Mistakes Employers Make During Hiring

I am one of those people who is not part of the 9 to 5 workforce at the moment. Times are changing and it looks like my chosen job (print production artist) is being forced out of full time and into a freelance position at many companies. In other words, it's been a lot easier to find freelance/temp work than full time. Because of this, I have stretches of time where I'm between gigs and have to look for new opportunities to earn money on a regular basis. This means reading a LOT of job postings. I have to tell you, though there are listings there, it doesn't mean I can necessarily apply to them. And after living with this job search routine for quite some time, I hate to say it, but there are listings I don't WANT to apply to for a variety of reasons. Here are my top 5 turnoffs:

1. You are offering a ridiculously low salary.
No self respecting experienced employee is going to accept a position that pays half of what they are worth. A few bucks less than ideal? OK. But half?! Come on. Even if out of desperation a quality employee actually applies, they're most likely going to leave for a better salary the first chance they get. If you want to be cheap, be prepared to get stuck with someone sub-par who will not be very good at the job or someone who will always have a foot out the door. You get what you pay for. You care about your business right? Then shell out a few bucks to hire good, qualified people and it will be worth it in the long run. Or else get ready for high turnaround, huge amounts of frustration hiring new people constantly, or face losing a great worker who will show you no loyalty at all.

2. We are not "gurus", "magicians", or "ninjas."
We are designers and artists. Using this language makes you sound like an idiot, and makes us feel like you think we are idiots as well. We aren't children who need the job to sound like some fantastical wondrous movie adventure. We also don't want to feel like we have to show up ready to pull a rabbit out of a hat to impress you. List what the job entails, what you are looking for in terms of qualifications, a small bit about your work environment and what you have to offer, and how to get in touch with you. In other words, grow up and speak to us like the educated adults that we are.

3. Your applicants don't know EVERYTHING.
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a job listing that requires the applicant to know print, interactive and video programs all at the same time. Most of us went to school for a specific major (just like you), and chances are we are not going to magically be an expert in every software program under the sun. Print designers know print, interactive designers know interactive, and video editors know video editing. Asking me to know InDesign, Flash, HTML and Final Cut Pro is like asking me to be able to speak English, Russian and Japanese. If you do manage to find the elusive employee who does know all that you require, get ready to pay big bucks.

4. Put effort into your job listing.
Incomplete sentences, misspelled words, and job descriptions that are either too brief or too long are all things that are red flags. You read hundreds of resumes? Well we read hundreds of listings. That means we pick and choose what we want to respond to just like you do. Think of it as an ad for your company, not just a cattle call. Make the company sound like a place we want to work for, and you'll attract employees you'll want to hire.

5. Once we're in your office, don't talk trash about the person we're replacing.
It makes you look petty. If one of your major complaints was that he/she didn't go to lunch with you, then you appear to have mixed up priorities. If you're annoyed that the ex-employee spent their free time websurfing, then don't confess to me that you have used your own downtime to design invitations for your kid's birthday party (these things were actually said to me in an interview).

The way I approach a job is that I come in, I do the work, and I go home. I am not looking to start drama and I stay out of its way in the workplace. I am qualified, responsible, congenial and only want to do a good job. If I sound like a good employee, it's because I am.

If you're a company that is guilty of any of these five things, then you know why you haven't received my resume.