One of the biggest complaints techies have about employers is how their want ads are written. Some techies avoid certain jobs on the basis of their ads alone. It may come as a surprise to HR professionals, but in many cases their ads are received with mingled mirth and sarcasm.

There are many sins the want ads commit. One of the most common is just general cluelessness. I’ve seen want ads that request 10 years of experience with a product that’s only been available for seven. Or the ad may mention the vendor or maker of a technology, but not what specific product is being discussed. Just saying “experience with Cisco,” for example, is not informative, because Cisco Systems makes a wide variety of products.

Misspelling and misusing technical words is another source of hilarity. Ads that ask for “Linux programming language experience” for example, are silly because there is no such thing as a “Linux programming language.” There are languages commonly found in a Linux environment, but none that can’t be found anywhere else. Now granted, ads are often written by HR personnel who are taking their cues from others, but somebody internally should check these things, or risk being bypassed by the best applicants.