Key Skills

[ThisAndThat]

Would you be using Agile and SSADM at the same time? RAD as well? Looks like a list of headings from a Dummies guide to programming paragims.

What is surprising is thatt they have not qualified any of these so called 'skills' with a time parameter. Usually we see '...must have min of 2 years in .BLOG...' or whatever as if any two developers with the same years experience were interchangeable. In fact there is a HUGE variation between individual programmers but the job ads and interviews never seem to search for this vital fact. Strange but true is it not?

[malvolio]

Now if you ant a really good job advert...

Check out the precision of the skills, the nature of the work (how many industry sectors use back office operations in life and pensions anyway?), the obviously so-not-made-up reference number...

Clearly a professional agency of the highest calibre. Avoid...

Great opportunity at large blue chip organisation for an initial 6 month contract role, which has the potential to get extended. The role requires a well-versed Project Managerwith experience of working in a number of different industry sectors. It is essential that the suitable candidate has experience of Back Office accounts insurance and life and pensions. To apply for this role send me via e-mail me an updated version of your CV with the relevant experience, as I am currently working on several roles of this nature at the moment. By sending your CV by email it ensures I process your application as quickly as possible. If you want to work with an efficient motivated consultant reply to this advert right away. **Type : Contract ** Location : South West ** Country : **Contact : agent's name removed to prevent too much embarrasment**Advertiser : Progressive Southwest Contract **Reference : JSIT PR0899 D0605ACMO00364313 AD0041225

And just in case you're tempted, this turns up in my inbox at least three times a week, with an identical one for a BA...

[Buffoon]

Bet Bob has all these skills and they are current too.

I'm glad I don't have to put up with this stuff no more.

[Euro-commuter]

A team of 4 (which is what they want) could cover that pretty easily.

What they really want, I suspect, is a C# programmer with some knowledge of ASP.net, who has seen a COBOL conversion project before.

Such a person, with a few years' experience, will in any case probably have clapped eyes on some SQL, and have done some kind of scripting, and probably used source control in some form. The existing team will get him up to speed on version control on this site; it is irrelevant precisely which RDBMS he saw SQL on; and if he doesn't know any kind of scripting language, they will re-allocate the work among the other guys until he picks up one of them.

If the project actually needs read-only understanding of Perl, VBscript, Javascript, Java, and DOS scripting, they will either have a bit of knowledge of each scattered around the team, or one old guru who has seen them all; if it needs to write in all of these, it needs to be re-specified.

That's a 300 a day requirement, that can be filled in short order by someone who can do the job. What they have specified is not.

[thunderlizard]

A team of 4 (which is what they want) could cover that pretty easily.

[shaeney]

The government should arrange an amnesty day where it is legal to kill agency staff who write these ads.

Thy should have said Jack of all trades, master of none.

[Euro-commuter]

Obviously written by someone whith no concept of key skills: just extract any and all keywords vaguely related to the work, and ask for them all.

FFS nobody apply for this at 280 per day, please, or they'll think that's all it's worth.

[Euro-commuter]

basket weaving is key...

It was if you were looking for enough easy proficiency badges for your First Class!

[OwlHoot]

Wow, thanks for the heads-up. I may apply for that one, as I have most of them and have been mugging up and practicing C#

[scooterscot]

basket weaving is key...

[Diestl]

Interviewer-
"Ok so you have good C#,ASP.NET,ASP,COBOL,C++,Java ,PHP,VBScript ,JavaScript ,SQL Server ,Oracle ,Agile ,SSADM and RAD" skills, however no Perl experience, im sorry you're not what we're looking for.

[wendigo100]

The strange thing is how they list a dozen key skills twice, either side of listing most of them again, then finish off with: "Key skills c# .net, ability to understand Cobol syntax."

No FORT IV though.

[Diestl]

Thats a fair list of key skills!