How to read a job posting

Read it twice, for two different things

A posting mixes three kinds of line: what the team cannot do without, what would make a candidate easier to pick, and text that describes the company. On a first pass, read for the job itself: what you would do in the first months, for whom, and with what tools.

On a second pass, mark each requirement as a must-have or a nice-to-have. Most of the doubt about whether to apply comes from treating every line as a must-have.

Separating must-haves from nice-to-haves

The posting’s own wording does most of the work. Headings come first: “Requirements”, “Minimum qualifications” or “What you need” usually hold the must-haves, while “Preferred”, “Bonus” or “Nice to have” hold the rest. When there is only one list, read the words inside each line.

• Required words. “Must”, “required”, “you have”, “at least”, “minimum”. Treat these lines as must-haves.
• Preferred words. “Ideally”, “preferred”, “a plus”, “familiarity with”, “exposure to”. These are nice-to-haves.
• Long tool lists. A line naming eight tools joined by “or” usually wants one of them, not all eight.
• Repeats. A skill named in the summary, the responsibilities and the requirements is central to the role, whichever list it sits in.

Some must-haves are hidden in the responsibilities. “You will own our data pipelines on Airflow” is not in the requirements list, but nobody gets that job without Airflow or something close to it. Count a tool named in the daily work as required, even when the requirements leave it out.

Then compare with your own resume, line by line. A must-have you meet should be visible, in the posting’s words or close to them. A must-have you meet but never wrote down is the cheapest gap to close. A must-have you do not meet is a real gap: one is worth weighing against the rest of the posting, several usually mean another role is a better use of the application.

Location and work authorisation lines

These lines decide more applications than any skill, and they often sit at the very bottom. Read them before anything else.

• Remote. Remote can still mean remote within one country or a few states, often for payroll and tax reasons. Look for “Remote (US)”, a list of states or a time zone range.
• Hybrid and on-site. A city with a number of office days, such as “three days a week in Austin”, is a requirement, not a preference.
• Work authorisation. “Must be authorized to work in the US” or “we are unable to sponsor visas” is a hard stop if it does not fit your situation. When a posting offers sponsorship, it says so.
• Clearance and citizenship. Government and defence roles may require a security clearance or citizenship. Neither can be gained by a start date.
• Licences. A required licence or certification is a must-have; “certification preferred” is not.

If one of these does not fit, no rewrite of your resume changes the outcome. The job fit check treats them the same way: an eligibility line you do not meet stops the verdict, while a missing skill becomes a gap you can answer.

Seniority signals beyond the title

Titles vary between companies. A senior title at a small startup and at a large company can be different jobs, and some companies use numbered levels instead. Read the signals that are harder to inflate.

• Years. “5+ years” is a rough floor. One year short matters far less than five years short.
• Scope. “Own”, “lead”, “set direction”, “mentor” and “across teams” describe a senior or lead role. “Support”, “assist” and “under guidance” describe a junior one.
• Reporting line. Reporting to a director usually means more room to decide than reporting to a team lead.
• Pay. Where the posting states pay, it places the level better than the title does.

Our role pages show what postings at each level ask for, counted from the roles we track: the skills, the years and how often a degree is required. The salary pages show the median stated pay for a role where enough postings state it.

What to ignore

Some lines describe the company more than the job: “fast-paced”, “wear many hats”, “passionate”. They say little about whether you qualify. Benefits and values matter when you choose between offers, not when you decide whether to apply.

A very long requirements list is often a wish list written by several people. The short list of lines that repeat across the posting is closer to the real job.

Turn the reading into a decision

After two passes you have three short lists: must-haves you meet and can show, must-haves you meet but have not written down, and gaps. If an eligibility line does not fit, skip the posting. If the first list covers most of the must-haves, apply, after moving the second list onto your resume. If the gaps are mostly nice-to-haves, apply anyway.