When people use "minimum" or "maximum" and then follow that with a range. - eviltoast

I once applied for a job where one of the requirements was “minimum 5 to 10 years experience in X”. My friend told me to submit a CV saying I have 3 to 6 years experience in X and see if they shortlist me.

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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    8 months ago

    I don’t usually complain about how people convey what they want, but this one often annoys me a bit - because it’s a matter of clarity.

    Some might say “well, there’s uncertainty on the min/max”, but then the higher/lower boundary of the uncertainty doesn’t mean anything. That’s the case here - it’s effectively “minimum 5 years experience”, unless you say what would require more experience.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The higher bound is an indication of maximum salary. It’s saying “we need at least 5 years experience, but if you have 30, we’re paying you like you have 5.”

      • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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        8 months ago

        The higher bound is an indication of maximum salary.

        Is this something that you know, or that you’re assuming?

        Note that in both cases it only reinforces what I said about clarity. If the higher bound of the range:

        • is indeed related to the salary - then it is not a requirement, nor should be listed as such
        • is related to something else - are they expecting appliers to assume what the range means?
        • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I’ve been hiring people for 10 years. Before it was common to post salaries, this was a good way to not waste people’s time interviewing for jobs below their rate.

          It’s in the requirement section because that’s the section we are able to modify on the stupid Excel sheet that the recruiters force us to use.

          • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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            8 months ago

            Got it - then you know it. However it’s unreasonable to expect that the appliers should also know it*, and it still shouldn’t be listed as a requirement. (Even if the ones to blame are the recruiters, not you guys.)

            *specially given that everyone is reading this stuff in a different way. You’re doing it as “preferable 10 years”, @phoenixz@lemmy.ca as “at most 10 years”, so goes on.

            • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              That’s why I’m explaining it, yes. So more people can know it.

              The job hunt is like any other hobby or skill. Some bits are obvious and written down. Some bits are learned by talking to other people who have done it.

              • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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                8 months ago

                The job hunt is like any other hobby or skill. Some bits are obvious and written down. Some bits are learned by talking to other people who have done it.

                This “skill” seems as relevant for most jobs as being able to read a horoscope. Sure, it’s technically a skill, but it shouldn’t be there as a “hidden requirement” on first place.

                [inb4 I’m aware that you said in another comment that you aren’t “saying it’s the right way to do it.” I’m talking about the shitty approach being shitty, not blaming you.]

            • ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works
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              8 months ago

              Your naivety and ignorance about the way people use language and the way the world works is no one’s responsibility to correct but your’s.

              • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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                8 months ago

                I’m solely being cooperative. Yes, there’s a reasonable chance that the other poster is lying, and I have no way to know it, and I’m not too eager to assume it (like braindead trash would). Nor I’m willing to assume what whoever wrote OP’s example is trying to convey.

                However, for the sake of the argument, it doesn’t matter.

                So no, contrariwise to what you’re assuming (i.e. making up), I’m not being naive or an ignorant.

                Now, if you want to assume things about other posters, instead of discussing the topic at hand, could you please go be a dead weight elsewhere? Like in Reddit?

        • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I’ve hired people for a decade. I’m explaining why it’s there. I’m not saying it’s the right way to do it. Just that this is the way it’s done.

    • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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      8 months ago

      I don’t agree. I’m currently looking for a developer with 5-10 years of experience. I don’t want a guy so green he’s grass, I also don’t want someone that has so much experience that he’ll be super expensive and or stuck in their ways. I want someone who knows what they’re doing, but can still learn more.

      • B0rax@feddit.de
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        8 months ago

        But then you say 5-10 years experience. Not minimum of 5 to 10 years.

      • zaph@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        “5-10 years experience” is a range of time anyone can understand. “MINIMUM 5-10 years” is a range that makes absolutely no sense. Imagine if the speed limit signs in your area said “maximum 35-45 mph” and tell me how fast you’re allowed to drive.

        • hedgehog@ttrpg.network
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          8 months ago

          Speed limit signs with ranges would make sense if given some additional clarification by the issuing authority. For example:

          • The upper bound is the limit in perfect conditions; the lower bound is the limit when the weather is bad in any way
          • The upper bound is the limit when there’s no traffic. The lower bound is the limit when there’s substantial traffic.
          • The upper bound is the limit normally. The lower bound is the limit during school hours.

          Even without a clarification drivers could probably assume it’s some combination of the above.

          (A job description could have the same clarification but probably doesn’t, as “minimum” is just an error on the part of the person writing it. But they could say “5-10 years minimum experience, depending on level and nature of education,” and then a reader could infer that a person with a relevant Master’s degree might need 5 years of experience; a relevant Bachelor’s degree - 6 years minimum; a major in something else - 8 years minimum; only a high school diploma - 10 years minimum.)

          • ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works
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            8 months ago

            Those clarifications are in the driving manual you should have studied to get your license. The posted limit is only accurate under ideal conditions, often being affected by weather and local conditions. In most places you can be ticketed for speeding by driving at the limit during rain or other weather events. Posting a range of numbers would just add clutter and limit readability, the range is implicit on the road because it is explicitly laid out in elsewhere through regulation.

      • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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        8 months ago

        I also don’t want someone that has so much experience that he’ll be super expensive and or stuck in their ways.

        In your case 10 is the maximum. There’s no contradiction, as in the OP.

      • asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        IMO the “stuck in their ways” isn’t about experience at all. It’s about good or bad devs. I’ve seen green devs stuck in their ways.

        Sometimes managers or devs who don’t know any better think that knowing the right thing to do is the same as being inflexible, because they don’t understand the rationale since they aren’t experienced programmers.