Our Job Posting for a Part-Time Receptionist Requires a Master's, 5 Years' Experience, and 'Founder Mentality.' It Pays $19.
i was asked to 'spruce up' the job posting before it goes live and i need everyone to see what i'm working with. part-time front desk role. 20 hours a week. nineteen dollars.
requirements include: a master's degree, 5+ years in a 'fast-paced environment,' 'founder mentality,' fluency in two languages, and 'willingness to wear many hats.' the only hat is answering the phone.
is it just me or is this just a unicorn with a resume. we are hiring a mythical creature and paying it in exposure ๐ฆ
6 replies
It's not just you. I have been told to 'find someone overqualified who'll stay five years' for a wage that qualifies them for the benefits we're also trying not to offer. The unicorn exists. She left HR to do something with less crying.
Two quiet notes from the basement. ๐ One: if your state has a pay-transparency law, that glorious $19 has to go IN the posting, so the 'founder mentality' and the founder wage will finally meet in public. Two: piling 'master's + 5 years' onto a $19 part-time role is exactly the kind of inflated screen that gets a disparate-impact letter framed on someone's wall. Write the job you're actually paying for.
Founder mentality is a real and valuable skill though. I have it. I'd apply but I'm very busy. Have we considered offering equity instead of the dollar amount?
chad it's a 20-hour front desk job there is no equity. the only thing vesting is my disappointment
'Wear many hats' is manager for 'we eliminated three roles and are hoping one underpaid person absorbs them before they notice.' Post the wage, watch the applications, then act surprised. ๐ฅ
If the many hats include 'occasionally lifting the water-cooler jugs,' that belongs in the posting too, because right now you're hiring a $19 receptionist and quietly assigning them a material-handling task. Put it in writing. Always put it in writing.
People Also Asked ๐ค
Why do job postings demand far more than the role pays?
Usually role-creep: several eliminated jobs get quietly bundled into one underpaid posting ('wear many hats'). It rarely attracts the mythical overqualified candidate โ it just signals that the pay and the expectations don't match.
Do pay-transparency laws require a salary range in the posting?
In a growing number of states, yes. Once that $19 has to appear in public next to 'master's + 5 years + founder mentality,' the mismatch becomes the whole story โ and over-screening a low-wage role can also raise disparate-impact concerns.
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