Earlier this afternoon, I read an article on GraphicDesign.com, entitled Finding the Right Designer for the Job: Tips for Writing a Good Job Post from The Creative Group. You can read it here.

I posted a lengthy comment in response, but it seems to have disappeared into the void. I’m hoping it’ll show up later; in the meantime, I will attempt to re-create it here.

Here’s an important one you left out—for all those companies posting job listings on Craigslist: IDENTIFY THE NAME OF YOUR COMPANY!

A job posting in which the company does not identify itself tells me at least one of the following:

• the posting is bogus
• the company is hiring from within, but corporate policy dictates that the department must also look outside the company for candidates
• the character and/or reputation of the company are sketchy
• the company does not know what it is doing

As I have said in responses I have sent to some of the (still-nameless) companies who have posted such ads, you wouldn’t hire somebody without knowing something about them, so why would you expect job seekers to send you resumes without knowing anything about your company? Wouldn’t you rather get resumes from folks who genuinely want to work for you, instead of from folks who are just blindly sending out resumes to anybody and everybody—who you then have to weed out from the more serious candidates?

For me, knowing who the company is that’s posting the ad helps me determine whether or not to follow through with an application. Maybe the job description perfectly fits my abilities and requirements, but the company operates in an industry in which I have no interest, has a corporate culture for which I would not be a good fit (or vice versa), or holds values or engages in activities that I do not want to support. In any of those instances, it would not be worth my while to apply for the job.

In short, when a company fails to identify itself in a job posting, a company stands to save both itself and its potential applicants time that might otherwise be wasted due to a blind or anonymous ad.

Not long ago, I broke my long-standing policy of not replying to such anonymous ads. The company posting the job listing at least identified what it did; since it would have been something of a dream job, I decided to set aside my reservations and give it a shot.

I got a phone interview. Since we talked for over an hour, the subject of the company not being named in the posting came up (I mentioned that I almost did not send my resume because I didn’t know who posted the listing). The person I interviewed with explained that he didn’t include the name of the company because he didn’t want to have to deal with the deluge of resumes he would have received (had he actually identified the company) from “morons”—that’s a direct quote—who weren’t qualified for the job (apparently, he got some of those anyway).

As it turned out, the job would not have paid very much. On top of that, they use Photoshop for all their design work (including working with type), instead of the industry standard (and more logical choice) InDesign—meaning that any work I would have done for them would have involved some combination of shortcuts, workarounds, and extra steps. I actually consider myself fortunate that I did not receive a callback (even though I was promised one).

To conclude this lengthy comment, here are excerpts from actual postings on Craigslist (current as of 8/22/12) in which the name of the company is never mentioned:

Prepress/Color Proofer needed by established, business to business fine art publisher. This is a part-time position with flexible weekday hours. We are looking for a person to clean and color match digital images to print on our 12-color inkjet printers.

The heading for this one: Graphic Designer – Packaging

Our Company is located in South Seattle. We are seeking a creative energetic and dynamic Graphic Designer develop [sic] marketable and cost effective packaging and other value added marketing materials to support the growth of our business. We are seeking a Seattle Based [sic] person, no relocation is offered.

Last but not least, my favorite—and this one is the entire post:

Seeking contract hire with possibility for permanent residency for graphic design of commercial branding and identity. Pre-flight experience a plus, but not required. Must be genuinely creative, self-motivated, professionally enthusiastic and willing to learn in a creatively demanding environment. Please submit a detailed resume, portfolio an [sic] introduction on why we need you on our team. All submissions will be considered. Copy & paste introduction letters will result in automatic resume/portfolio deletion – so make it topical.

(August 22, 2012. Edited August 23rd to reflect a couple of sentences that were better worded in the original response, which now appears beneath the article.)