Photo credit: nakaridore
I was surfing through Instagram a few days ago when I came across a job posting from a well-known real estate firm in Lagos, Nigeria. According to the advertisement, the organization was looking to hire a Digital marketing executive with 3 - 5 years of experience to undertake the following job functions:
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Digital marketing
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Graphic design
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Content creation
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Videography
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Email marketing
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Short-let management
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Social media management
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Video editing
Can you guess the pay? A miserly $360 a month - they might as well have called the role “Chief in slavery officer” because that job ad was ridiculous. After a few reposts, the post began to gain traction, and the comment section quickly became flooded with trolls shaming the brand. They were forced to take it down unavoidably.
This isn't the first or last time a company will post a ridiculous job posting in the hopes of finding a desperate enough candidate to fill the position. They forget, however, that a quality candidate will never settle for less, and those who settle will never provide you with quality. I've applied for my fair share of jobs, and the cycle pauses but never stops, and throughout that time I've come across some extremely daring job ads, the most of which usually include the following:
1. “$360 net salary - 7 years experience” - If this isn’t wickedness then I don’t know what is. Depending on the function, few people in the right frame of mind would have worked for 7 years and still be searching for a salary of less than N200,000, especially given inflation, dollar rates, and the general state of the economy.
2. “Role: Intern - Experience: 3 years” - It is rather very silly when employers expect to hire “experienced” interns. Why would I have experience but be looking for an internship? Most Nigerian companies use it as an excuse for you to work hard but just be paid the bare minimum. I once took an internship position where I was overworked with no compensation - of course, I was glad for the opportunity, but internships should be treated as such and not as an excuse to recruit staff and save the company money. The positions usually have zero guarantees of a full-time position.
3. “Harvard-trained neuroscientist and beauty pageant winner. Must be fluent in Hausa and skilled at tribal basket weaving. Minimum of 10 years experience working for high-tech companies. Salary: Competitive.” - If the salary is so “competitive” why not post it? This confuses me a lot and usually relates to jobs that actually have low to average salary budgets. Some companies aren’t looking for employees, they are looking for superheroes to get the job done.
4. “To apply, send your CV along with a video recording of yourself, a 2000-page essay, a 12,000-word thesis and a 5-year marketing plan” - This might be a bit exaggerated but you get the gist. It’s absurd that some employers request bulky assessments from candidates even before they have been considered for an interview. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with posting an assessment alongside job postings, but please be realistic - no working-class quality candidate is going to draw up a 5-year plan for your company when they haven’t even had a discussion with you yet. As Gen Z would say, “It’s not that deep”. Employers fail to see that recruitment is a two-way street - I need a job, you need my skills - and that we both need to sell ourselves correctly in order to be presented as the best fit.
Let me give you three reasons why I think some employers write these unrealistic job descriptions:
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The employer is inexperienced at hiring - as they say, “Johnny just come”
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Looking for the “perfect candidate” that probably doesn’t exist
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They really posted it for formality and already have candidates in their pipeline i.e “Connections or referrals”
What can you do when you come across ridiculous job postings?
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Move on - You really can’t come and kill yourself - this might even be God handing you red flags about the company.
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Apply the 70% rule - If you fit into 70% of what the ad wants then go for it! Try your best to optimize your CV, follow instructions and present yourself as the best fit.
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Send your resume to the job poster (if you can) - Send your resume to the recruiting manager directly, or network your way in through a personal referral. Of course, if the job requires you to apply online, do so, but augment your efforts with these alternative methods.
The world of work is changing and professionals are not only looking for ways to do better but are demanding that employers be better. If you want to hire your star employee then you need to present yourself as the company of choice. Throw the ridiculous job postings away and take time out to refresh your recruitment strategy or get advice from our experts at Fuzu!