What online IT job adverts frequently say – and what they really mean

If you are browsing online job boards looking for that elusive perfect match to your technology skills and experience, you can’t help but notice the same words and phrases pop up over and over again.

But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what those ‘usual suspects’ of buzzwords, keywords, and phrases in job descriptions, actually mean?

Job adverts in the tech sector often fall into one of two categories, writes Alan Watts, a service management consultant (retired), with more than 40 years’ experience as a freelance IT contractor.

Two types of technology job advert, invariably

The first category is those job ads that are so lean and sparse on the detail that you can’t quite work out what it is – or who it is -- they are looking for.

The second category is those ads that are essentially a wish-list of every skill, behaviour and qualification under the technology industry’s sun!

In both cases, it can be very difficult to tailor your application to the role.

Technology job title vagueness in adverts. Pff!

There’s further complicators to frustrate you -- the techie in the market for work. Vagueness over job titles, for example, my favourite being “BA/PM,” which are entirely different roles, but that doesn’t stop hirers advertising like they’re one and the same. Be aware, because there are plenty of others.

But even more numerous are those frequent IT job advert buzzwords, keywords and phrases, which are often so repetitive and widely-used that many opportunities can start to blur into one!   

Top seven technology job advert buzzwords (and what they really mean)

I want to look at just seven of these technology job advert keywords which have hidden meanings – so you can differentiate between what online IT job adverts say and what they really mean.

1. “Self-Starter”

Well yes, I already am, I make my living as a contractor!

What they mean by “self-starter” is that you won’t get any clear direction as to what’s needed, beyond a vague objective.

Or, as is too often the case, they don’t know what they want, or, at worst, they need someone to take the blame when it fails! Be careful here and go in with eyes wide open.

2. “Team Player”

They don’t mean you’ll be on the volleyball court on day one, nor do they mean you need to get on well with your co-workers!

Rather, by “team player” they mean they want someone undistinguishable from an employee. So beware if you’re an IT contractor.

Further consider -- if “the team” go off in a different direction or even a whole new project, you will be expected to go along with them. That’s regardless of your expertise; what your contract says or how foolhardy that new direction might seem to you.

3. “Flexible”

Has two meanings these days.

In work terms, and like being a team player, “flexible” means you need to be willing to take on work outside your contracted remit.

The other, more modern meaning relates to working hours and location.

You need to be very clear which version of “flexibility” is on their mind at interview, since the range with the latter is from “fully remote” to allowing you to forego an hour or two in the office on a quiet Thursday, just so you can get home a bit earlier.

4. “Experience”

A lot of tech industry hirers quote “experience” in terms of years worked.

This is a nonsense. Doing the same thing for five years does not mean you have five years’ experience; it means you have a month’s experience repeated 60 times. In your application and CV, ignore ‘experience’ and talk about ‘achievements’ instead. To succeed, do the same at interview.

5. “Clearance”

Nobody on the side of the recruitment, agency or hiring side of the desk seems to realise that as soon as you leave a cleared post, you don’t have clearance.

Security Clearance (SC) goes with the post, not the occupant.

Yes, the current vetting may still apply for the new role for a year, but it may not, depending on what risk assessment is applied.

There are many other issues around the whole area of SC – more than we have time for here – but you do not need clearance to apply for a role, nor, 95% of the time, to start one. It’s just another filter (agencies unfairly use) to cut down the applicants.

6. “Rate”

This is a nightmare if you’re an IT contractor going forward.

Why? Well, the client has a budget, but it’s usually aligned to the cost of employment of a permanent worker doing the job (not to be confused with their salary). After that comes a host of deductions, especially (possibly) inside IR35, from taxes and NICs; margins, fees, mandatory holidays and the rest.

You need to be very clear how the advertised rate -- the figure per hour or per day usually near the top of the advert -- translates to your gross rate.

It’s very easy for there to be as much as a 50% gap between the two. Yes, that’s not a typo, fifty!

7. “Location”

I once interviewed for a role in an office about 30 minutes from home, which would have been ideal. Snag was, the actual job was in Cardiff. Agencies won’t tell you where the client is in case you work it out who they are and bypass them. But London is quite a big place (as is Cardiff) even if it is actually London and not Croydon or Uxbridge!

If you are able to work remotely that may not matter but, as an IT contractor or even a full-timer going forward for a ‘hybrid working’ role, they will still usually want you on-site one or two days a week.

So be sure you know what “location” actually involves for you, in practice and commuting terms.

Final thoughts (includes IR35)

If you’re an IT contractor, be aware that a lot of these requirements and hidden meanings (above) can have a direct bearing on your IR35 status. That, in itself, is a fairly significant matter, beyond working out what hirers say and what they really mean.

For example ‘team player’ and ‘flexible,’ whereby you’ll be synonymous with being an employee and expected to go beyond the brief, respectively, will severely undermine an outside IR35 defence.

So there you have it; an eighth area to check the wording of -- IR35.

After all, there clearly just isn’t enough decoding for you to do already, to truly compute who or what the ultimate author of the job advert -- the end-user -- really, really wants in their ideal candidate. Good luck out there, Free-Work users!