Job Seekers, Be Skeptical!

I'm not impressed with Craigslist as a tool for creatives looking for work. I have been on both ends of that 'thing', both as a job poster (looking to hire freelance web programmers) and as one looking for new gigs. Here...in my professional opinion, is what I would advise you to keep in mind:

1. "Mystery Listings"

If the job does not list any specific information on themselves as the company/employer, as in a website or even so much as a company name, don't even bite the hook. Why? Well, any number of reasons. First, whoever is behind the posting my have no intention of actually hiring anyone (see #3). If they're asking you to email or submit your work without telling you WHO you're submitting it to...well...that just seems a tad 'scammy' to me. Although there's nothing terribly wrong with posting a job just to see what kind of responses you'll get and what freelancers are charging, as a creative individual, responding to these types of job listings is little more than giving out free estimates that will lead to nothing. Submitting work to mysterious job listings is about the same as painting your credit card number and CV code on a billboard!

Although Craigslist is pretty good at flagging bogus postings, in the "Jobs' section, it's easy to get around having to be legitimate.

READ the job description. If it provides NOTHING unique or specific to any other job listing (as if they just copy-pasted a generic description from another company's listing), it may not be worth your time.

2. "Tall Orders"

If you check the job listings on a regular basis, you are probably already aware of how completely RIDICULOUS and out of line the listings can be. They frequently have a long list of required skills that are just flat out UNREALISTIC. They want a designer with a BFA design degree...AND, in addition to your usual design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc., they expect you to be proficient in EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THE SUN, as in:
CSS, mySQL, PERL, FinalCut, Premier, AfterEffects, Flash ActionScript, JAVA, StudioMax, MAYA, CGI, CIA, FBI, BOB, BYOB, BOOB, Rocket Science, Brain Surgery, Structural Engineering, and Calculus.

So you want a FINE ARTS degree AND someone who's spent the 300+ years it takes to have moderate proficiency a 3D program or web programming or scripting???

But here's the kicker. If they even do bother to list the salary range at the bottom of the job listing, after all these skills they want you to have, they list the job as something like $15 per hour. HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Good Luck with THAT.

Proceed in applying for this kind of job only if you're willing to sell your soul and live in an abandoned deep freeze in an alley in Chula Vista. NO ONE with a hard-earned Bachelor's degree in a creative field should submit to this kind of insanity! Plus, if you check the job listings on a regular basis, you'll see the same jobs listed week after week. They might fill the job, but give it time, as in maybe a month at best, and you'll see that same job back open again. This should be the biggest RED FLAG in your mind of all time. BELIEVE ME, I know!!! Seriously.

3. "Other Agendas"

I have a very close friend who is Canadian, a highly skilled professional, and here on a Visa. I got a first-time inside view of what goes on with that. Let me put this into my own words and understanding...
If a company is employing (sponsoring) a Visa, they can be required by US law to post that employee's position on job boards. If the company finds US citizens with the SAME qualifications applying for the position, that makes it difficult for them to employ the 'foreigner'. There's a very frustrating good and bad side to all of this. As a US citizen, I'll support the fairness of making those jobs available to US citizens first.
However, the really bad part to me is, there may be jobs posted that are really little more than employers "Testing the Waters". They may have NO intention of actually interviewing or filling those positions. They're only required to list it for one employment law or another. This really bothers me, and there's nothing I can do about it other than offering consolation to creative job seekers who have put in the hard effort to apply for jobs and don't even get so much as a "Thanks, but no thanks". Keep this in mind if you're really frustrated with the job market, especially in California.

4. "Testing the Waters"

Essentially, view every job listing as that, when the job description itself seems vague or too 'pie in the sky'. Treat them with reasonable suspicion - that the listing could very well be someone testing the waters or trolling for cheap designers. When you actually do take the time to apply/respond to a job that's on Craigslist, if you don't get any response at all, DON'T get too discouraged. It's not a two-way street. If you put the effort into a sincere, custom-written cover letter or email and give them everything they want to know about you and they can't even send you a simple confirmation or acknowledgement, take my word for it, you DO NOT want to be employed by them. Don't sweat it, reclaim your value and marketability, and move on to job opportunities more worthy of you!