Job Seekers Add Some Color

Finding your dream job is not easy. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs out there and an equal number of job seekers. It takes a lot of work from the companies, recruiters and individual job seekers to make a successful match. The process will most likely take months and will certainly evoke a roller coaster of emotions ranging from excitement to disappointment and frustration. Whether you take on the search yourself or have a recruiter helping you, the engagement with a prospective company usually starts with a job description (or JD for short). The JD typically begins with a short, informative blurb about the company and then goes into the details about the specific role they're looking to fill. The details will be broken up into sections that outline the responsibilities of the role, the minimum qualifications required to be considered for the role and finally the preferred qualifications, which aren't a requirement but will strengthen your candidacy for the role if you have them.

After a generous amount of searching and working with your recruiter, you've found a JD that looks like a great fit so you apply for the position. After a short time (hopefully), you get an interview with the hiring manager. Before the interview, the hiring manager reviews your resume and notices it's missing one of the requirements listed in the JD. When the interview begins, one of the first questions you're asked is about that missing requirement. "So it doesn't look like you have any Node.js experience". Hopefully you've prepared for this and have an acceptable answer. Perhaps you've been learning it but aren't up to speed with it enough to feel comfortable putting it on your resume. Maybe you know Javascript and have backend server development experience but just haven't delved into Node.js yet. In any case, the hiring manager "found" something that isn't a match for the role and their mindset could change to "what else can I find that would be a disqualifier?", especially if they stumble upon another skill you're not strong on. Suddenly you find yourself on the defensive with an interviewer that's looking for red flags now instead of green flags. Your prospects for the position decline.

To avoid this and increase your chances of success, there's a simple step you can take ahead of the interview: Color code the JD with red, green and yellow text then share it with your recruiter. The colors indicate how well each skill in the JD matches your skill set. Recruiters love this! It outlines very clearly what you can do right out of the gate and what things you'll need to spin up on. Here's an example:

At the top, there's a color key that explains what each of the colors means. It should be obvious that this position is not a good match for the candidate. There is too much red. Still, there is some valuable insight here. You can see for yourself that this is not a position you wish to pursue. It is helpful to share this with the recruiter as it hones their ability to filter out positions that aren't a good match for you. Here's another one:

This one looks better. There is still some red in there and the ratio of green to yellow is pretty even. This indicates that this role would be a pretty big stretch for the candidate. In an ideal role, you want to see lots of green, some yellow and little to no red. A JD that is all green might be a perfect fit for you right now but would you be challenged? Will you still enjoy that job six months down the road? Yellow equals growth opportunities and there should be some (but not too much) in there. This is where most of your excitement for the role should come from.

This one looks like a great fit. No red, some yellow and lots of green. The candidate will be able to hit the ground running and will have the opportunity to learn and grow. Notice some comments were added by the candidate (black) for clarification.

Keep in mind that one or two red items isn't necessarily a deal breaker. Instead, they provide great talking points. Maybe one of the qualifications is a Bachelor's Degree but you were self taught and have years of work experience under your belt. Some companies have started specifying a degree OR relevant work experience as they understand not every great candidate takes the collegiate route. Perhaps you marked something red because you know of a better way to accomplish that task. Find out if the company is willing to consider your alternate approach. Maybe you marked something red because you felt intimidated or felt you wouldn't be able to provide value in that area. Discuss your concerns with the recruiter and hiring manager. Maybe the company doesn't need that skill right away and has mentors that can help you ramp up. It could end up being a skill that you eventually turn from red to green. Growth! If everything else in the JD looks like a good fit, the company may decide to move the one red task to a different role. You just don't know until you discuss it with the team and the red items indicate high priority topics to discuss. In any case, let the recruiter know why you marked something red so they and the hiring manager can discuss that specific item with you in detail.

Color coding the job description has several advantages:

1. It gives you an opportunity to be transparent about how you feel you fit into the role and allows the hiring manager to prioritize the talking points resulting in a much more efficient and valuable interview process.
2. It forces you to consider how compatible you are with each requirement. You will actually get excited when you find an opportunity with the right mix of green and yellow. This leads to a more positive interview experience!
3. It clearly depicts from the get go where your strengths and ambitions are. This equips the recruiter with valuable insight. Maybe the first opportunity doesn't work out but they'll have a clearer understanding of your goals which will help them better match you up to your next opportunity.

If you're searching for your dream job, try adding some color and see if that makes the process go smoother. If you decide to try it, please share your feedback in the comments below. Good luck and happy job hunting!