and I really don't know how I got roped into what I did. It was very sleezy.

rollinskjohn avatar
meh
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have seen worse, a little over 10$ per hour for postgraduates with experience.

anastasija_getman avatar
Anastasija Getman-Vaitiekuniene
Community Member
3 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

allmusic76 avatar
Edward Mangini
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately, this isn't that uncommon, especially in public education.

katboxjanitor avatar
katboxjanitor
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Rolling Stones got it right... You CAN'T always get what you want!

rbtbcm avatar
Robert Baucom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The British have a saying. "Ya pays peanuts, ya gets monkeys." My saying is, "Stupidity in management is the norm. intelligent management is a rarity.~The old curmudgeon

davidhanson_1 avatar
David Hanson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is someone with a Masters Degree applies for and gets this job, they deserve that pay.

don503765 avatar
Donald Holder
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's sad is that the person responsible for posting this probably makes more than that.

anj avatar
Anja Schmidt
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

what people do not know yet: People who destroy other peoples sallaries and work for that money, are on the list of death. - joke! Or?

jamesfogden avatar
JXXXF
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In France this is common, they ask for 2 masters degrees and several languages and pay minimum wage which is the equivalent of $10 an hour...

doctert avatar
Terence Cluttey
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i am in the wrong country... i live in south africa... i have 24 years experience as a web developer and graphic designer, i earn $4.20 per hour (converted from rands to dollars)

rweaver-boredpanda avatar
Johnny
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's still over twice the national minimum wage. Which is another problem with having such a low minimum wage, it deflates all salaries.

goes-bart84 avatar
Bart
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Damn... Here in Switzerland you earn 22 working in McDonald's...

tobinkernalphapuck avatar
AlphaPuck
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is what happens when you have IV league school people writing qualifications with no real world experience.

kobayashi-ken avatar
K.Kobayashi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Note the words "Preferred" and "Minimum". Most likely, someone with a Master's degree will start out with a salary higher than that minimum.

rollinskjohn avatar
meh
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have seen worse, a little over 10$ for postgraduates with experience.

jjflame avatar
Jakub Wasilewski
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know it's different in US, but 15$ an hour seems like much more then entry level job for master degree holders in my country :D (It's depending on field 8-12 dollars without solid work experience)

allmusic76 avatar
Edward Mangini
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not illegal. This is actually fairly common in public education.

elizabethrosemurgy avatar
Elizabeth Rosemurgy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This looks like the starting pay for new attorneys in many places... I think part of the problem is that the boomers are too cheap to pay employees

black_amanda avatar
Amanda Black
Community Member
3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

There are plenty of jobs that require degrees that pay $15-20 per hour. That is just the way things are.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

“A degree (or set of degrees) in many cases indicates that someone went to a specific physical location periodically for a long period of time, studying certain related subjects, reading and studying about those subjects, and finding a way to pass many, many exams. Those degrees for sure indicate perseverance doing that for years. And although it means that someone had available several ways to acquire some knowledge and skills, it doesn't necessarily mean that person was able to get them.”

He continued: “And then, the exams try to measure someone's ability to do something but are still a heavily simplified way to measure it, another proxy. And in cases, those passed exams to get a degree were measuring skills that might not necessarily be perfectly related to the ones the recruiter cares about.”

#8

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#9

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

You have to be available 40 hours a week but you'll only get at maximum $100 a week. So no second job but $10 dollars an hour? You needed a degree too

reddit.com Report

ADVERTISEMENT

According to Sebastián, its “highly admirable” when people are capable of learning a lot of skill sand studying a lot for a long time. “That is probably the actual objective of someone getting a degree. But the degree itself is not the only way to prove that someone did that. And in cases, it might not even be the best way to prove that,” he said.

“At the same time, someone else might acquire the needed skills for the required tasks, but not necessarily through the established ways to get a degree. This becomes even more evident in industries like technology, that move faster than what a rigid education system can always follow,” Sebastián told us.

“On the other hand, years of experience is another proxy that assumes that every person will find the same obstacles (or at least the same amount or type of obstacles) as any other person, learning the same ideas, developing the same skills. But the problem is that one person might keep doing the same thing for a long period of time, accumulating "years of experience" but not actually acquiring new skills. And at the same time, someone could quickly learn new technologies that allow them to perform different tasks more easily, learn how to perform many different tasks, or handle some complex problems and learn how to overcome some difficult obstacles, acquiring a lot of actual ‘experience’ and skills in a very short period of time.”

ADVERTISEMENT
#11

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

These must be the most amazing donuts in the world

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
sonja-szabrotska avatar
Sonja
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Motivated friendly barista with doctoral degree. Part-time job, where you have to work for 5 days in a week. yeeey!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

Varun__Shourie Report

Add photo comments
POST
finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Duuh, if you're really good at swift, you work so swiftly that you get several years experience every year.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Looking for a job can feel like you’re in the Stone Age, hunting for an elusive, quick-footed, and surprisingly picky gazelle that will only let you catch it if you have the right, overinflated qualifications. You’re famished but the gazelle keeps taunting you: “No Master’s degree? No dinner!”

Replace the gazelle with recruiters who have unrealistic criteria while hiring professionals and you’re back in the 21st century, struggling to find a job during the (pardon my French) crapfest that is 2020.

We get it, recruiters want to find the ‘perfect’ candidate to fill each and every job opening. However, impractical expectations about the job market can do more harm than good: the person who can do the job well and with passion can also be someone who doesn’t qualify because their job experience is ‘insufficient.’ Or ‘wrong.’

#13

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#15

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

minisculemang Report

Add photo comments
POST
crunchewy-watson avatar
CrunChewy McSandybutt
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Prior to an interview, I had to go through a list of words and pick ones that I felt described me. It was really vague and, honestly, there couldn't have been a wrong answer. Yet, I was rejected solely on my answers. I'm really curious about what the right answers were.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

British recruitment experts Brand Recruitment explained that companies want a proper return on investment. However, they often “don’t actually know what they’re looking for at all” while their job descriptions, especially for new positions can look like a “5-year-old’s Christmas list, with bullet point after bullet point of everything they MUST have.”

Recruiters also have to be realistic when it comes to actual job performance. Ideally, they want to find a new employee who can do their job immediately without any training. Contrast that to the idea that recruiters should find people who have a lot of potential but require nurturing and guidance. Unfortunately, hidden gems stay hidden and don’t get a chance to shine if companies only want a bunch of boxes ticked (and a Master’s degree for a 15 dollar hourly wage).

#16

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
nicolaroberts avatar
Nicola Roberts
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hahaha just like 'key workers'. Not sure if this translates worldwide, but those that kept working despite low pay and a pandemic. We thank you for your service! (I do, but that was good old fashioned British sarcasm).

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Alright! I qualify! I have a bullsh** degree in engineering, plus I am over ten years old. Ka-ching!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
stonewoodoo avatar
Falcon
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah yes, everybody knows you get a free lab when you get a bachelor's degree so you can do your job for free.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#20

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

Particular-Wedding Report

Add photo comments
POST
elizabethrosemurgy avatar
Lizard W
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! So many job postings for lawyers are ridiculously out of touch in requirements or offer ridiculously low pay for what they require.

#21

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

mahnikaraetz Report

Add photo comments
POST
kerri avatar
Kerri Russ
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. I did medical transcription from home 15 years ago. Some transcriptionists said they made $35k a year. I took the 2-year course. In that time, transcription services were offered offshore. By the time I got my degree and a job, stuff was stating to move back due to quality issues with language. But by then, doctors didn't want to pay what they had paid before. I was making 7 cents an hour on straight transcription and 5 cents an hour on automatic trascription, which is basically proofing transcription that the doctor dictated directly into a program that types up what it hears, which was making headway at the time. For the year, I made less than minimum wage. Another year later, I got a new job out of the house. That degree was a waste of time and money.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

soru_mehta Report

Add photo comments
POST
merlin240371 avatar
Richard Brown
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

HR were told to employ 3 people with 4 years experience and HR went "Why not one person with all the experience!" while thinking of all the money they would save

View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
markymarkandthefunkybunch avatar
Marky Mark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hello Everybody, I'm Doctor Nick Riviera, and I will be be a medical writer.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
#26

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
jordanmacfarlane avatar
Jordan MacFarlane
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

process engineering is field work in a refinery, operating equipment, running process equipment. entry level is probably a reflection of it being a unionized spot, so senior positions are filled according to seniority, experience, competency etc. But een entry level positions pay well probably $25-$30/hr

#27

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

reddit.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
sylwia-ania-janiak avatar
Esca Sav
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I met recruiters at a conference from Lockhead Martin. A lot of them were very stone faced when speaking to which I presume was to weasel out the weak from the sea of people trying to get an interview, but personally I think it kind of backfired. Just made me not want to apply to a job there, like they had no respect for anyone. I saw them again at another conference and that group of recruiters were definitely nicer and more open to undergraduate students looking for work, but I still can't forget my first experience with them... It really is a competitive employer, I can tell you that

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

Unrealistic-Criteria-Hiring-Professionals-Recruiters

penny_en_pink Report