A job description is two documents in one: a list of what the team genuinely needs, and a wishlist someone pasted in without thinking. Learning to tell them apart saves you from both over- and under-applying.
Requirements vs. wishlist
The first three or four bullets are usually the real job. The long tail — “familiarity with X, Y, Z a plus” — is mostly aspirational. You do not need to match every line. If you hit the top responsibilities, apply.
Quiet red flags
- “Wears many hats” / “fast-paced” — often code for understaffed.
- “Rockstar / ninja” — a culture tell, and rarely a good one.
- No salary range where it’s normal to list one — leverage gap.
Read the responsibilities, not just the requirements. They tell you what your actual days would look like — which matters far more than the buzzword checklist.